The Howard County Board of Education is considering a plan that would cut the Jewish holy days of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur from the list of days it will close schools. The school board is considering only closing schools for holidays mandated by the state as it deals with a list of request from other religions seeking to have their holidays added to the schedule.

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Balancing a desire to be inclusive while examining scheduling logistics and legal issues is becoming a hot topic for many school systems across the state when it comes to which holidays to include in their school calendars.The Howard County Board of Education became the latest local school board to address the issue when on Thursday, it voted to add days off for Lunar New Year eve, the Muslim holiday of Eid Al-Adha and the Hindu holiday of Diwali for the 2016-17 school year and will study which holidays should be included in future school years on a permanent basis.The vote came after a controversial plan was proposed that would have kept schools open on the Jewish high holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur for the first time since 1979.“The purpose of the school calendar is to provide adequate time for teaching and learning, but we also try to address the unique desires of our community,” Howard County schools Superintendent Renee A. Foose said in a statement. "We will do our best to provide options that ensure students receive a great education and have opportunities to celebrate their cultures and traditions.”In December, hundreds packed the Howard County school board meeting to express their concern over such a proposal, believing the district should find ways of being more inclusive given the diverse makeup of the county.Michelle Ostroff, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Howard County, said her organization plans to work with the school system in any way possible to help address this issue for the long-term. She said there are at least 7,500 Jewish households in Howard County, according to the 2010 Jewish Community study."I would like to see the school system collect data from teachers and students regarding what religious and cultural groups will remain home on their important holidays," Ostroff said. "Having said that, Howard County is a culturally diverse community, founded on the principal of diversity. I think that value must go into the decision. So while the numbers are important, the spirit of when they close school should also be taken into account."The vote was applauded by many in the Muslim community, who were seeking to improve inclusiveness but not at the expense of other faiths."This vote is proof that it is indeed possible to accommodate the religious needs of multiple faith communities in diverse school districts," CAIR Maryland Outreach Manager Zainab Chaudry said in a statement. "Religious pluralism is the hallmark of an integrated and inclusive society. We see that reflected in the Howard County Board of Education's decision."Howard County's decision comes two months after the Montgomery County Board of Education voted to support an effort that would move a professional development day off for students to Sept. 12 to coincide with Eid al-Adha.Balancing faith, lawHow school systems will work out their calendars for additional holidays is more difficult than it appears. Howard County school board Vice Chairwoman Ellen Flynn Giles pointed out during Thursday's meeting that state and federal laws prohibit closing schools for religious reasons.For the calendar to be changed, a school system needs to show a secular reason for the shift, such as a high absentee rate on those days.This was the case 20 years ago when Baltimore County schools opted to close on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Prior to that, many schools had more than 50 percent of students, along with much of their faculty and staff, absent on those days.Baltimore County schools studied whether a similar impact was found in the county's Muslim population. According to a recent study by the school system, the attendance rate consistently stayed in the mid- to high-90s during those days.In July 2015, the Baltimore County Policy Review Committee recommended that schools not be closed on Muslim holiday, but where appropriate designating Eid al-Fitr or Eid al-Adha as a professional development day when students would be off.The committee also recommended that the superintendent's office communicate to schools the dates of the Muslim holidays and that whenever possible that no locally-mandated testing or field trips take place on those holidays.In addition, the committee recommended adding other religious holidays, if requested, on the school calendar for informational purposes. Also, the committee recommended that the county creates a policy that discourages testing on religious holidays and that students be provided homework, classwork and other assignment to students who are out for excused absences.Fair approach"That's all we've ever asked for," Baltimore Jewish Council Executive Director Art Abramson. "The decisions should be based on non-sectarian or economic reasons. In Baltimore County, the large Jewish population among students and teachers made it cumbersome and expensive to open schools on high holidays."This is an issue we are always keeping a close eye on. As long as students are given an excused absence and not penalized for taking off for the holiday, I'm OK with how ever schools want to develop their calendars. In many cases, schools are playing a game of political correctness and that is not always practical given the population of a district. They need to do what is best for schools."That was the case in Anne Arundel County, which decided it would be open during the next school year on Rosh Hashanah for the first time since 2003.Schools spokesman Bob Mosier said the move was made as part of an effort to find three more days in the calendar without reducing spring break. Anne Arundel schools will still be closed on Yom Kippur."There were some people who were slightly upset, but there was not a huge backlash," Mosier said. "Some Jewish families told the schools they would keep their students home either way. Plus, the day will still remain an excused absence for those observing the holiday."