A New Jersey school district is lifting its controversial ban on Halloween costumes and class parties

South Orange-Maplewood School District students will be allowed to wear costumes and host classroom parties around Oct. 31 this year, but principals should consider holding “fall celebrations” instead of Halloween events, local officials say.

The Essex County district received widespread attention last year Halloween celebrations canceled at school. The goal was to avoid “causing indirect and unintended financial hardship to students and families” and to fairly treat families whose culture and religious beliefs do not include Halloween, according to then-superintendent Ronald Taylor.

The decision was met with mixed reviews. “Seriously? Can’t we let the kids celebrate Halloween? Give me a break,” Gov. Phil Murphy tweeted at the time.

This year, under new Superintendent Jason Bing, South Orange-Maplewood’s policies will be more in line with those of other districts, district spokesman Eshaya Draper said.

The directors will decide what events will be organised, provided they are all-inclusive.

“We encourage a ‘fall celebration,’ but principals can still organize it as a Halloween celebration,” Draper said.

“Students who are not celebrating will participate in fall-focused activities that are equally enriching and enjoyable, making each student feel valued. Some schools refrain from celebrating October 31 and inform parents about it,” she added.

Under the new policy, all students will participate in the festivities, even if they do not wear costumes.

There will be no situations where some students take part in alternative, less enjoyable activities rather than joining in school-wide events. School officials say that in the past, incidents have occurred with students who did not celebrate Halloween or whose families could not afford costumes.

The celebrations will be “as inclusive, public and welcoming as possible so that all students can feel they are part of it,” Draper said. “There will be no different treatment of our students.”

South Orange-Maplewood is among several school districts across the country — including schools in and around Boston, Seattle and Philadelphia — that have scaled back celebrations to be more inclusive of students who can’t afford costumes or don’t celebrate Halloween.

In South Orange-Maplewood, Tuscan Elementary School Principal Malikah Majeed recently sent a message asking families to “embrace our inclusive school practices with understanding and grace.”

The school is working to ensure that “all school experiences and traditions can be enjoyed All Tuscan children,” wrote the director.

Students can wear costumes all day long. However, Majeed said inflatable costumes, masks, makeup and costumes with weapons are banned. Due to students’ food allergies, no food, drinks or goody bags will be provided during class celebrations.

Teachers at Toscan Elementary can host fall harvest celebrations from October 30 to November 27, with costumes optional. If a child wants to dress up but their family can’t afford a costume, Majeed said anonymous requests for help can be made to the school social worker and the PTA will support them.

Social media posts show the principal of Marshall Elementary School said students could wear costumes during the fall festival held Oct. 31 on the school’s front lawn. The program includes: sack races, carrying acorns in a spoon, decorating pumpkins and rubbing leaves.

Families at South Mountain Elementary School and Clinton Elementary School also said they were told celebrations would be allowed PRESS on SOMAlocal news service.

The principal of Seth Boyden Elementary School, which ended its Halloween celebration in 2015, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

When Seth Boyden Elementary stopped its Halloween celebration, about 120 of its 518 students did not participate and needed alternative activities.

Many students stayed at home on October 31 for various reasons. School officials said some Christians, Muslims and Orthodox Jews do not encourage celebrating Halloween. Some families found it difficult to leave work to help their children dress up and watch their school parades. Other families had trouble getting costumes.

Maplewood-South Orange’s new Halloween policy received mixed reviews from parents this week.

“I’m disappointed that the district has backed down on this issue,” said Catherine Cronin, whose youngest child attends John Paul II Elementary School. Seth Boyden. “Our cities celebrate Halloween so comprehensively that the lack of school costume parades and class celebrations is not a problem. It’s better to include all members of our community, not just those who celebrate Halloween.”

As one parent noted, the old policy made sense given that both South Orange and Maplewood had Halloween celebrations outside of school hours.

“I think it was one of those things that was a good step towards equity and inclusion,” said Kimberly Takacs, parent of a Tuscany Elementary School student.

The old policy accommodated families with different religious and cultural backgrounds and students with sensory issues who found the costumes uncomfortable, she added.

“People who want to get involved have other ways to celebrate in community,” Takacs said.

However, one parent in a local Facebook group stated that different groups have different views on “doing the right thing.”

“Allowing students to wear Halloween costumes (with very reasonable rules) while keeping the focus on the day’s events, i.e. celebrating fall (and not Halloween), seems to be a very, very reasonable way to handle this situation,” the parent wrote on Facebook.

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Tina Kelley can be reached at [email protected].