What's happening
This bill establishes Diwali as a statewide school holiday in New York and updates related provisions in education law.
Why it matters
Recognizes and validates cultural and religious diversity. by formally establishing Diwali—a major Hindu festival—as a statewide public school holiday, which may help Hindu, Sikh, Jain, and Buddhist students and families feel seen and included in New York’s civic life.
Ensures equal school holiday status. for Diwali alongside other major holidays (such as Asian Lunar New Year), standardizing its observance across all New York public schools, not just in New York City, and potentially reducing students' and teachers' need to choose between education and religious observance.
Impacts school scheduling and transportation planning. by updating official school calendars and related logistics, which could affect how districts meet the required minimum number of instructional days and coordinate with nonpublic schools regarding transportation services on the newly designated holiday.
May set a precedent for future recognition. of other cultural or religious holidays in state law, signaling to other minority groups that their important traditions might also be acknowledged by public institutions.
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Who cares
School districts statewide
The bill would prohibit school sessions on Diwali, defined as the fifteenth day of Kartika on the Hindu calendar.
Students and families observing Diwali
The bill would make Diwali a school holiday statewide, extending the closure requirement beyond New York City public schools.
New York City public schools
The bill would update the existing Diwali holiday provision to use the fifteenth day of Kartika on the Hindu calendar.
New York City nonpublic schools using district transportation
The bill would update the calendar definition of Diwali in the list of public-school closure days on which they may request transportation, subject to existing limits.
Headline styles
Make Diwali School Holiday
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to education
- Referred to education
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 Diwali School Holiday
In Assembly Committee · Education · Sponsor Jenifer Rajkumar
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1160
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 8, 2025
Introduced by Sen. COONEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to establishing Diwali as a statewide school holiday
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 8 of section 3604 of the education law, as amended by chapter 359 of the laws of 2023, is amended to read as follows:
8. No school shall be in session on a Saturday, the first day of the second lunar month after the winter solstice in the preceding calendar year known as Asian Lunar New Year, the fifteenth day of the month of Kartika on the Hindu calendar in each year, known as Diwali, or a legal holiday, except general election day, Washington's birthday and Lincoln's birthday, and except that driver education classes may be conducted on a Saturday. A deficiency not exceeding four days during any school year caused by teachers' attendance upon conferences held by superintendents of schools of city school districts or other school districts employing superintendents of schools shall be excused by the commissioner, notwithstanding any provision of law, rule or regulation to the contrary, a school district may elect to schedule such conference days in the last two weeks of August, subject to collective bargaining requirements pursuant to article fourteen of the civil service law, and such days shall be counted towards the required one hundred eighty days of session, provided however, that such scheduling shall not alter the obligation of the school district to provide transportation to students in non-public elementary and secondary schools or charter schools. At least two such conference days during such school year shall be dedicated to staff attendance upon conferences providing staff development relating to implementation of the new high learning standards and assessments, as adopted by the board of regents. Notwithstanding any
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01032-01-5
other provision of law, rule or regulation to the contrary, school districts may elect to use one or more of such allowable conference days in units of not less than one hour each to provide staff development activities relating to implementation of the new high learning standards and assessments. A district making such election may provide such staff development on any day during which sessions are allowed and apply such units to satisfy a deficiency in the length of one or more daily sessions of instruction for pupils as specified in regulations of the commissioner. The commissioner shall assure that such conference days include appropriate school violence prevention and intervention training, and may require that up to one such conference day be dedicated for such purpose.
§ 2. Section 2586-a of the education law, as added by chapter 629 of the laws of 2023, is amended to read as follows:
§ 2586-a. Diwali as a holiday in the public schools of the city of New York. The fifteenth day of the [eighth] month of [the Indian] Kartika on the Hindu calendar in each year, known as Diwali, is hereby made and declared to be a holiday in all the public schools in the city school district in the city of New York and such public schools shall not be in session on such day.
§ 3. Subdivision 2-a of section 3635 of the education law, as separately amended by chapters 359 and 629 of the laws of 2023, is amended to read as follows:
2-a. The superintendent of each city school district, in a city having a population in excess of one million, shall prepare a public school calendar and shall notify officials of nonpublic schools to which transportation has been requested not later than the first day of June in each year, of the days on which the public schools will be in session in the following school year. Such school district which provides transportation to nonpublic schools shall provide such transportation for the same number of days as the public schools are open but shall not provide transportation services for more than one hundred eighty days. Officials of each nonpublic school to which transportation is provided by a city school district of a city having a population in excess of one million may notify such district, not later than the first day of July of each school year, of a maximum of five days, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays or legal holidays upon which public schools are required to be closed, on which the public schools are scheduled to be closed, except that in any year in which the first or last day of Passover and Easter Sunday are separated by more than seven days, such officials may notify the district of a maximum of ten days, but such school district will be required to provide for transportation to such nonpublic school provided that such five or ten additional days, whichever is applicable, are limited to the following: the Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday after Labor Day, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, the week in which public schools are closed for spring recess, December twenty-fourth and the week between Christmas day and New Year's day, the Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday after the observance of Washington's birthday, the first day of the second lunar month after the winter solstice in the preceding calendar year, known as Asian Lunar New Year, the fifteenth day of the [eighth] month of [the Indian] Kartika on the Hindu calendar in each year, known as Diwali, and, in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens only, Anniversary Day as designated in section twenty-five hundred eighty-six of this chapter.
§ 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the education law, in relation to establishing Diwali as a statewide school holiday
Summary of specific provision
Section one amends subdivision 8 of section 3604 of the education law to add Diwali as a school holiday for all public schools.
Section two establishes an effective date.
Justification
Diwali, also known as Deepavali, is the Hindu festival of lights. The largest holiday for the Indian community, it symbolizes the spiritual victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over igno- rance.
Recently, a bill was signed into law that added Diwali as a public school holiday in New York City. This bill, by making Diwali a pub is school holiday outside of NYC, builds on this recognition of the impor- tance of this most joyous and celebrated of Indian holidays.
Legislative history
S.9933 of 2023-24
Fiscal implications
None to the state.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.