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Should St. Patrick's Day Be A School Holiday In NYC?
By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 17, 2016
Modified Mar 17, 2016
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By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 17, 2016
Modified Mar 17, 2016
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A bill to make St. Patrick's Day a holiday for NYC public school students has passed the New York State Senate, and now it's up to the NY State Assembly to make it so.
The bill (PDF) "Establishes St. Patrick's day as a school holiday for all city school districts of one million or more with an Irish-American population of 7.5% or more." The Daily News reports, "Sen. Tony Avella says he introduced the bill after a constituent, a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, approached him. The Queens Democrat says lawmakers set the precedent two years ago, authorizing schools to designate the Chinese Lunar New Year as a holiday when observances would keep most students home."
The movement to make the Lunar New Year a holiday started back in 2010 and passed last year, which means it was observed for the first time this year. The Muslim holidays Eid al-Adha and al-Fitr were also added to the NYC public schools' holiday list last year.
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nyc public schools
public school holiday
st. patrick's day
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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