Thank you to everyone for sharing your concerns about the new CMS Excused Absence Form for Religious Holidays. I especially appreciate those who brought their feedback with a kind tone! There is tremendous misinformation surrounding the new policy so I am writing this to clarify some points.
The CMS Excused Absence Form for Religious Obligations was created by CMS and brought to the Interfaith Advisory Council made up of representatives from the Islamic, Bahai, Buddhist, Sikh, Christian, and other faith communities for review. This form was not created specifically nor exclusively for the Jewish community, rather it was created for the entire CMS community including many other faiths observing holidays throughout the school year. In creating the form, CMS was responding to the large volume of concerns expressed over the years by members of religious minorities due to schools’ lack of awareness and preparation for religious holidays.
Here’s some background and context on the new form that might be helpful:
• The Religious Observance form was created and intended solely for planning purposes, and was the result of an extensive best practices due diligence process.
• The form is optional. Alternative forms of notification of religious absence are still acceptable, including emails and notes to school teachers, attendance offices, and principals. The benefit of using the form, however, allows for ample notice to the teachers and school for advance preparation.
• The form is new to CMS this year and as such it is reasonable to expect a learning curve with the process. Some schools may not be well versed on the form or its intent. If this is the case with your school, feel free to encourage them to contact the CMS Diversity Office for further information.
• Some concern has been expressed about the forms being used to “register” students. This is not the case! As noted previously, the form is intended for planning purposes only, in an effort to better serve the needs of CMS students. In a school system with more than 140,000 students, standardized forms will help to facilitate better communication to the teachers in a timely fashion. It is chaotic to have parents calling, emailing, sending notes, forgetting to send notes, etc. A standardized form clarifies for our teachers and principals that the absence is clearly sanctioned by CMS and allows them the opportunity to avoid tests, classroom or school programs, and other areas of conflict experienced in years past.
• Due to concerns expressed by some in our community, the form has been modified to note that stating one’s religion is now optional.
• Additional modifications to the form include decentralizing the collection of the information on the forms. Rather than returning completed forms to the CMS Diversity Department, they will be returned directly to the student’s school, and each school will report on a quarterly basis the aggregate number of requested holiday absences to the Diversity Office (no individual information will be shared).
• The demographic data based on the numbers of students requesting an excused absence for religious purposes will help with future calendar planning.
CMS is our partner and is working with us every step of the way to respond to concerns of the Jewish community. CMS constantly strives to find ways to support and accommodate the wide variety of needs of their diverse student body and their families, and we applaud them for this. We ask that if you have continued concerns to bring them to the attention of CMS, in the spirit of good faith and partnership.
If you have further concerns, I encourage you to contact Tal Stein or Sue Worrel at the Federation’s JCRC, at 704.944.6757.
May the New Year of 5775 fill your life with health and joy.
L’shalom,
Judy
