STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 827 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. RAJKUMAR -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to establishing Diwali as a school holiday The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 8 of section 3604 of the education law, as 2 amended by chapter 359 of the laws of 2023, is amended to read as 3 follows: 4 8. No school shall be in session on a Saturday, the first day of the 5 second lunar month after the winter solstice in the preceding calendar 6 year known as Asian Lunar New Year, the fifteenth day of the eighth 7 month of the Indian calendar in each year, known as Diwali, or a legal 8 holiday, except general election day, Washington's birthday and 9 Lincoln's birthday, and except that driver education classes may be 10 conducted on a Saturday. A deficiency not exceeding four days during any 11 school year caused by teachers' attendance upon conferences held by 12 superintendents of schools of city school districts or other school 13 districts employing superintendents of schools shall be excused by the 14 commissioner, notwithstanding any provision of law, rule or regulation 15 to the contrary, a school district may elect to schedule such conference 16 days in the last two weeks of August, subject to collective bargaining 17 requirements pursuant to article fourteen of the civil service law, and 18 such days shall be counted towards the required one hundred eighty days 19 of session, provided however, that such scheduling shall not alter the 20 obligation of the school district to provide transportation to students 21 in non-public elementary and secondary schools or charter schools. At 22 least two such conference days during such school year shall be dedi- 23 cated to staff attendance upon conferences providing staff development 24 relating to implementation of the new high learning standards and EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD01020-01-5

A. 827 2 1 assessments, as adopted by the board of regents. Notwithstanding any 2 other provision of law, rule or regulation to the contrary, school 3 districts may elect to use one or more of such allowable conference days 4 in units of not less than one hour each to provide staff development 5 activities relating to implementation of the new high learning standards 6 and assessments. A district making such election may provide such staff 7 development on any day during which sessions are allowed and apply such 8 units to satisfy a deficiency in the length of one or more daily 9 sessions of instruction for pupils as specified in regulations of the 10 commissioner. The commissioner shall assure that such conference days 11 include appropriate school violence prevention and intervention train- 12 ing, and may require that up to one such conference day be dedicated for 13 such purpose. 14 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

Establishes Diwali as a school holiday

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