Jewish Holidays

Send a Letter to Your Teacher About Tests on Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Other Important Dates

RESECHEDULING AN EXISTING TEST ON YOM KIPPUR

Copy and paste the below letter into your email and then customize it to ask your teacher to reschedule a test that is set for Yom Kippur this Thursday, October 2nd:

Subject: [Topic] test scheduled for Yom Kippur this Thursday, October 2, 2025

Hi [teacher name],

My son/daughter, [name][ID # if applicable] is in your [#] period [subject] class. I learned over the weekend that there is a test scheduled for this Thursday October 2nd - which is Yom Kippur - the holiest day of the year for the Jewish people.

Scheduling a major test on Yom Kippur forces my child to choose between faith and academics and adds another burden of jumping through test make-up hoops no other students face.

I respectfully request that the planned test please be rescheduled to a non-holiday date so my son/daughter is not unfairly disadvantaged or penalized for observing the Holiest day in the Jewish Faith.

Legal protections & common practice:

Title VI requires schools to prevent discrimination against Jewish students (protected as a group sharing ancestry/ethnicity).
California Department of Education Inclusive Practices to Support All Students’ Cultural Observances, Fall 2025
California Department of Education Calendar of Religious Dates to Avoid School Scheduling Conflicts
In California, Ed. Code §§ 48205 & 46014 excuse religious observance and require equitable, no-penalty make-ups for full credit.

For future reference:

In order to avoid future scheduling conflicts - here is a link to the religious dates calendar for 2025 provided by the California Department of Education with the list of the holiday dates to avoid for the remainder of 2025.

Thank you for ensuring [student's name] receives the same consideration afforded to other protected groups.

Please confirm the revised plan.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]
[Phone/Email]

Subject: Yom Kippur—No exams and equitable make-ups for [Student Name]

Dear [Teacher Name],

Yom Kippur on [date] is the holiest day for the Jewish people. Scheduling tests that day forces Jewish students to choose between faith and academics—an unequal burden others don’t face.

Under Title VI, schools must prevent discrimination against Jewish students (shared ancestry/ethnicity). In California, Ed. Code §48205 and §46014 excuses religious observance and requires fair make-up for full credit. Major districts already avoid assessments on these days or provide non-punitive, equivalent make-ups (e.g., both LAUSD and NYCPS close for Yom Kippur; Montgomery County, MD issues explicit guidance).

My request:

Do not schedule tests/quizzes/graded deadlines on Yom Kippur.
If something is already set, provide a no-penalty, equivalent make-up (same format/weight), offered during regular school hours—not lunch/zero-period/after-hours.

Please confirm the plan for [Student Name]. Thank you for ensuring equal treatment.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Phone/Email]

REQUEST THAT TESTS not to be SCHEDULED on yom kippuR

Copy and paste the below letter into your email and then customize it to request that tests not to be scheduled on Yom Kippur and make-ups are to be equitable.