Ramadan began at sunset on March 22, 2023, and is expected to last through April 21, 2023. Many Muslim students and teachers attend or work in schools throughout Pennsylvania and will be observing religious fasting from dawn to sunset. With the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District last year, it is essential that school leaders ensure they do not infringe on the religious expression of students or teachers.
What Is Ramadan?
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar and is a month where Muslims observe religious fasting from dawn to sunset. Muslims who are fasting refrain from eating, drinking, smoking, and intimate contact during the fasting hours. Ramadan is a time when Muslims strive to be more religiously observant by performing prayers, giving charity, and personal reflection. Muslims celebrate the end of the month of Ramadan with a holiday called Eid-al-Fitr.
Constitutional Requirements for Religious Expression in Schools
Students and teachers do not “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” Tinker v. Des Moines Indep. Cmty. Sch. Dist., 393 U.S. 503, 506 (1969). Schools are permitted to impose rules of order and pedagogical restrictions on student activities, but they may not structure such rules to discriminate against religious expression or speech or impose rules that discriminate against a particular religion or belief.
Students may pray when not engaged in school activities or instruction. A student’s religious expression includes reading religious scriptures, praying, or studying religious materials with other students during recess, lunch, or other non-instructional time to the same extent they may engage in nonreligious activities. Students are also permitted to organize prayer groups, religious clubs, and other such activities and must be given the same access to school facilities as is given to other noncurricular groups. Schools have discretion whether to excuse students during instructional time, but any such decisions should not be discriminatory in practice or intent.
Teachers have the right to religious expression, similar to students, but schools must ensure that teachers do not coerce students to pray or practice religious observances. Teachers must be provided an opportunity to perform personal, private prayers outside of instructional time, including breaks, lunch, or during a planning period. However, teachers cannot coerce students to pray with the teachers or other students and the Supreme Court decision in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District did not make it legal for teachers to lead students in prayer—it emphasized that a school could not prohibit a teacher or coach from performing personal, private prayers. Additionally, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 requires employers to reasonably accommodate religious practices of an employee, unless doing so would pose an undue hardship to the employer. Reasonable accommodations are determined through a collaborative process between the school and employee.
Recommended Practices for Ramadan
- Understand that in all religions there is a variation of how people practice and be open-minded that students, teachers, and staff may not observe religious practices daily or they may observe practices that are not as commonly known.
- Permit students to pray in a quiet area during non-instructional time, including the possibility to pray with other students.
- Permit students to spend their lunch period in locations other than the cafeteria or where others are eating.
- Permit teachers to allow students to use their classroom during non-instructional time for religious observances or discussions between students.
- Provide reasonable accommodations to teachers, staff, and other employees who request an accommodation through a collaborative process if it would not provide an undue burden to the school. For example, permitting a teacher to use an empty classroom to perform prayers would likely not constitute an undue burden. However, a request to change a teacher’s schedule may or may not constitute an undue burden on the school depending on the specific facts.
- Prevent teachers from coercing or appearing to influence students to participate, or not participate, in religious observances and practices. It is important that students do not feel pressured by teachers regarding their religious expression and observances.
- Consider alternate activities or make-up times for course work that requires strenuous physical activity, especially regarding physical education.
- Avoid rewarding or incentivizing students with food or meals during Ramadan.
- Prohibit and prevent discrimination by teachers or bullying by other students.
- Encourage teachers and students to learn from one another regarding all religious observances and practices to foster understanding in the school community.
If you have any questions regarding providing religious accommodations to teachers and staff members, or questions regarding best practices to allow students to practice their religious expression, please contact Patricia A. Hennessy, Adam A. Attia, or your Barton Gilman education law attorney.
