Broward schools being asked to close on 2 Muslim holidays

Broward County public schools are being asked to close for two Islamic holidays a year under a controversial proposal before the district's Diversity Committee.

The request, from the Florida chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations, or CAIR, would make Broward the first in Florida and one of only a few districts in the country to add Muslim holidays into its calendar. Broward and Palm Beach County schools generally close on major Christian and Jewish holidays.

The Islamic holidays requested, which fall on different days depending on the year, are Eid al-Fitr – the end of Ramadan – and Eid-al Adha, which marks the end of Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.

"This is about inclusive diversity, and the Muslim community has too long been excluded," said Roland Foulkes, chairman of the Diversity Committee, which will debate the proposal Thursday night. "This is long overdue, and we need to move beyond the lip service of diversity in the community and reflect the full diversity of everyone."

But some school district officials worry it could open the floodgates for more requests, as well as complaints from groups with anti-Islamic views. Religious freedom experts also say the district could be in legal trouble if it closes school for the sole purpose to allow students to celebrate a religious holiday.

CAIR Florida this week urged its parents to show up at Thursday's meeting, set for 6:30 p.m. in the boardroom of the K..C. Wright administrative building, 600 SE Third Ave., Fort Lauderdale. The advisory committee would then decide whether to recommend it to the School Board, which makes the final decision. Foulkes said he will personally recommend it to the School Board, even if the committee votes it down.

Ghazala Salam, community relations director for CAIR Florida, said the group is starting its push with Broward County because that's where it's based. Palm Beach County schools have received no similar requests, district spokesman Nat Harrington said.

Opponents also plan to attend Thursday's meeting, including members of the Tea Party of Fort Lauderdale.

"It's another step toward the Islamization of our children," group founder Danita Kilcullen said. "This is a Judeo-Christian nation."

Superintendent Robert Runcie, who hadn't seen the request, said the district tries to be sensitive and respectful to the needs of different groups. State law already requires students be able to take off religious holidays without penalty.

"We make accommodations, but we may not be able to close the district," Runcie said. "If we do that for everybody and every cause out there, even though they're all valid, we would literally have a problem squeezing in the number of instructional days we need."

The traditional school year is 180 days, although the state gives some wiggle room, depending on how many hours are in each school day.

While the district counts religious holidays as excused absences, Muslim parents say individual teachers and administrators aren't always sensitive to families' needs.

"There may be test schedules. Sometimes FCAT falls in the time of the religious holidays," Salam said. "So it really puts a lot of stress on students. They're caught between a rock and a hard place. Do they stay out for the religious holiday if they have an exam or a new lesson?"