New York City restores the last days of Passover to the school holiday schedule
The New York City Department of Education reinstated the last two days of Passover as holidays in the 2023-2024 school calendar, after a storm of protest from Jewish educators and parents.
Since state law requires the school system to maintain a minimum of 180 instructional days (185 working days for educators), those creating the schedule must find ways to ensure that class time is not compromised by the different public holidays.
So far this has not been a problem because since 1973 the school system’s annual spring break has always been aligned with Passover. Next year, however, Easter and Passover are three weeks apart, creating a dilemma for those who set the calendar.
As a result, the 2023-2024 school calendar published in early June indicated that the one-week spring vacation was scheduled for Monday April 22 to Friday April 26, which excluded the last days of Passover.
This was quickly reversed when thousands of people protested the change. Many Jewish teachers and students observe the holiday, which includes bans on writing, travel, and other issues during the first and last days of Passover.
New York is one of the most inclusive cities in the country when it comes to holiday observance, and the city’s education system has gone to great lengths to include holidays for the city’s various religious and ethnic groups.
This week’s three-day Islamic holiday, Eid al-Adha, and the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr are part of the holidays students now have.
Also on the holiday calendar is the Chinese Lunar New Year; Juneteenth, and the recently included Hindu festival of Diwali.
By Hana Levi Julian www.jewishpress.com
Photo Credit: Wikimedia/Tdorante10 The entrance to 278 Marine Park School Middle School, on Stuart Street south of Fillmore Avenue in Marine Park, Brooklyn. The school and adjacent playground 278 were built on land taken from the marine park in 1958.
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2023-06-30 07:39:48
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