From the Los Angeles Times (1-11-07):
Three newly elected school board members in southern Orange County want to rename the two-week winter vacation the “Christmas” recess…
Deborah Lauter, national civil rights director for the Anti-Defamation League, said she was dismayed by the trend, which she says values Christianity above other religions. “Public schools should seek to be welcoming and inclusive and respect all religions, or even those with no religion,” she said.
Greg Scott, a spokesman for the conservative Alliance Defense Fund in Scottsdale, whose attorneys have advised districts that they can call the vacation “Christmas” break, dismissed Lauter’s concerns. “It is a sad day in America when it is controversial to put Christmas on the school calendar,” he said. “It’s not leaving anybody out. It’s honoring a federal holiday.”
