child attending public school in New York in 2024 will have a small more metre on their hand : Two holidays have been recognized by the land , though only one will take effect statewide .
Last fall , New York Governor Kathy Hochulannounceda raw jurisprudence mandating that all public schools be closed to students onLunar New Yearin February . Hochul alsoannouncedthat the state will recognise Diwali as a school holiday in November , though only for New York City schools .
The inclusion body of Lunar New Year isintendedto admit the body politic ’s Asiatic American and Pacific Islander ( AAPI ) communities . The vacation is in honor of the first new moon of the lunar calendar and is celebrated by Chinese , Vietnamese , and Korean cultures . As of 2019 , New York wasestimatedto have the country ’s secondly - largest Asiatic American universe at 1.9 million , behind California ’s 6.7 million .
Diwali , also lie with as the Festival of Lights , is a five - 24-hour interval celebration grow in India and iscelebratedby those who observe the Hindu , Sikh , Jain , and Buddhistic faiths , though it ’s not determine to them . Some observe Diwali by buy jewelry for luck and pick their home to attract good fortune . some one billion people around the universe greet the vacation .
While New York aims to be more inclusive of its many cultures , adding holiday to the school calendar is a sly reconciliation act . The statemandates180 days of didactics for students each class . Newly - recognize holidays can mean schedule extra lesson days or reducing general holiday time to oblige federal holidays , snow twenty-four hour period , and others .
This year , Lunar New Year falls on February 10 , a Saturday , which means schools will have flexibility on when to mark the occasion . Diwali is lionize on the 15th twenty-four hours of the 8th calendar month of the Indian calendar , which will be November . The accurate days off will depend on the shoal district .
[ h / t98.1 The Hawk ]
