ABC News reports that Mariya Shaikh, a mother who has kids in the Wake County school system, is working hard to have Eid-ul-Fitr recognized as a holiday in her county. She wants Muslim kids to be able to spend time on this religious holiday at home with their families and not in school.
“Sometimes it takes them a couple of days to make up for what they miss on that one particular day so they would rather go,” she said. ” Even though it’s an excused absence if it’s a religious observance, they still miss instructional time.”
She started her project in October and has since collected close to 5000 signatures supporting her cause.
The Wake County School District has not yet made a decision on the matter but said that it will try to accommodate. If the holiday is approved, it would not take effect until the 2020-2021 school year.
See the video below for the full report.