Students tell Simsbury board to add Eid to school calendar

Multiple students addressed the Simsbury Board of Education during public comment, urging the district to add Eid to the official school calendar to avoid forcing Muslim students to choose between worship and classes.

An unidentified public commenter opened the discussion by describing Eid as "a day of joy, family, and gratitude" and said not recognizing it on the calendar means Muslim students can be "marked absent for celebrating your faith."

"No student should ever have to choose between their education and their religion," said Youssef Hamida, a sophomore at Simsbury High School, who told the board the Eid prayer is an essential act of worship and not attending can force students to miss required services and fall behind academically. Hamida noted neighboring districts, including South Windsor, Manchester and Bridgeport, already officially acknowledge the holiday.

A junior from Saint Mary High School and a Century High School junior (identified in the transcript as Lucas Kosinski/Cosvency) made similar appeals, describing the day as an "inequity" when it is not recognized and pointing to cases where students missed finals or were unaware of religious-exemption procedures.

Board members responded by thanking the students for speaking and said the district's Equity Council and staff have begun conversations about how the calendar treats religious observances. No formal board action to change the calendar was taken at the meeting.

Next steps noted by staff included following up conversations with the Equity Council and continuing community outreach on calendar considerations.