# Did/does your local public school system close for Jewish holidays? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 3, 2018, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-does-your-local-public-school-system-close-for-jewish-holidays/825507 "2018-12-03T17:39:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-does-your-local-public-school-system-close-for-jewish-holidays/825507/41 "2018-12-04T17:18:39Z")
When I was a kid, no. Now? Yes, some of the holidays. The public schools in my town are closed for Yom Kippur and the first day of Rosh Hashanah. Not for any part of Sukkot or Hannukah, though. The last university I worked at also had Yom Kippur and the first day of Rosh Hashanah as paid holidays, but not any part of Sukkot or Hannukah. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-does-your-local-public-school-system-close-for-jewish-holidays/825507/42 "2018-12-04T17:36:23Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > They speak to the parents and accept what they say. If you say you’re Jewish, you’re Jewish. The mom is a pagan, dad was raised Methodist but hasn’t been to church in decades. Little Christian says he is Jewish. ETA: additionally, now the kid is angry that you spoke with his folks about his deeply held beliefs. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-does-your-local-public-school-system-close-for-jewish-holidays/825507/43 "2018-12-04T17:51:15Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > The mom is a pagan, dad was raised Methodist but hasn’t been to church in decades. Little Christian says he is Jewish. > > ETA: additionally, now the kid is angry that you spoke with his folks about his deeply held beliefs. To be blunt, who cares? Kids have limited rights in these situations. As long the student’s parent/guardians say they’re a Jew, then the school system should be satisfied. The parents’ religions are not particularly relevant although some school systems may have other policies. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-does-your-local-public-school-system-close-for-jewish-holidays/825507/44 "2018-12-04T18:24:56Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > To be blunt, who cares? Kids have limited rights in these situations. As long the student’s parent/guardians say they’re a Jew, then the school system should be satisfied. The parents’ religions are not particularly relevant although some school systems may have other policies. OK, I just wondered why the school would even bother. Kid says (s)he is a Jew, why not just accept it? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-does-your-local-public-school-system-close-for-jewish-holidays/825507/45 "2018-12-04T18:50:08Z")
When I was a kid, the school was open on the Jewish holidays. It was never a problem for students, it’s not like it’s a huge deal to make up a day. They are now closed for Yom Kippur and the first day of Rosh Hashanah. That wasn’t because it was a problem for the Jewish students, it was because the school was having trouble hiring enough substitute teachers those days. In the spirit of fairness, they started to close on Good Friday the same year they closed for the Jewish holidays. There were a lot of Catholic kids, and that made sense for the kids. (It was a Catholic school committee member who held out for “separation of church and state”, though, which is why the school was open on the holidays.) > [@snowthx](#): > > Nope. Not when I was growing up and not now where I raised my kids. There is a decent-sized Jewish community in my area, but the public schools do not give the days off. > > A tangent: do any companies give Jewish holidays as paid company holidays? (outside Israel) > > Or universities that give the days off? (outside Israel) That’s what “personal holidays” are for. Every employer I’ve ever had gave me a handful of “personal holidays” and it was understood that I could use them to take off on Jewish holidays even if work was busy then or something. > [@kayaker](#): > > Schools that allowed Jewish kids to take off for Jewish holidays; how does the school know your religion? In my case, when I was little, I suppose my parents must have told the teacher I’d be out. By the time I was in junior high, the teachers would ask who would be out for the Jewish holidays, and I raised my hand. I don’t believe anyone checked up with my parents. I don’t believe anyone ever lied about it, either. ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-does-your-local-public-school-system-close-for-jewish-holidays/825507/46 "2018-12-04T19:13:06Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > OK, I just wondered why the school would even bother. Kid says (s)he is a Jew, why not just accept it? Maybe because some kids would change their religion to coincide with any given holiday? 🙂 I have no recollection of Jewish Holidays in the school district where I grew up. My current school district does not close for them. This year they had a “staff development day” on Rosh Hashanah - the teachers worked but the kids stayed home. I’m calling that a fluke because last year those two days were a week apart. The map provided by DCnDC shows that my _County_ does, but that’s not a county government kind of decision. There are 20-or-so school districts in my county(plus mine and a few others overlap county lines). I guess that means at least one of them takes off for Jewish holidays. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2018, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-does-your-local-public-school-system-close-for-jewish-holidays/825507/47 "2018-12-05T03:57:05Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Schools that allowed Jewish kids to take off for Jewish holidays; how does the school know your religion? > [@Telemark](#): > > They speak to the parents and accept what they say. If you say you’re Jewish, you’re Jewish. That and some times the schools didn’t exactly follow the letter of the law in my youth. One teacher still displayed the Ten Commandments in his classroom as late as 1976. Possibly even later. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2018, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-does-your-local-public-school-system-close-for-jewish-holidays/825507/48 "2018-12-05T23:39:45Z")
