New Jersey district lifts ban on costumes and class parties. But schools can’t call it “Halloween.”

South Orange-Maplewood School District Students will be able to wear costumes and have classroom parties around Oct. 31 this year, but don’t call them “Halloween” celebrations, local officials said.

Last year, the Essex County district attracted widespread attention when Canceled Halloween celebrations at school.. The goal was to avoid “creating indirect and unintentional financial hardship for students and families” and to be equitable to families whose culture and religious beliefs do not include Halloween, according to then-Superintendent Ronald Taylor.

The decision generated mixed reviews. “Really? Can’t we just 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 other districts, district spokesperson Eshaya Draper said.

Directors will decide which events to hold, as long as they are all-inclusive and do not mention the name of the holiday.

“This year’s celebrations are allowed, but they should not be called Halloween celebrations,” Draper said.

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

There will be situations where some students participate in alternative, less enjoyable activities instead of joining school-wide events. That’s happened in the past to students who didn’t celebrate Halloween or whose families couldn’t afford the costumes, school officials said.

The celebrations will be “as general, public and friendly as possible, so that all students can feel involved,” Draper said. “There won’t be any other of our students.”

South Orange-Maplewood is one of several school districts across the country, including schools in and around Boston, Seattle and Philadelphia, that have restricted 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 so that “all school experiences and traditions can be enjoyed by everyone.” all Tuscan children,” wrote the director.

Students can wear costumes all day. But inflatable costumes, masks, makeup and costumes with weapons are prohibited, Majeed said. There will be no food, drinks, or goody bags during class celebrations due to student food allergies.

Tuscan Elementary teachers can hold fall harvest-themed celebrations from October 30 to November 27, and dressing up is optional. If a child wants to dress up but their family cannot afford a costume, Majeed said anonymous requests for help can be made to the school social worker and will be supported by the PTA.

According to social media posts, Marshall Elementary School’s principal said students can wear a costume to the fall festival on Oct. 31 on the school’s front lawn. There will be activities such as sack races and acorn carrying, pumpkin decorating and leaf rubbing.

Families at South Mountain and Clinton elementary schools also said they were told celebrations will be allowed, according to TOCA in SOMAa local news site.

Principal Seth Boyden Elementary School, which ended its Halloween celebrations in 2015, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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

Many students stayed home on October 31 for various reasons. Some Christians, Muslims and Orthodox Jews do not encourage celebrating Halloween, school officials said. Some families found it difficult to leave work to help children put on their costumes and watch them in 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 to see the district backtrack on this,” said Catherine Cronin, whose youngest son attends Seth Boyden Elementary School. “Our cities celebrate Halloween so comprehensively that not having costume parades in schools or celebrations in classes is not a hardship. “It is best to include all members of our community and not just those who celebrate Halloween.”

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

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

The old policy took into account families from different religious and cultural backgrounds, and students with sensory issues who found costumes uncomfortable, she said.

“There are other opportunities to celebrate as a community, for people who want to participate,” Takacs said.

But one parent in a local Facebook group said different groups have different views on “doing the right thing.”

“Allowing students the option of wearing costumes on Halloween (with very reasonable/sensible rules) and still having the focus of that day’s events be on celebrating fall (and not Halloween) seems like a very, very reasonable way to handle this.” “said the father. he wrote on Facebook.