Portland Schools Weigh Classroom Pet Rules After Religious Objections to Dogs

Portland Public Schools officials are reviewing their classroom pet policy after a teacher’s request to foster puppies prompted a discussion about religious objections to dogs in schools.

At an Oct. 14 policy committee meeting, Dr. Abdullahi Ahmed, the district’s assistant superintendent for student, family and community partnerships, told colleagues that he had consulted local Muslim religious leaders who opposed keeping dogs as classroom pets. Some Islamic traditions hold that dog saliva is ritually impure, he said, citing those conversations.

The question arose after a teacher at Ocean Avenue Elementary School asked for permission to foster puppies in her classroom, with the idea of letting students interact with the animals during reading time and play.

Ahmed, who was born and raised in Somalia and speaks Somali, Arabic, English and Urdu according to his district biography, told the committee that Muslim community members are not opposed to animals in general.

“In Islamic tradition, there is always the love for animals and living things and compassion for animals,” Ahmed said.

He went on to describe the religious concerns in more detail.

“So, with that being said, there are some ritual kind of a purity or in that Islamic traditions … So, for example, the dog saliva is considered impure,” Ahmed said. “And also some people had some experiences with dogs, which were negative actually in the past.”

Ahmed said the imams he consulted did not want dogs kept as pets in classrooms. He suggested the district could accommodate those concerns by keeping dogs in a separate room, a step he said would respect students and families who object on religious grounds.

Committee members also discussed whether any updated policy should apply narrowly to dogs or cover other classroom animals as well, and whether families should be able to opt in or opt out of exposure to pets. The committee took no vote on changes at the Oct. 14 meeting, according to a report by The National News Desk.

The discussion drew a sharp response from outside the district. Tina Descovich, co-founder of the conservative parents’ group Moms for Liberty, told Fox News Digital that “dogs have been enriching the lives of school children across America since its founding,” and called objections to dogs in the classroom “silly.”

Fox News Digital said it reached out to Ahmed and to Portland Public Schools Superintendent Ryan Scallon for comment but had not received a response.