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A Somali-born assistant superintendent in Portland, Maine, wants to rewrite the district’s animal policy because dog saliva is considered impure under Islamic rules. Abdullahi Ahmed, assistant superintendent for student, family and community partnerships at Portland Public Schools, told the policy committee that students and staff “should not be required to interact” with dogs. He said class pets should be avoided and that activities involving dogs — such as therapy animals or reading with puppies — should be opt-in rather than opt-out. He said he consulted imams, who opposed dogs as classroom pets. Ahmed made the comments during an October 14 meeting while seated in front of an Iraqi flag. He explained that Islamic tradition includes rules on ritual purity and cited dog saliva as an example of something considered impure. The discussion came after a teacher proposed fostering puppies in a classroom. Public schools exist to educate American children under American norms. Families who object to classroom animals already have the ability to opt out. Redesigning activities for everyone else so that no student has to encounter a dog subordinates ordinary school practices to one religion’s purity standards. Service animals remain protected. Ordinary classroom dogs and therapy visits do not need to be restricted to accommodate foreign ritual rules.