News Update

San Francisco Unified to reconsider adoption of Muslim holidays

San Francisco Unified’s school board on Tuesday plans to reconsider a recent decision to add two Muslim holidays to its instructional calendar, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

In August, the board voted to add Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha as school holidays, but that decision faced backlash, including the threat of a lawsuit by an attorney who argued that the initial resolution violated the Brown Act. The resolution also faced criticism from Jewish parents who noted that the district doesn’t recognize any Jewish holidays, according to the Chronicle.

Wassim Hage, community organizer with the Arab Resource and Organizing Center, told the Chronicle in August that he was “so happy to see this, it’s really wonderful to feel seen by the district” after the resolution to add the holidays was adopted.

But on Tuesday, the board will vote on a new resolution that would suspend the adoption of those holidays and instead require the district to conduct an analysis to create best practices for “how and when to determine what holidays” should be added to the school calendar.