Excerpt:
A Lodi mom is starting a petition to add Eid al-Fitr to California's list of holidays that would automatically excuse a child from school. The 24-hour Muslim holiday falls after 30 days of fasting during daylight to observe Ramadan each year, and this year will fall on Aug. 7 and 8 — in the first week of the 2013-14 school year.
Veronica Aziz lives near Blakely Park with her husband and three sons. She and her family are Muslim and attend the Lodi Mosque. Growing up, she remembers missing a day of school each year for the family gathering and prayers.
"We just didn't go to school. Our community was so small that if we missed a day it didn't matter," said Aziz. But her children don't like to miss school. They tell their mother if they miss one day they will fall behind.