Human Resources Department,

Thank you for reaching out to me regarding the incident from earlier this year. Based on
the information you provided, it is my understanding that there is a staff member within the
district who is unable to work on certain days because they are designated as holy days in their
religion. I would like to direct our attention to a Supreme Court case from 1986 that can help
guide us in responding to this staff member.

I would like to direct your attention to the case Ansonia Board of Education v. Philbrook
(1986). The precedent set in this case is that a school district is not discriminating against staff
members by requiring them to use designated leave for religious reasons. In the case, the
teacher needed to miss approximately six days of school a year for religious reasons, and was
provided leave options to use for those days. The Supreme Court decided that this was not a
case of religious discrimination because the teacher was not placed on a disciplinary action, and
their employment was not in jeopardy due to using those days of leave to observe their religious
mandates.

It is my recommendation that within our contract, it is designated which days of our

leave, and how many can be used for religious observances. There might need to be a
paragraph or so that can be added outlining what happens if a staff member needs more than
the days allotted to observe their chosen religion, if it does not align with days we are already
observing a religious holiday as a district. The precedent says that this is not discrimination, as
long as the district is not taking disciplinary actions against the staff member for using their
leave days, or following one of the other opportunities in order for them to observe their holy
days. It might be a good idea as well to add into the contract what teachers are supposed to do
if they have a religious belief that interferes with them working in any way so that matters like
this can be resolved ahead of time, and with clear process.

I hope this helps add clarity,

Gabriela Botzman