California lawmakers are advancing a new bill that would establish two Muslim holy days as state holidays while authorizing the state to develop a new model curriculum for students to “acknowledge and celebrate” these religious observances in the classroom.
The bill, AB 2017, passed the State Assembly with a 64-1 vote and advanced to the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday. Authored by Assemblyman Matt Haney, D-San Francisco, the bill establishes Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha â two major holidays celebrated by Muslims around the world â as official state holidays and allows local public school boards and community colleges the option to shut down their campuses for both holidays.Â
Both holidays are traditionally celebrated over three to four days, but the legislation designates a single day of observance for each on the state calendar.
Haney said the legislation is aimed at protecting religious diversity and recognizing the traditions of the state’s 500,000 Muslim residents.
“California is home to one of the largest and most vibrant Muslim communities in the country, and their traditions deserve recognition and respect,” Haney said in a press release.Â
“No student should have to choose between celebrating one of the holiest days of their faith and showing up to school, and no worker should feel they have to sacrifice their religious observance,” he continued. “AB 2017 is about making sure Muslim Californians are seen, valued, and treated with the same dignity as every other community in our state.”
But an under-the-radar provision in the bill’s text would bring the celebration of these religious holidays into the classroom and has drawn criticism from a prominent conservative advocacy group.
According to the text of AB 2017, public schools opting to observe the days can include exercises “acknowledging and celebrating the meaning and importance” of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.
The bill authorizes the State Board of Education to create a model curriculum guide for these exercises, which would be funded through existing resources.
“This is not about teaching, this is encouraging the celebration of a religious holiday,” Greg Burt, vice president of the California Family Council, told Fox News Digital. “What happened to neutrality? It doesn’t make any sense.”
Burt argued the bill flies in the face of long-standing state neutrality guidelines, which permit teaching about the historical impact of religion but strictly forbid public schools from acting as a sponsor for religious celebrations.
He pointed to traditional school district policies, like those from the Fresno County Board of Education, which explicitly state: “While teaching about religious holidays is a permissible part of the educational program, celebrating religious holidays is not allowed in the public schools. School-sponsored programs shall not be, nor have the effect of being, religiously oriented or a religious celebration.”
Burt noted that many school districts have scrubbed Christian holidays and traditions from the calendar, adopting “Spring” and “Winter” break language in order to avoid the appearance of promoting Easter or Christmas.
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