NEW YORK – The Lunar New Year joins a growing list of days working parents of New York City schoolchildren will be scrambling for child care.
Mayor Bill de Blasio has declared the day – February 8th in 2016 – a school holiday in an effort to be more “inclusive.”
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Activists and politicians have been calling on the mayor and school district Chancellor Carmen Fariña “to add the holiday to the list for some time,” CBS 2 reports.
“Finally, students of Asian descent will not be forced to choose between observing the most important holiday of the year and missing important academic work,” Councilwoman Margaret Chin, a Democrat representing Lower Manhattan, says, according to the New York Times.
“Lunar New Year is a deeply important cultural observance for nearly 15 percent of public school students, and this designation gives Lunar New Year the respect and recognition it has long deserved.”
De Blasio tweeted his intentions Sunday night:
Working toward a more inclusive city: Tomorrow, @nycgov will designate Lunar New Year an official @nycschools holiday.
— Bill de Blasio (@BilldeBlasio) June 22, 2015
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According to ABC 7, the legislature is “moving towards mandating the holiday” as well.
The Lunar New Year is the latest school holiday declared by de Blasio. Earlier this year, the mayor announced that the Muslim holidays Eid al-Firt and Eid al-Adha would also be days off from school.
Now there’s a movement to have the city also make Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, a holiday.
All of this leaves some parents to wonder where it will stop and if children will ever actually go to school.
“At the rate you’re going, those kids will only attend school for a week at most,” one person tweeted back to de Blasio.
@BilldeBlasio @nycgov @NYCSchools at the rate you're going, those kids will only attend school for a week at most.
— Me, Myself & I, I, I (@LifeOnAHorse) June 23, 2015
“Between the weather and the holidays, do the kids in NYC ever go to school?” Christy Waters wondered.
@BilldeBlasio @nycgov @NYCSchools Between the weather and the holidays, do the kids in NYC ever go to school?
— Christy Waters (@ThatChristyChic) June 23, 2015
The Times notes similar pressure by holiday advocates was applied to former Mayor Michael Bloomberg but he resisted, saying children needed more time in school.
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