Maryland School District Removes Christmas From Its Calendar

A school district in Maryland has gone the extra mile to keep its public schools politically correct. After a Muslim group requested that next year's school calendar include Eid al-Adha, the Montgomery County Board of Education voted to remove all religious holidays from the schedule. Students and staff will still receive the days off that coincide with the holidays, such as Christmas and Yom Kippur, the calendar just will no longer acknowledge the religious reasoning behind it.

But the district's efforts to please everyone appear to have backfired. Many are unhappy with the decision, especially Muslim parents who are insulted that the board of education would rather remove the more common holidays than add theirs to the calendar. Montgomery County school board member Rebecca Smondrowski tried to defend the decision, saying it was the "most equitable thing to do." She adds that the new schedule reflects that schools are closed because of high absenteeism and not, as many assume, the religious holiday.