The Fairfax County School Board approved a policy codifying annual school closures on days coinciding with significant religious observances including Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
The full list of religious observances includes Christmas, Diwali, Eid al-Adha, Eid al-Fitr, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
This approval follows years of debate and lobbying from an interfaith coalition including the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington.
“We have long advocated for minority faith holidays to be built into school calendars, including in [Fairfax County Public Schools],” JCRC wrote in a post on the social media platform X. “This policy preserves the changes instituted several years ago, giving students and staff long-term assurance that schools will be closed on these important holidays.”
Earlier this year, Fairfax County Public Schools issued a draft policy that would have put these school closures at risk.
JCRC commended board chair Sandy Anderson and the FCPS board for their approval of the recent policy.
“Since being introduced several years ago, these closures have helped students and employees of minority faiths feel better seen and understood, which in turn provides more inclusive and culturally sensitive school communities,” a June 22 JCRC statement read.
“We are pleased that the board subsequently chose to adopt a final policy, consistent with One Fairfax, that preserves these important accommodations and provides long-term certainty for families, teachers, and staff.”
Parents recently urged FCPS to revise the school calendar to increase instructional time for students. Many parents have written to the school district with concerns about the number of early release days and holidays that disrupt the typical five-day school week. FCPS has the largest number of cultural and religious holidays and the lowest percentage of full five-day weeks — just over half of the school weeks in the 2025-26 academic year — compared to other large school districts, according to WTOP News.
In mid-June, the district asked parents which days off should be eliminated, a decision that could include Christmas or Rosh Hashanah.
One of the questions in the emailed survey asked, “If the school calendar required modifying one of the following, which would be the most acceptable to you?”
The options were:
- Winter break shorter than a full two weeks
- Eliminating holidays recognizing religious and cultural observances (such as Christmas, Diwali, Eid al-Fitr, Rosh Hashanah and other holidays)
- No day off before Thanksgiving
- Spring break shorter than a full week
- Fewer federal holidays observed as days off from school
- I find all of these equally unacceptable
In March 2021, the Fairfax County school board voted not to add days off to its 2021-22 school calendar that would have accommodated four holidays belonging to minority religions: the first day of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Eid al-Fitr and Diwali, according to Washington Jewish Week.
Instead, the board voted to approve a calendar marking 15 religious and cultural observances, including Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Classes will be held on these days, but tests, quizzes, field trips, graduation, homecoming or athletic events will not be scheduled.
The following year, the school board voted 10-0 to adopt a 2022-23 calendar that designated Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Orthodox Good Friday and Diwali as student holidays.
zbell@midatlanticmedia.com
