PORTAGE, Mich- — A judge in Kalamazoo has lifted a temporary restraining order which told officials at Portage Northern High School to move its graduation date to accommodate a Jewish student.
Students will now graduate on May 26, the originally scheduled date for the ceremony.
“There is no good outcome here because it should have been a situation in which religious beliefs were accommodated, [but] it should have been a situation in which the requests of relief of this court should have been done earlier so that it would have reduced any significant hardship on the part of other individuals,” said Hon. Curtis Bell, the 9th Judicial Circuit Court judge, during his ruling.
He added, “The court is in a very difficult position. I certainly sympathize with the plaintiff in this case and certainly respect her position and religious beliefs and how she wants to adhere to those and will adhere to those, but I also have to consider the individuals who are also students and how this would affect their outcome in terms of their ability to participate.”
Last month, a PNHS senior filed a lawsuit which argued that the district violated the Elliot Larsen Civil Rights Act, the Michigan Constitution, and the U.S. Constitution when it scheduled graduation on the Jewish holiday of Shavuot.
The student says her faith requires her to observe the holiday.
According to the complaint, the student’s family provided the district with a list of Jewish holidays and has been notified in the past about scheduling conflicts.
Attorneys for Portage Northern disputed the claims.
During Monday’s hearing, they said officials only received two letters from the student’s family, none of which went to administrators nor indicated that the family wanted the graduation date moved.
It was also stated that the district is only required to make accommodations for events that directly impact a student’s education. For example, if a test fell on the day of a religious holiday, Portage Northern would have to give the student the ability to take it on another day.
The attorneys argued the student suing will still receive her diploma and the late notice of the issue with the graduation date will cause “irreparable harm to other students” if the date is changed now.
Attorneys for the district declined to comment to FOX17 after the ruling.
The attorney for the plaintiff and her family issued the following statement:
"Everyone should be uncomfortable with today’s outcome. A student who worked hard to graduate from high school is being denied her right to attend graduation because of her religion. But this is just one issue in a much larger case about necessary policy changes within this district so that no Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, or other minority has to suffer the way that Miss Koffron has. The right result now would be a swift and lasting resolution creating strong and transparent processes to ensure that no other minority is ever discriminated against in this way again, which is what the Koffron family has been trying to achieve for over a decade." -Marla A. Linderman Richelew
A pre-trial hearing will take place June 9 to further discuss the lawsuit.
The case has been split between a federal court too.
Last week, a federal judge ruled he will hear arguments tied to the alleged First Amendment violations.
The hearing for that portion of the lawsuit is scheduled for April 20.
