After having the bill on religious observance sent back to the Faculty Affairs Committee at the last Faculty Senate meeting, the committee took the time Tuesday to discuss the policy and legality of what they can and cannot have in it.
“The First Amendment to the constitution says that ‘congress shall pass no laws infringing on the free exercise of religion or restricting or requiring of one,’” said Kevin Johnson, general counsel. “It’s up to any individual to have whatever faith or practice they want and it can’t be held against them.”
Johnson was brought into the meeting to inform the committee of cases and laws surrounding religious observance and although he didn’t find anything relating to academia, he used examples of accommodations and restrictions to religious observances that have been upheld in the court.
“With absence there have been cases where employees have been denied absences and when they took the absence anyway they were fired and the cases that were upheld is when there are excessive absences,” Johnson said. “In academics some classes may meet once a week, some may meet three times a week, some meet very scarcely…It depends on the class, the course requirements and the instructor’s willingness to work with the student outside of class time to complete assignments, projects and so forth.”
When Dan Colson, assistant professor of English, modern language and journalism, asked if he would be able to deny a student request to take a religious observance because they are doing work in class that he would not allow the student to make up, Johnson replied by stating that he would prefer if Colson “bit the bullet” and allowed the student to do so.
“I think it’s translating that into policy that’s getting us,” Colson said. “If we are always in favor of biting the bullet in the student’s favor, then we end up with a policy that essentially does not allow any restrictions on the faculty’s part.”
It was proposed that perhaps there be a policy in every syllabus that says if you need time off or other accommodations for religious observance, you must tell each faculty member no later than the first week of class or a day early in the semester.
“There’s no instants on a policy or resolution,” Johnson said. “A policy would let students know what they have to do to get the accommodations and let the faculty know that it is an issue.”
Along with having Johnson there to speak at the meeting, the committee looked at the policies of other universities but discussed them little since they were either too long or simply stated that it was okay to miss for a religious observance, according to Gregory Schneider, chair of the faculty affairs committee and professor of social sciences.
The committee voted to table the discussion until next semester when they will continue to discuss and work on the policy along with future policies or issues brought up.
