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Students and parents press SRVUSD to recognize Eid and Diwali; parents raise concerns about language cuts and library displays
Summary
During public comment, student leaders urged the district to officially recognize Eid as a district holiday and parents requested Diwali recognition. Other speakers urged restoration of Korean-language courses cut for budgetary reasons and criticized library displays and past staff programs; the board took comments but made no immediate changes.
A series of public commenters used the district's non‑agenda public comment slot to press the board on cultural- and curriculum-related issues.
Several student leaders from multiple high schools urged the board to recognize Eid as an official district holiday to prevent Muslim students from choosing between religious observance and school. "Recognizing Eid tells Muslim students that we too belong here," Harris Kushifi, who identified himself as a Muslim Student Association president, told the board. Hamza Rafin and Sim Sei echoed that request, citing academic and social impacts when students miss school for major religious observances.
Vishu Perang, who said he is vice president of the Hindu Student Union at San Ramon Valley High School, urged the board to consider recognizing Diwali following the California state legislature's decision to recognize that festival at the state level. He framed the request as consistent with district commitments to inclusion and equity.
Parents and staff also raised separate concerns. Multiple parents asked the board to restore Korean language offerings at Cal High (requests for Korean 1 and Korean 3 were made) after cuts tied to the district's budget shortfall; speakers described the removal as an obstacle to college readiness and urged district support for language immersion or expanded course offerings.
Other public commenters criticized library displays and programming. Emanuel Afon and several others said they had been denied permission to view certain library displays and described some displays and thematic "Band/Banned Books Week" kiosks as containing sexualized material; they asked for explanation and cited board policy and state law about parental observation. Separately, a public commenter reading a card earlier in the meeting accused previous staff of "queering the classroom" in reference to past presentations about affirming LGBTQ identities; that allegation was presented as a public comment and was not followed by a board action at the meeting.
Board members listened and noted that non‑agenda public comment allows community members to raise concerns but limits the board's ability to respond immediately. No formal policy changes were made at the meeting; trustees said many of the topics raised — holidays, curriculum and library collection decisions — would require staff follow-up and, in some cases, legal or policy review.
