Cathy Swerdlow said it means everything to celebrate Passover with her five kids.   

“It forms the basis of Judaism, to pass it on from one generation to the next,” said Swerdlow.

Swerdlow has five children that have graduated from Seminole County Schools.  She said the night Passover begins is typically a late night of celebration, and not conducive to being ready for a big test like the FCAT the next day.

“By the time you have all the family over and you get started, it can go past what would be a normal bedtime, especially for high school students that need to get up so early in the morning,” said Swerdlow.

The Interfaith Council of Central Florida is objecting to the state’s mandatory timeframe for the FCAT. They say the timeframe creates religious conflicts in most of Florida’s counties.  And the council said this is not the first year testing has conflicted religious holidays.

 "And then have to wake up early the next morning and take one of the most important tests you’ll have to take, is just very shocking,” said Temple Israel Rabbi Joshua Neely.

Nearly every Central Florida school district begins FCAT testing on April 14. That’s the same day Passover begins at sundown. The testing also runs through Holy Week, which Christians celebrate leading up to Easter.

In a statement released Wednesday, Council Executive Director Pastor James Coffin said:

“Religious leaders recognize the challenge educators face in scheduling state-wide exams. But, as a practical matter, there are some days that should be considered off limits.”

“Unfortunately the testing window is such that we have to squeeze every day that we can in because of capacity,” said Tim Harper, the director of assessments for Seminole County Public Schools.

School administrators said they have limited the number of students that will have to be tested on the first day of Passover. They say students who can’t test those days can be excluded.

“So they would come back in on a make-up day. We have ample make-up days built into the testing calendar,” said Harper.

But Rabbi Joshua Neely thinks school administrators could have done more to prevent the conflict.

“For the major statewide tests, we were surprised more consideration wasn’t given,” said Neely.