Several Muslims in Howard County have told the School Board they want to leave school for prayer, but a proposed policy would permit prayer at schools.
“If they leave class at 1:45 p.m. on Friday, by the time they would return at 2:15 p.m., the class would be over,” Irfan Malik, president of the Howard County Muslim Council, said Tuesday in an interview with The Examiner.
The School Board is working on revisions to its religious observance policy next month, after a lengthy work session held Thursday left several unanswered questions.
“We?re working on everything,” said Board Chairman Joshua Kaufman on Tuesday when asked what issues need to be ironed out in the document.
The proposed policy would allow students to be excused for 30 minutes per week to participate in a religious observance within the school building.
But Malik said it makes more sense to have students leave the school for a mosque.
About 70 Muslims attended the public hearing, and many of them said they wanted to leave school for Friday prayer, which is held on the Muslim Sabbath.
Other changes would clarify when and how much time students and staff may have to participate in religious observances and outline ways to implement the policy, said Susan Mascaro, director of staff relations for the school system and a member of the committee revising the policy.
Mascaro said committee members are determining the exact number of students who leave school for religious observances.
She previously reported that five Muslim students leave school for Friday prayer, and some county high schools offer time for prayer in school.
But after a public hearing on the policy last week, Mascaro said she realized other students are participating in the religious observance, but they are not leaving school on a regular basis.
The revised policy will apply to all faiths, she said.
What?s next
» The Howard County School Board will hold a work session on the religious observance policy during its regular board meeting at 4 p.m. June 8 at the Department of Education, 10910 Route 108, Ellicott City.
