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Hamilton’s public school board will be seeking community consultations to test the waters on aligning professional activity (PA) days to more closely line-up with non-Christian religious holidays.
Trustees voted 8 to 3 this week to consult stakeholders about potentially using PA days or dropping Easter Monday to add holidays from other faiths to the school calendar.
The move is similar to approaches taken by other regional school boards, including the Waterloo Region District School Board, that have shifted professional development (PD) days to more closely align with holidays like Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, and the Muslim holy day of Eid.
Waterloo Region District School Board students will have the days off from school while teachers take part in professional development training.
Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board trustee Todd White moved the motion, acknowledging that any possible changes wouldn’t happen without approval from the Ministry of Education.
“There’s something in this conversation that I think will be fruitful,” he said.
“Nonetheless, even if it’s how do we enhance our religious accommodations? There’s something to learn in having this discussion.”
A staff report did suggest some caution warning such changes could lead to a divisive debate about which holidays should be prioritized.
Trustee Becky Buck agreed with staff, and said any changes should be made at the provincial level.
“This is such a worthy conversation, but we need to be taking it to the ministry who can actually help to support us and support other boards can support other students who are underserved by the current structure of the school year calendar,” Buck said.
The timeline for potential implementation would not be until the 2025-26 school year as the consultation process is expected to happen through what’s left of 2023 and through most of 2024.
Final approval from the board is not likely until early 2025 with the adjustments needing approval from the ministry.
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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