New York’s Albany County Muslim Students Keep Pushing for Eid Al-Fitr to Be A School Holiday
Areej Naina made the remark at their Oct. 25 meeting, describing Eid as the day after the holy month of Ramadan, where we fast from sunrise to sunset, and we celebrate it with family and friends.
In February, a group of Muslim students made a similar push with one of them, Arishma Ahmed, writing to the school board, “First of all, Eid is like Christmas for us. Imagine having to go to school on Christmas. It is as simple as that.”
On Oct. 25, Seema Rivera, the school board president who also serves on the district’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, said a subcommittee was looking at the regional calendar produced by the Capital Region Board of Cooperative Educational Services.
“The discussion is being had,” said Rivera.
In 2023, Eid al-Fitr starts at sundown on a Friday “so missing school won’t be an issue” for the Saturday celebration, Superintendent Marie Wiles had said in February.
The state requires 180 school days; for each day less than that, the district would lose aid equivalent to one teacher’s salary, Wiles said at the time. Also, schedules have to be aligned with other districts in the area for shared programs like those run by BOCES.
Naina noted the holiday is based on the lunar calendar and in 2024 falls on April 10, which is a Wednesday.
Naina also said, “The district strives to promote diversity and inclusion within the community. With the growing population of Muslim students, recognizing Eid as a school holiday for the school year of 2023-24 will promote the idea of inclusion and diversity.”
Naina said that the current school policy is to give Muslim students an excused holiday for Eid “but it doesn’t eliminate the problem we have of trying to make up homework and classwork.”
Source: altamontenterprise.com
