The Collinsville School Unit 10 School Board will hold a public hearing on Jan. 27 to gather input on their intent to continue the practice of not observing Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday as a school holiday.
Photo by Roger Starkey
According to section 24-2 of the Illinois School Code, teachers shall not be required to work on Saturdays or legal school holidays, unless a waiver is obtained. The Collinsville, Edwardsville, Belleville, Granite City and O’Fallon school districts – to name a few – all have school or school activities on Lincoln’s Birthday and, instead, choose to observe Washington’s Birthday, commonly known as President’s Day.
Washington’s Birthday is not a legal school holiday in Illinois, nor is it listed in the School Code as a commemorative holiday. The day, known as Washington’s Birthday in federal law, is an Illinois State Holiday, called President’s Day and is observed on the third Monday in February.
Waivers can be obtained to hold school, schedule teachers’ institutes, parent-teacher conferences or staff development days on the legal school holidays of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s Birthday, Lincoln’s Birthday, Casimir Pulaski’s Birthday, Columbus Day and Veteran’s Day. School holidays that must be observed in Illinois are New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
To obtain a waiver, the school board must hold a public hearing about the proposal. Despite this requirement, Unit 10 has not previously held a hearing. Superintendent Bob Green said the district was recently made aware of the requirement and, therefore scheduled the hearing to take place at the beginning of the regularly scheduled School Board meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 27.
School districts that obtain a waiver are required to recognize the person or persons honored by the holiday through instructional activities on that day or, if the day is not used for student attendance, on the first day preceding or following the holiday. The district will comply with the requirement, Green said.
