Montgomery County schools in Maryland will no longer recognize Christian or Jewish holidays on school calendars after members of the Muslim community campaigned for their holy day of Eid al-Adha so to receive equal treatment.
Fox News reports that starting in the 2015-2016 academic year, students will still have days off from school for holidays such as Christmas and Easter, but the calendar will refer to the days as “Winter Break” and “Spring Break.” For Jewish holidays such as Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah, the school calendar will be marked as “no school for students and teachers” but not be associated with the religious holidays.
The decision was voted upon by the school district’s board. Montgomery County Schools Superintendent Joshua Starr reportedly recommended the move after feeling pressure from Muslim leaders to give students the day off of school to observe Eid-al-Adha.
Saqib Ali, the co-chair of the Equality for Eid Coalition said, “By stripping the names Christmas, Easter, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, they have alienated other communities now, and we are no closer to equality. It’s a pretty drastic step, and they did it without any public notification.”