• New rules meet the dietary needs of Muslim students and promote a sense of belonging and inclusion.
• CAIR encourages Muslim families to contact schools to express dietary preferences.

A local Muslim civil rights group has welcomed the decision by Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) and Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) to Muslim students halal dietary options.

The Maryland office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) also encouraged Muslim families to express dietary preferences to BCPS and MCPS school cafeteria managers, urging other school systems to adopt similar policies.

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“By offering halal meal options, school systems enable observant students to uphold their beliefs while participating fully in school activities, including lunchtime,” CAIR’s Maryland director Zainab Chaudry said in a statement.

“We welcome these developments as the availability of halal meals in public schools not only meets the dietary needs of Muslim students but also promotes a sense of belonging and inclusion.

“It contributes to creating an educational environment where students can thrive without compromising their religious values.”

The concept of halal — meaning permissible in Arabic — has traditionally been applied to food.

“As a former public school student, I know just how difficult it is to consistently have pizza for lunch because you have no other options,” said CAIR’s Legislative Intern Dua Hussain.

“Working on halal meals, however, has given me so much hope because we’re going to be seeing more options for these students’ meals.” 

Earlier in 2021, the Atlantic City school district began serving halal food five days a week at several elementary and high schools.

Also, in 2018, New York City public schools launched a one-million-dollar program to provide halal and kosher lunches to children.