06/08/06
by Jennifer Surface
Howard County Times
The Maryland chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union last week sent a letter to Howard County school officials urging the school system to allow Muslim students to leave school to pray each Friday.
The Board of Education is reviewing its policy on religious observances and is considering allowing students of any faith to miss up to 30 minutes of class once a week to pray within the school.
Members of Howard's Muslim community told the board last month that requiring students to remain on school grounds for prayer poses a hardship to Muslims, who are required to attend congregational prayers each Friday afternoon.
School officials who reviewed the policy and recommended allowing students to pray in school for 30 minutes, said that permitting students to leave school grounds would result in longer absences that would detract from students' class work and put an extra burden on teachers who would have to help the students make up missed work.
Schools have no clear policy
The system's current policy is less specific, and several high schools allow Muslim students to leave early to pray at a mosque each week, while others do not allow the early dismissals.
"When we looked at the policy, it appeared to be government telling people how to pray and that's a Constitutional problem," said Richard Griffiths, a staff attorney with the ACLU's Maryland chapter.
The ACLU is a national organization that advocates for individuals and groups it believes have been denied Constitutional rights, through lobbying and legal action.
In its letter to the Howard board, ACLU officials cite a number of court cases that support religious-based exemptions and the freedom of worship.
"Although the concerns underlying Howard County's proposed policy change are valid, the law is clear that religious absence from campus must be accommodated under these circumstances," the letter states. "... Neither the students' education nor the educational mission of Howard County schools seems to be jeopardized by the simple accommodation already in use. Set against this minimal burden to school officials is the fundamental right to worship that the Supreme Court recognizes. ..."
Because the school board has yet to vote on the policy, Griffiths said it is too early to say what further action the ACLU might take on the matter.
"I can't imagine that they'd ignore our letter," he said.
School board chairman Joshua Kaufman said the board will consider the ACLU's letter as they review the religion policy.
"The bottom line is that the policy is still under review," Kaufman said. "I appreciate a letter from them and we'll take it into consideration."
The board is slated to hold a second work session on the policy at its June 20 meeting.
E-mail Jennifer Surface at Jennifer Surface@patuxent.com