You are here: Fairfax County Public Schools > Calendars > Religious and Cultural Observances

FCPS has a responsibility to make reasonable accommodations so that individuals can pursue their own personal religious obligations. At the same time, the school system must also avoid entanglement with religion in general or the practices of any specific religions. The Guidelines for Religious Activities for Students developed by the Office of Equity and Compliance (OEC) to help teachers and administrators make decisions about individual requests from students and parents.

Introduction

The Calendar of Religious and Cultural Observances is compiled by the Office of Equity and Compliance to help teachers, administrators, and managers in FCPS promote a climate that is sensitive to religious and cultural diversity. Information in the calendar can be used when planning school activities, but it is not intended for direct instructional use with students. Materials for teaching about religion as it relates to the FCPS Program of Studies (POS) should be obtained from the Instructional Services Department. Teachers should use the opportunities for classroom discussions noted in the calendar only in ways relevant to the POS.

FCPS has a responsibility to make reasonable accommodations so that individuals can pursue their own personal religious obligations. At the same time, the school system must also avoid entanglement with religion in general or the practices of any specific religions.  Persons consulting the calendar need to keep the following points in mind:

• Jewish and Baha'i religious observances begin at sunset of the day preceding the date given on the calendar. An asterisk indicates these situations.
• Dates for some Muslim holy days can only be given as estimates because the actual times depend upon sightings of certain phases of the moon by religious authorities. Dates listed in this calendar have been provided by the Muslim Education Council.
• Some days of religious significance in Buddhism may be celebrated on different dates in different countries. Because of this, dates chosen by individual students or employees for such observances may be influenced by their national origin and thus may vary from person to person.
• The designations "B.C.E." (before the common era) and "C.E." (common era) are used in some of the annotations because "B.C." (before Christ) and "A.D." (Anno Domini: in the year of our Lord) may not be appropriate in certain contexts.
• Orthodox Christian churches (Russian, Greek, Coptic, and others) observe some holy days on dates that are different from those marked by the Roman Catholic Church or most Protestant denominations.
• When days of celebration are calculated on a lunar calendar, the dates change from year to year on the standard western Gregorian calendar. Events marked [+] occur on the same date every year.

For additional information contact:

Office of Equity and Compliance
8115 Gatehouse Road, Suite 2100
Falls Church, VA 22042
Email: HROfficeofEquity&Compliance@fcps.edu
Phone: 571-423-3050
FAX: 571-423-3057
Dial 711 for access to Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS)

Last update: August 27, 2007
Curator:
HRQuestions@fcps.edu