Accommodations Should Be Allowed In Schools

The United States was founded on the principle of religious freedom and, it is important to try to firmly stand behind that belief in every case, one cannot do that with the well-being of any given student in mind. This applies to two topics in particular: the teaching of the theory of evolution and sex education. In every other aspect or field, I wholeheartedly believe that accommodations should be made for religion-related absences and all religious expression should be permitted. Every student should be allowed to practice their religion with no inhibitions from the school system. However, they should not be allowed to miss class intentionally to perhaps prevent discomfort or exposure to a specific topic that the student or …show more content…
One way to do this would be to offer alternate exam days, in case a student misses a test for a religious reason. If the school provides one section of time after school for one day each week, the cost of having a teacher proctor the exam would be no more than if that teacher were to advise an after-school club. In addition, putting all of the class materials online for students to access would make it easier to make up and learn the material on the student’s own time at no expense to the school. To supplement that, if a student has trouble understanding some missed material, bi-monthly catch up days should be scheduled on Saturdays. Based on average teachers’ salaries, this would only cause an increase of 2.7% in the school’s expenses. While this number is by no means insignificant, it is certainly more important that a school provide for students who wish to celebrate religious holidays than perhaps a school event that could be cut to cover the extra costs. Even with this idea in mind, there are no good solutions for the issue of catching students up from missed days that do not call for an increase in a school’s budget. That is why schools must realize the importance of putting some sort of catch up program in place and allocate money towards it. This issue …show more content…
Why then, would the school system force students to either practice their religion freely or get the same education as those who are not religious? By that logic, schools would be favoring atheist and Christian students, as atheists would not have to miss school for any holidays and Christians have a lot of their major holidays off from school already and would not be missing any work. This directly goes against the fact that schools cannot inculcate or inhibit any religion. Therefore, the only way to keep students of varying religion on the same academic playing field is to provide accommodations for those students whose holidays directly conflict with classes. That being said, students should be made to attend all classes (if they are in school) and should not be permitted to skip a subject because it makes them uncomfortable. Students’ health and the health of those around them depend on students getting a proper sex education. When it comes to the theory of evolution, not learning that subject could hurt a student’s chances at having a profession in a scientific field. Religious freedom was the reason that this country was created and that principle must be carried throughout all aspects of society, especially in the public school