Hilliard becomes first Ohio school district to recognize Muslim holiday of Eid

A petition drive by a group of Muslim students in Hilliard resulted in the first school district in Ohio to recognize the Muslim holiday of Eid.

As a result, the district will change the school calendar to reflect a district holiday.

The Hilliard School Board voted unanimously 5-0 to approve the holiday on Thursday.

“I thought it would be really hard and take years,” said Randa Hamadmad, one of several students who requested the change.

She said many Muslim students take advanced placement classes and when the holiday falls on a school day, they often skip the holiday so they don’t miss a test or avoid having to catch up on missed school work.

Because Eid follows the lunar calendar, it doesn’t always fall on a school day.

The Hilliard Board of Education says the approval of the holiday won’t impact the 2022-2023 school year but will be taken into consideration in 2026 when the holiday falls on a school day.

The President of the Board of Education, Nadia Long said “Logistically, close to 20% of our students were absent this year on the holiday, which disrupts the learning process for all our students, this is just another reason it makes sense to have the day off.”

The Ohio Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Ohio) praised the school board for its action.