• By Inayah Naqvi, High School Senior • IDRA Newsletter • September 2024 • 
Growing up in a Muslim household meant that when Eid rolled around, there was joy and excitement. Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha are the most important Muslim holidays. These significant holidays commemorate different things. Eid al-Fiti marks the end of the 30-day fasting period during the holy month of Ramadan. Eid al-Adha commemorates the Prophet Abraham’s devotion to God.
Every Muslim deserves the chance to take the day off and celebrate with their families. The push for public schools to make Eid a school holiday has been an ongoing movement nationally. Areas such as New York City, New Jersey, and even Houston have implemented policies making Eid a school holiday. This clearly shows that more progress is being made in terms of giving Muslim communities visibility by granting the holy day off.
What is different about Eid compared to many other holidays is that it falls on a different date each year since it follows the Lunar calendar. While having school off during Eid would be nice, this may create an extra hurdle for school districts to maneuver. I believe the bare minimum school districts can do is to be more intentional and considerate by ensuring STAAR test dates do not fall on any religious holidays. Yet, when the Texas Education Agency (TEA) plans out testing dates, it seems non-Christian religious holidays are not considered in this process.
Muslim students in Texas public schools are sometimes burdened with the task of STAAR testing during this time. Because of this, many Muslims end up going to school to take these exams rather than being home and celebrating the holy day with their families.
No one would even think to schedule an exam on Christmas or Christmas Eve. So why not have this mindset when considering other holidays?
Last year, Eid al-Fitr fell on April 10. On this same day, the STAAR test for seventh grade English language arts was administered. I know several people in my community who have felt pressured to stay at school during Eid because of these exams.
Additionally, it is not only the TEA that needs to be held accountable when scheduling standardized tests. The College Board must be held to the same standards. The College Board designs and schedules tests like the SAT and AP exams. Despite it being a national organization, it has still scheduled AP exams during Eid al-Fitr.
In 2022, Eid al-Fitr took place on May 2. There were four AP exams scheduled that day. Recently, the College Board started to consider options for Muslim students. But in 2024 still set a test date on Eid. Moving forward, when any religious holidays fall during the standardized testing period, they must be taken into greater account.
Eid is not the only holiday that matters when it comes to standardized testing schedules. For the committees who oversee the testing decisions, it is key that they take all religious and cultural holidays into consideration when making them. Most students do not want to attend school and take an exam during their respective holidays. No one would even think to schedule an exam on Christmas or Christmas Eve. So why not have this mindset when considering other religious holidays?
Resources
Harb, A. (April 20, 2023). ‘Progress’: How Eid is becoming a US school holiday. Aljazeera.
Inayah Naqvi is a high school senior in San Antonio and a member of IDRA’s Youth Advisory Board.
[© 2024, IDRA. This article originally appeared in the September edition of the IDRA Newsletter. Permission to reproduce this article is granted provided the article is reprinted in its entirety and proper credit is given to IDRA and the author.]
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