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