Excerpt:
Area schools are increasingly accommodating Muslim students and staff on Islamic holidays, but not canceling classes as with Jewish and Christian observances.
Many Capital Region schools in recent years have put Eid al-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha on their education calendars, which allows Muslims to take the days off as unmarked absences and make up missed lessons.
The two holy days fall on different days each year. The Eid al-Fitr festival marks the end of Ramadan, a holy month of fasting, and is celebrated this year on Sunday. Eid al-Adha occurs on Nov. 27, at the end of the holy annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca.
But five years after the University at Albany tried canceling classes for the Muslim calendar's most important holidays, it and other public schools stay open during those holidays.