School board rejects proposal to close school for four more religious holidays

Despite intense lobbying from families and faith communities, the Fairfax County School Board adopted a 2021-22 calendar that does not close schools on four holidays important to the Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh communities. 

Religious groups and individual families had urged the board to close schools on Rosh Hashanah (Sept. 6), Yom Kippur (Sept. 15), Diwali (Nov. 4), and Eid al-Fitr (May 13).

15 holidays “recognized”

Instead, the school board agreed to “recognize and respect” 15 religious holidays and prohibits tests, quizzes, field trips, athletic events, graduation, and homecoming from being scheduled on those days. Tests and quizzes also can’t be scheduled on the day immediately after one of those 15 days so students won’t have to study on a religious holiday. 

The 15 holidays are Eid al-Adha, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Día de los Muertos, Bodhi Day, Three Kings Day/Epiphany, Orthodox Christmas, Orthodox Epiphany, Lunar New Year, Ramadan, Good Friday, Theravada, Orthodox Good Friday/Last Night of Passover, and Eid al-Fitr.   

FCPS employees will be allowed to make up 16 hours of any time they miss for religious or cultural observances. 

The newly adopted calendar for the 2021-2022 academic year sets the first day of school on Monday, Aug. 23, 2021. The last day is Friday, June 10, 2022.

For the 2021-2022 school year, schools will close on these dates:

• Three days off at Thanksgiving – Nov. 24-Nov. 26.
• Two weeks off for winter break – Dec. 20-Dec. 31.
• One week off for spring break – April 4-April 8.

Faith groups disappointed

A statement by the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington (JCRC) calls the decision to not give students a day off for Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Diwali, and Eid “deeply disappointing.” 

“We hoped that meaningful progress was finally within reach, after years of struggling with FCPS over unfair treatment of Jewish students forced to miss school on our holidays, endure inappropriate Christmas-related activities, and bear the brunt of increasing incidents of antisemitism,” the JCRC states. “There is no way to sugarcoat the disrespectful, dismissive, and ill-informed approach that too many school board members adopted towards our interfaith coalition throughout this process.”

While the JCRC blasts the FCPS leadership for a “stunning lack of cultural competency,” along with “repeated demonstrations of unconscious bias, hurtful comments, and unrecognized privilege,” the group thanks the five school board members who “raised their voices for religious equity”: Laura Jane Cohen (Springfield), Karl Frisch (Providence), Rachna Sizemore Heizer (at-large), Melanie Meren (Hunter Mill), and Abrar Omeish (at-large).

A joint statement from several religious groups says, “While the school board has sought to divide us further, we have coalesced around this issue, strengthening our commitment to one another and to the equity of religious minority groups in Fairfax County.” That statement was issued by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Association of United Hindu and Jain Temples of Metropolitan Washington, Durga Temple of Virginia, Hindu American Foundation, JCRC, McLean Islamic Center, Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation, and Temple Rodef Shalom.

“We will continue to hold the FCPS School Board and administration accountable to ensure that our communities are not disadvantaged by the decisions taken today,” it continues. “We look forward to a clear statement of affirmation that outlines what, and how, FCPS will change and be held accountable for the equitable treatment of religious minority students, staff, and faculty.”

More community engagement 

The school board received at least 16,000 emails and a petition signed by nearly 500 students in support of closing schools on the four religious holidays. 

Most of the large school systems in Maryland are closed on those holidays, and Prince William, Arlington, and Loudoun counties are closed on all or some of those days.  

FCPS says the calendar complies with legal requirements that call for school systems to have a secular reason, such as excessive absenteeism, for establishing a school holiday. 

“The approach taken in the development of this calendar is one of equity and inclusivity. It aims to center equity by elevating our systems’ respect for religious and cultural observances,” said School Board Chair Ricardy Anderson (Mason). 

“While this final calendar for 2021-22 may not align with the goals of everyone in Fairfax County, it recognizes all religious and cultural observances where FCPS has seen above-average absences over the last five years,” Anderson said. 

The calendar approved for 2021-22 is considered an interim solution, FCPS stated, while the school system comes up with a calendar development process “that allows the school board to establish clear criteria and priorities for the calendar; clearly defines the roles of staff, board, and community members; and creates a robust community engagement process.”