When you read in a bill synopsis that the Delaware Code does not contain a provision relating to excused absences for a student’s observance of a religious holiday, you begin to realize just how ass backwards our state can be. How can something so simple and so basic be left out of our laws? You realize that the Delaware Way of preserving the status quo and maintaining the bipartisan tradition of doing nothing and congratulating themselves for it is monstrous.
But I digress.
House Bill 163 requires schools to excuse a pupil’s absence for observance of a religious holiday, and further requires districts and charters to have a policy discouraging teachers from scheduling tests, presentations and the like on days where some students may be absent for a religious holiday.
The bill further states that if a student who does miss a grading event must be allowed to make-up the test or otherwise recover credit. The Department of Education is directed to promulgate rules and regulations relating to implementation of this Act, including a list of holidays on which an absence for religious observance must be excused. I would make sure that all religious holidays of all religions are covered, and not just the Christian ones.
| House Bill 163 Sponsors | Yes Votes | No Votes |
| Wilson-Anton, Baumbach, Kowalko, Morrison | ||
| Sturgeon, S.McBride, Sokola, Townsend | ||
| Current Status — House Education 4/28/21 |
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