They’re considered completely excused absences here, as in they aren’t marked absent as long as the parent provides a note. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-does-your-local-public-school-system-close-for-jewish-holidays/825507/49 "2018-12-06T00:02:39Z")
Mine “sort of” did for Passover - what other reason would there be to give a full week off at Easter? - but nothing for any of the others. Okay, there is one reason to give a week off around Easter - it gives high school baseball and softball teams the opportunity to play in week-long tournaments… ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-does-your-local-public-school-system-close-for-jewish-holidays/825507/50 "2018-12-06T00:11:45Z")
No option for “Sort of” We get one day of Rosh Hashana off and Yom Kippur. Passover sometimes falls during Spring Break but not always. Seems to be luck not a plan. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-does-your-local-public-school-system-close-for-jewish-holidays/825507/51 "2018-12-06T01:31:40Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > Mine “sort of” did for Passover - what other reason would there be to give a full week off at Easter? - but nothing for any of the others. Maybe just to have a week off in the spring- my kids had over a week for Easter vacation in Catholic schools. Even the pre-K to 8 school that didn’t have teams. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-does-your-local-public-school-system-close-for-jewish-holidays/825507/52 "2018-12-07T15:43:18Z")
Urban public school in the 70’s/80’s. Jewish kids (and Muslim kids and Hindu kids and so on) could take off holidays specific to their culture/religion without dings to their attendance. But otherwise the doors were open. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-does-your-local-public-school-system-close-for-jewish-holidays/825507/53 "2018-12-07T20:55:59Z")
I don’t think I even knew what Jewish was until I was at least middle school. Our rural area was about 40% black, 50% white, and the rest Italian, Russian, Indian, and later some Latinos. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-does-your-local-public-school-system-close-for-jewish-holidays/825507/54 "2018-12-08T01:36:51Z")
I guess I answered wrong since they didn’t when I was in school 60-70 years ago, but I see from the map someone linked to that they do now (in Philly). We would get a card listing the holidays (the fall holidays plus the first two and last two days of Passover) and a parent would sign for which ones we could take off and they became excused absences. My parents approved everything although we made no religious observance (although we sort of fasted on Yom Kippur and went to a seder at an aunt’s every year). ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-does-your-local-public-school-system-close-for-jewish-holidays/825507/55 "2018-12-08T02:19:14Z")
The school my kids went to had more Muslim students than Jewish ones. And probably more Buddhist and Hindu students So no. (Minnesota, Land of Lakes, Lutherans and Lutefisk) The daughterish is now at school on the East Coast - where the kosher kitchen closes for Shabbat and any Jewish holidays that necessitate the closing of the kitchen…“Mom, I didn’t know there were so many Jewish holidays!” ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-does-your-local-public-school-system-close-for-jewish-holidays/825507/56 "2018-12-08T13:36:36Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > Mine “sort of” did for Passover - what other reason would there be to give a full week off at Easter? - but nothing for any of the others. > > Okay, there is one reason to give a week off around Easter - it gives high school baseball and softball teams the opportunity to play in week-long tournaments… My kid’s school had a week off in the spring. It sometimes coincided with Easter and/or Passover but not usually. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-does-your-local-public-school-system-close-for-jewish-holidays/825507/57 "2018-12-08T20:55:04Z")
There’s no particular reason to have time off for Passover. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-does-your-local-public-school-system-close-for-jewish-holidays/825507/58 "2018-12-08T22:21:36Z")
They didn’t when I was in school, but according to the map, they do now. Then again, I graduated in 1972, and I know the demographics of my old neighborhood have changed a lot since then. The county where I live now doesn’t and I honestly couldn’t tell you where the nearest synagogue is. Closer to DC, for certain. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-does-your-local-public-school-system-close-for-jewish-holidays/825507.md?page=2)