Recently the Madison Board of Education voted to disallow
extracurricular activities on religious holidays when students aren't in
school (Revised Policy 2432). For years there has never been an issue
with students missing practices for religious observance. Head coaches
of the various sports have never punished students for missing practice
for religious reasons. This was in line with Policy 2432. The BOE
decided to revise the policy and create a blanket policy of no
extracurricular practice on days when school is not in session for
religious holidays. We feel this is bad policy. For example, for a sport
such as football, banning practice on religious holidays (two of which
fall on weekdays in September) would force coaches to hold practice on
Sunday to compensate for the lost day of preparation. This would hurt
the recovery time for players who may have played a game on Saturday. In
addition, the lack of a preparation day would put their team at a
distinct disadvantage vs their upcoming opponent. There are many reasons
why this policy is ill conceived and unnecessary. By signing this
petition, you can voice your dissatisfaction with the newly revised BOE
policy and strongly encourage the BOE to reverse it. We hope you will
sign this petition and make your voice heard! Alternatively you can show
up at the BOE and support on May 8th at the MHS library at 7:30 PM. If
you have questions please contact Booster Club Presidents. Thank you
for signing this petition!!
Sincerely,
Chris "Dutch" Holland
Updates
Reached 250 supporters
December 5, 2023
July 1, 2023
The momentum behind this petition highlights the widespread confusion regarding the recent changes to policy. It is clear that the community expects a more balanced approach to extracurricular scheduling. I am currently preparing to present this feedback to the Board of Education.
August 9, 2022
The feedback from coaches and student athletes regarding the impact of these scheduling restrictions has been enlightening. I am currently organizing these testimonies to present to the Board of Education at our next formal assembly.
Reached 100 supporters
May 3, 2018
22 Comments
This policy is ill conceived and clearly not based on how Madison coaches, athletes and parents have managed this situation in the past. This policy is insulting in that it assumes neither the coaches, players nor parents have the knowledge, respect or judgement to handle this situation properly without the BOE's "all-knowing" supervision.
Agree. This was pushed through by one BOE member without enough time for public comment. Let the coaches schedule practices and parents can make decisions for their kids without penalty for religious observances. This has worked fine for years.
Practice is needed for the football team since a short week will not give enough time to prepare.
We made up a snow day on a religious holiday this year and practices occurred and nobody complained. The old policy worked.
It is up to the individual athlete to be excused for their religious observation, not the entire team. "separation of church and state" principle.
I support this petition to reinstate the old wording of the policy to allow there to be flexibility.
Why change a policy that has worked successfully in the past?
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Recently the Madison Board of Education voted to disallow
extracurricular activities on religious holidays when students aren't in
school (Revised Policy 2432). For years there has never been an issue
with students missing practices for religious observance. Head coaches
of the various sports have never punished students for missing practice
for religious reasons. This was in line with Policy 2432. The BOE
decided to revise the policy and create a blanket policy of no
extracurricular practice on days when school is not in session for
religious holidays. We feel this is bad policy. For example, for a sport
such as football, banning practice on religious holidays (two of which
fall on weekdays in September) would force coaches to hold practice on
Sunday to compensate for the lost day of preparation. This would hurt
the recovery time for players who may have played a game on Saturday. In
addition, the lack of a preparation day would put their team at a
distinct disadvantage vs their upcoming opponent. There are many reasons
why this policy is ill conceived and unnecessary. By signing this
petition, you can voice your dissatisfaction with the newly revised BOE
policy and strongly encourage the BOE to reverse it. We hope you will
sign this petition and make your voice heard! Alternatively you can show
up at the BOE and support on May 8th at the MHS library at 7:30 PM. If
you have questions please contact Booster Club Presidents. Thank you
for signing this petition!!
Sincerely,
Chris "Dutch" Holland
Updates
Reached 250 supporters
December 5, 2023
July 1, 2023
The momentum behind this petition highlights the widespread confusion regarding the recent changes to policy. It is clear that the community expects a more balanced approach to extracurricular scheduling. I am currently preparing to present this feedback to the Board of Education.
August 9, 2022
The feedback from coaches and student athletes regarding the impact of these scheduling restrictions has been enlightening. I am currently organizing these testimonies to present to the Board of Education at our next formal assembly.
Reached 100 supporters
May 3, 2018
22 Comments
Why is a good policy being changed into a bad policy? There is no reason for this change and I wonder if the "Changor " would like to explain the reasoning behind it. Don't fix it if it's not broken.Keep the old policy in force!!
This policy is ill conceived and clearly not based on how Madison coaches, athletes and parents have managed this situation in the past. This policy is insulting in that it assumes neither the coaches, players nor parents have the knowledge, respect or judgement to handle this situation properly without the BOE's "all-knowing" supervision.
Agree. This was pushed through by one BOE member without enough time for public comment. Let the coaches schedule practices and parents can make decisions for their kids without penalty for religious observances. This has worked fine for years.
Practice is needed for the football team since a short week will not give enough time to prepare.
We made up a snow day on a religious holiday this year and practices occurred and nobody complained. The old policy worked.
It is up to the individual athlete to be excused for their religious observation, not the entire team. "separation of church and state" principle.
I support this petition to reinstate the old wording of the policy to allow there to be flexibility.
Why change a policy that has worked successfully in the past?
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Why is a good policy being changed into a bad policy? There is no reason for this change and I wonder if the "Changor " would like to explain the reasoning behind it. Don't fix it if it's not broken.Keep the old policy in force!!