Kathy Hochul, but a spokesperson signaled the governor’s support of the holiday and said the legislation is under review.īanks emphasized that the education department plans to use the new holiday as an opportunity to teach children about Diwali, offering schools sample lesson plans and suggested activities. The bill has not yet been signed into law by Gov. Rajkumar initially said that the city would not be able to meet the 180-day requirement without finding another holiday to leave off, though city officials say they will be able to add the new holiday without such a change. But some legislators objected to removing that holiday and pushed behind the scenes to keep it. Lawmakers initially proposed removing Anniversary Day, also known as Brooklyn-Queens Day, a holiday that celebrates the founding of the first Sunday school on Long Island.
“For over two decades, the South Asian and Indo-Caribbean community has fought for this moment,” state Assembly member Jenifer Rajkumar said during the celebration at City Hall on Monday that included a smattering of state and local officials, including Mayor Eric Adams and schools Chancellor David Banks.ĭiwali, known as the “festival of lights,” celebrates the triumph of good over evil and is celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, and some Buddhists. (There is no set date for Diwali each year, as it is governed by the lunar calendar, but it falls in October or November.) The holiday will not affect next year’s calendar because Diwali falls on Sunday, Nov. The calendar changes, announced on the second-to-last day of the school year, came hours after city officials held a celebration at City Hall to commemorate the passage of a state law that mandates Diwali as an official school holiday. Some also expressed concern that the calendar left out Eid al-Adha, which families observe starting on Sunday but continues into the next day. And though spring break coincided with the start of the eight-day holiday of Passover, it did not include the last two days, spurring a petition that garnered nearly 4,000 signatures.
The city initially had a day off for Good Friday but not Easter Monday, sparking some backlash. Because Easter and Passover are so far apart this year (since the Jewish holiday follows a lunar calendar), spring break became a scheduling conundrum. The long-delayed calendar, released earlier this month, touched off a wave of anger among educators and families of various religious groups. But a state education department spokesperson said compliance with the mandate would depend on how the city reports the days to the state and couldn’t yet offer a definitive answer. State officials confirmed that up to four conference days, including staff orientation, curriculum development, and parent-teacher conferences, may count toward the 180-day requirement. City education department spokesperson Nathaniel Styer said the city will not violate the 180-day rule because certain days devoted to teacher training will count toward the requirement. The changes mean that there will be 178 instructional days for students on the calendar, down from the original 182, though state law requires that school districts remain in session for at least 180 days or risk losing state funding. (This extends the weeklong break by another two school days.)
0 kommentar(er)
