The policy committee for Portland Public Schools in Maine is considering an “opt-in” policy for students interacting with dogs in classrooms, while also entertaining the possibility of barring non-service canines because of Islamic doctrine categorizing the animals as “impure,” video of a mid-October meeting revealed.
The discussion, first reported by The New England Signal, apparently arose because of a teacher’s proposal to “foster puppies in her classroom.” As outlined by Committee Chair Maya Lena, the program would involve “keeping a puppy in an enclosed playpen during the school day, with students periodically invited to read or play with it.”
