Houston, TX, September 25, 2017 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today welcomed the decision of ACT, Inc. to schedule an additional examination on October 1 after ADL contacted the nonprofit student testing organization to note a scheduling conflict with the Jewish High Holiday of Yom Kippur. The scheduling conflict was created by the ACT rescheduling its administration of the September 9th examination to September 30th in areas impacted by Hurricane Harvey.
Due to the widespread devastation in South Texas resulting from Hurricane Harvey, the ACT examination scheduled for September 9 at Bellaire High School was postponed and rescheduled on Yom Kippur, September 30, without a religious exemption test-day scheduled. Yom Kippur begins on Friday, September 29th at sundown and ends at sundown on Saturday. Jewish students who observe Yom Kippur and were previously registered to take the cancelled September 9th examination date effectively would have been precluded from taking the ACT examination and would not have been able to meet deadlines for applying to college and university early admission.
“We commend ACT for their efforts to ensure that Jewish students who observe Yom Kippur will have the same opportunity to take the test as other students,” said Dayan Gross, ADL Southwest Regional Director. “Taking the examination on Yom Kippur, the most holy day in the Jewish faith, is not an option for religiously observant students. We are pleased that those students will no longer have to decide between applying to college for early admission and observing Yom Kippur.”
After being contacted by concerned students, parents and administrators, ADL reached out to ACT CEO Marten Roorda with a request to change the date of the examination to accommodate religiously observant students who intend to apply to college or university for early admission. The additional examination is now scheduled for Sunday, October 1 in Houston.