What's happening
This bill designates Good Friday as a public holiday in New York and requires public schools to observe it as a holiday.
Why it matters
Expands official recognition of Christian religious observance. By designating Good Friday as a public holiday, the bill increases the number of state-recognized religious holidays, potentially raising questions about the equal treatment of other faith traditions in public accommodations.
Direct impact on school scheduling and communications. Public schools would be required to close on Good Friday and explicitly refer to the day as "Good Friday" (not just as part of a generic "Spring Recess"), making the religious association more prominent in official calendars and notices.
Protects school funding from penalty due to closure. The bill ensures that schools will not lose state aid or face penalties for being closed on Good Friday, as the day will count as a required session day for funding and attendance calculations.
May prompt broader debates about church-state separation. The explicit naming and observance of a Christian holiday in public institutions could lead to broader discussions or legal challenges regarding the separation of church and state, and whether similar recognition should be considered for holidays of other religions.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Make Good Friday Public Holiday
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
3 Co-sponsors
History
- Referred to judiciary
- Referred to rules
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Make Good Friday Holiday
In Assembly Committee · Governmental Operations · Sponsor Latrice Walker
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
6937
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
November 6, 2017
Introduced by Sen. PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
AN ACT to amend the general construction law and the education law, in relation to the designation of Good Friday as a public holiday
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 24 of the general construction law, as amended by chapter 347 of the laws of 1984, is amended to read as follows:
§ 24. Public holidays; half-holidays. The term public holiday includes the following days in each year: the first day of January, known as New Year's day; the third Monday of January, known as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. day; the twelfth day of February, known as Lincoln's birthday; the third Monday in February, known as Washington's birthday; the Friday immediately before Easter, known as Good Friday; the last Monday in May, known as Memorial day; the second Sunday in June, known as Flag day; the fourth day of July, known as Independence day; the first Monday in September, known as Labor day; the second Monday in October, known as Columbus day; the eleventh day of November, known as Veterans' day; the fourth Thursday in November, known as Thanksgiving day; and the twentyfifth day of December, known as Christmas day, and if any of such days except Flag day is Sunday, the next day thereafter; each general election day, and each day appointed by the president of the United States or by the governor of this state as a day of general thanksgiving, general fasting and prayer, or other general religious observances. The term half-holiday includes the period from noon to midnight of each Saturday which is not a public holiday.
§ 2. The education law is amended by adding a new section 3204-a to read as follows:
§ 3204-a. Good Friday school holiday. 1. The Friday immediately before Easter, commonly known as Good Friday, shall be declared a holiday for all public schools.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13723-01-7
S. 6937 2
2. The term "Good Friday" shall replace "Spring Recess" and similar terminology on all public school district calendars and communications that reference Good Friday.
§ 3. Section 3604 of the education law is amended by adding a new subdivision 7-c to read as follows:
7-c. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for purposes of any calculation under subdivision seven or eight of this section, the commissioner shall disregard any reduction resulting from the observance of Good Friday and, if necessary, such observed holiday shall be calculated as a session day.
§ 4. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the general construction law and the education law, in relation to the designation of Good Friday as a public holiday
Purpose
To include Good Friday as a recognized public holiday in General Construction Law § 24 as a way to ensure that New York recognize and celebrate the religious diversity of all its citizenry.
Summary of provisions
Section 1: Amends the General Construction Law to include Good Friday as a public holiday. This section lists the current public holidays and adds Good Friday to the holidays currently observed.
Read the full memo (755 words)
Section 2: Amends the Education Law to include Good Friday to the list of legal holidays in which public schools are closed.
Section 3: Establishes the effective date.
Justification
Currently, Good Friday is a state holiday in 12 states: Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas. The proposed bill to give Good Friday the status of legal holiday whereby government nones- sential offices and public schools are closed is, clearly, not a prece- dent-setting idea. What may not be as clear, however, is how 12 states, in spite of their historical, demographic, economic, and geographic diversity, united in the common cause to officially recognize the significance of Good Friday. This bill offers New York the opportunity to count itself among these diverse states that joined together in their common interest to demonstrate respect for their Christian citizenry.
New York has already demonstrated interest both in the private and public sector. Wall Street, New York's secular entity that trades in billions of dollars closes on Good Friday: the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), NASDAQ, as well as other equity and options platforms are all closed for business on Good Friday. Public schools, too, are closed on Good Friday. However, a careful look at nomenclature illustrates the need for Good Friday to be designated as an official New York holiday. A cursory review of online public school calendars reveals, for example, that The New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE), which manages the city's public schools, does, indeed, regularly close its schools on Good Friday. However, on its published school calendar, the day is referred to -- not -- as Good Friday, but as "spring recess."
Nomenclature becomes significant when considering the fact that the very same New York City public school district calendar also closes schools on September 21st (this year), but directly identifies that day as Rosh Hashanah rather than a "district recess" day. City schools are also closed on June 22nd during summer school session for Eid al-Fitr, one of two Islamic holidays that became recognized holidays as of 2015 when New York City Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Farina called the addition "a common sense change" to recognize the growing Muslim community (Botelho, 2015). A search of districts throughout New York will show that the term "Good Friday" is used by some districts while others use "spring recess" for the identical Friday: Good Friday. However, Rosh Hashanah is consistently listed by its religious name as are Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.
As is Wall Street in the private sector, public schools are already closed on Good Friday. The proposed bill will ensure that Good Friday is recognized explicitly as are the recognized holy days of the Judaic and Islamic community. The term "spring recess" will no longer be acceptable terminology for school closure on the Christian holy day of Good Friday. Ultimately, passage of this bill to add Good Friday to the current holi- days listed in General Construction Law § 24. Public holidays will demonstrate that New York truly recognizes and celebrates the religious diversity of all its citizenry.
Will making Good Friday a legal holiday violate Constitutional law? The answer depends on whether the focus is on state rights guaranteed within the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution or the First Amendment's Estab- lishment clause. Case law from Hawaii and Illinois illustrates there is no simple answer (Brookman, 1998). The Ninth Circuit Court in Hawaii determined the statue declaring Good Friday to be a state holiday did not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. In contrast, the Seventh Circuit Court in Illinois struck down a similar law. NYU law researchers logically conclude that no per se rule can be established on the constitutionality of Good Friday as a legal holiday (p. 194).
Legislative history
New Bill.
Fiscal implications
Minimal.
Effective date
This act shall take effect 1St of January after enactment.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.