END OF MODEL YEAR
Holiday Closings
Unconstitutional
Washington (JTA) — In a prece-
dent-setting case, an Illinois ap-
peals court has ruled that the
state can not close schools on re-
ligious holidays.
In a 2-1 decision, a panel of 7th
District Court of Appeals judges
declared a state statute that di-
rected schools to close on Good
Friday unconstitutional.
"The First Amendment does
not allow a state to make it easier
for adherents of one faith to prac-
tice their religion than for ad-
herents of another faith to
practice their religion unless
there is a secular justification for
the difference in treatment," ac-
cording to the ruling, which was
issued June 19.
Schools can continue to volun-
tarily close for religious holidays
if a significant number of stu-
dents and teachers will be absent.
Some major metropolitan areas,
such as New York and Philadel-
phia, close for Rosh Hashanah,
the Jewish New Year, for this
reason.
The case, Metzl vs. Leininger,
challenged a 1941 state ordinance
mandating that schools close on
Good Friday. Until 1989, the en-
tire state shut down.
Chicago schoolteacher Andrea
Metzl sued the state through
school Superintendent Robert
Leininger, saying the statue was
unconstitutional because one
religion's holiday was marked by
/- a day off.
The school tried to show a sec-
ular reason for the holiday, but
the court rejected the argument.
Jewish groups and legal ob-
servers praised the decision ban-
ning the state from closing
schools as a victory for church-
state separation.
They also said it set several
precedents.
"The state of Illinois is well
served by the action of the Court
of Appeals," said David Kahn,
president of the American Jew-
ish Congress, which assisted Met-
zl in finding an attorney in her
case.
"We are encouraged by the
court's strong adherence to the
First Amendment principles that
1 protect us all," Mr. Kahn said in
a statement.
In deciding to eliminate Illinois'
Good Friday holiday, the court
has said "even if the [religious]
preference is mild, it is still ille-
gal and unconstitutional," said
Marc Stern, co-director of legal
affairs at AJCongress.
By requiring the state to prove
a secular reason for the school
holiday, the court shifted the bur-
den of proof from the plaintiff to
the government, he said.
When a state enacts a law that
prefers one religion over anoth-
er, "they need justification," Mr.
Stern said, adding, "The burden
is on the state to prove a secular
reason" for the law.
In many states, individual
schools can choose to close on re-
ligious holidays if a significant
number of students and teachers
would be absent.
Such a decision does not vio-
late church-state separation, said
Sam Rabinove, the American
In many states,
individual schools
can choose to close.
Jewish Committee's legal direc-
tor. The schools must make up
the missed days, he added.
"It's a matter of practicality,
not law," Mr. Rabinove said.
The court's decision conflicted
with an earlier ruling in a Hawaii
case. In that case, the 9th Circuit
Court of Appeals allowed the
Good Friday statute.
A number of states have Good
Friday measures, Mr. Stern said.
Although there are no other
cases challenging these mea-
sures, this month's decision in
Illinois will "undoubtedly stir up
further ones," he said
JWV Stamp
Is Rejected
Washington (JTA) — The Jew-
ish War Veterans of the United
States of America is fighting a los-
ing battle against the U.S. Postal
Service.
The JWV effort to get a stamp
commemorating their 100th an-
niversary in 1996 is almost cer-
tain to be defeated in September,
when the Postal Service's Citi-
zen's Stamp Advisory Commit-
tee meets in Washington.
Committee chairwoman Vir-
ginia Noelke said that by recog-
nizing one sectarian group with
a stamp, hundreds more will fol-
low with similar requests.
In fact, the Postal Service has
issued stamps to exclusive vet-
erans groups before, including
the Disabled American Veterans
and the Veterans of Foreign
Wars. It has also printed religious
stamps on Christmas.
Ms. Noelke insisted that the
postal committee's unanimous
decision to reject the request last
winter and again in mid-July "is
no negative statement about the
work of that organization at all."
But the JWV is taking the de-
cision personally.
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