Religious and Cultural Holidays Task Force Deliberates

Responding to many parents’, students’ and teachers’ desire to see as equitable a practice as possible when it comes to how the schools address religious holidays, I convened a task force of volunteers last spring.  The summer interrupted the committee’s launch, but we resumed in the late fall, with students, parents, teachers, school committee member, community members participating.  An early recognition of the similarly important role that Chinese New Year plays for many Chinese Bedfordites led us to expand the name of the committee to the Religious and Cultural Holidays Task Force.  Ecumenical in composition and including both religious and nonreligious contributors, the group has had several challenging but productive meetings.

The challenges for the schools are three-fold:

• the first is educational in nature-  how best to educate our students about the diverse range of religious and cultural practices in ways that are appropriate for public schools and that help all of our students feel included and recognized (the schools have already taken steps to address this important need); 
• the second involves which holidays, if any, should be days off of school- presently, Bedford has a half day on Good Friday, and both Christmas Eve and Christmas are no-school holidays;
• the third, and perhaps the most difficult, is whether or not homework, quizzes, tests and/or new material should be allowed on or immediately after religious holidays (presently, for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, no homework, tests, quizzes or new material is allowed).

Background

Historically, Bedford has had no school on Christmas Eve, Christmas (around which winter break is scheduled) and has a half day on Good Friday.  While many of our neighboring districts have no school on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Bedford has sought to provide a degree of equity by having a practice of no homework, quizzes, tests or new material on those days or on the days immediately following them.  This practice has been informed by a recognition of societal anti-Semitism and a desire to provide practicing Jewish families with the same “work-free” religious observance opportunities that practicing Christian families enjoy on Christmas and Good Friday.  

While individual students may have their absences excused for engaging in other religious observances, practicing Muslim and Hindu students and students who observe Chinese New Year have not had their holidays recognized as days off or as homework and test free days.  The need for greater fairness moving forward is, however, complicated by the need, particularly at the secondary level, to maintain academic progress without too many interruptions, particularly early on in the year.

Contrasting Views

The diversity of opinions regarding these issues is quite large and includes, for example, the following views:

• there should be no days off for religious holidays, but individuals should have their absences excused
• the major holidays for each religion should all be treated the same way- no homework or tests
• homework and tests may be given, and students who choose to be absent for a religious holiday should have extra time to make them up
• we shouldn’t have a policy but through greater awareness of the importance of respecting differences, teachers should make appropriate accommodations
• we need a policy to ensure equity

Once the task force completes its initial deliberations, we will provide opportunities for expanded community input using surveys and/or focus groups before making a recommendation to the Bedford School Committee.  Please stay tuned.

                                                                                                                                    JS