River Town school districts have recently added two holidays to their calendars—Juneteenth, in commemoration of the emancipation of enslaved people, and Lunar New Year, an Asian holiday celebrated on the first new moon of the Lunar calendar.
That change has caused some to ask why haven’t Diwali, celebrated by Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs, and Eid-al-Fitr and Eid-al-Adha, celebrated by Muslims, also been added to school district calendars as recognized holidays?
In 2025, Diwali is on Monday, October 20, while Eid-al-Fitr falls on Saturday, March 29-Sunday, March 30, and Eid-al-Adha is Friday, June 6-Saturday, June 7.
School districts are mandated to observe a school holiday when it has been declared an official holiday by New York State. In 2020, then-Governor Cuomo signed legislation, later passed into law, designating Juneteenth a New York State holiday to be observed on the 19th day of June or, if the 19th day falls on a weekend, an alternate weekday.
According to the New York State Education Department website, NYSED.gov, in 2023 a law was signed prohibiting school districts that receive foundation aid from holding session on Asian Lunar New Year if the holiday falls on a day when school is normally in session. Schools will not observe the holiday when it falls on a weekend.
NYSED.gov additionally indicates that a law signed on November 14, 2023, made Diwali a public-school holiday only for New York City, and it will be observed only when Diwali falls on a day when school is normally in session. The New York State Senate website, NYSENATE.gov, shows that on January 16, 2025, New York Senators, Leroy Comrie and Jamaal T. Bailey introduced an Act to amend the education law to include Eid-al Adha and Eid-al-Fitr as public-school holidays.
Until a holiday is signed into law, the decision to include a non-state-mandated holiday into a specific school district’s calendar is at the discretion of the individual district and is often based on the demographic of the district.
The Jewish High Holy days of Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah were initially only observed in the public schools in New York City after a large percentage of educators and students in the system were absent for the holidays’ observance.
When the demand for observance of the Jewish holidays extended to school districts beyond New York City, Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah were added to school holiday calendars, mandated by state law.
In an email to River Journal, Kenny Herzog, who is an aide to Westchester County Legislator David T. Imamura as well as a Tarrytown Trustee, highlighted the efforts of Imamura, who has been advocating the addition of Diwali and Eid to Westchester’s 40-plus school districts. At this writing, 19 districts have added one or both of those holidays. The position of the River Town school districts is as follows …
Briarcliff – Added Diwali and Eid to the 2024-2025 school calendar
Cortlandt – Hendrick Hudson and Lakeland Districts- Have not added Diwali or Eid
Croton-on-Hudson – Has not added Diwali or Eid
Irvington – Added Diwali and Eid to the 2024-2025 school calendar
Ossining – Added Eid but not Diwali
Peekskill – Added Eid but included it on same day as Superintendent’s Conference Day
Tarrytown – Have added Diwali or Eid for 2025-2026
Herzog has also indicated that in March two Scarsdale high school students, Ravi Vora and Aryn Nayakkar, sent letters to the Westchester school districts that haven’t included Diwali and Eid in their holiday calendars, asking them to reconsider.
Donna Landi, a resident of Sleepy Hollow, has contributed to River Journal, Hudson Valley Magazine, and other publications.
