Following the BOE’s decision to close school for the Muslim holiday Eid-Al-Adha next school year, the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) recently partnered with a non-profit called Chinmaya Mission to petition for a professional day on Diwali, Oct 19, for the 2017-18 school year. 

Diwali, also known as the Festival of Lights, is a Hindu, Sikh, Jain and Buddhist holiday. As the most important Hindu holiday, school systems like Howard County Public Schools have already granted no school on Diwali.

This past fall, the BOE announced that they wouldn’t close schools solely for religious reasons, so precedent for closings on holidays is based on the number of student and staff absences.

Nevertheless, after the successful professional day on Sept 12 to account for Eid-Al-Adha, the HAF and Chinmaya Mission were inspired to advocate for the Hindu population. Members of each group testified at multiple board meetings for their proposal. Currently, they are championing a petition with over 1,200 signatures and a formal letter to Superintendent Larry Bowers and the Board.

Tens of thousands of MCPS staff and students would benefit from the proposed day off, estimates Dr. Murali Balaji, director of education and curriculum reform for HAF.

“It would allow families to observe the holiday together without needing to take the day off,” Balaji said. “At the end of the day, it’s about an equitable and inclusive school calendar that reflects the county’s diversity.”

Because next year’s  calendar has already been finalized, the Board won’t review the request when they designing the 2017-18 calendar next fall, Board member Patricia O’Neill said.  

Each school year is only allocated nine professional days, so rearranging the schedule could cause  conflicts for Board members and faculty. Adding a tenth professional day isn’t an option either, since the cost can amount to $7 million, Board member Phil Kauffman said.

O’Neill voted against the professional day for Eid-Al-Adha this fall and is now skeptical about this decision, she said.

“I’m not sure what the Board will decide,” O’Neill said. “But we have legal precedent that you can’t just close for religious purposes.”

Freshman Alisha Dhir has often had to truncate her celebrations to attend school on Diwali. The abbreviated festivities have prohibited her from visiting extended family and her Hindu temple, she said.

Dhir hopes for a professional day not just for her own family, but also for the community at large, she said.

“If the whole county was off, there would probably be more celebrations or festivals for everyone like there are in India,” Dhir said. “It’d be great if our community got a better understanding of Diwali and Hinduism in general because it is such a unique religion.”