Lunar New Year bill approved by NY Senate

A bill that officially recognizes Lunar New Year as a public school holiday was unanimously approved by the New York state Senate and will move to the Assembly, where it also is expected to pass.

A previous bill to authorize the New York City Department of Education to consider school closures for the holiday in school districts when "a considerable proportion of the student population" would not be present was passed in December. The new bill, passed on Tuesday evening, would require the closures.

"We're glad the state Senate has passed legislation to establish a Lunar New Year school holiday in New York City. Asian-American students comprise approximately 15 percent of all public school students in New York City. The time is now to acknowledge Lunar New Year, and no longer force those who celebrate it to choose between class and their most important cultural holiday. The passage of this bill is a big deal," state Senator Daniel Squadron, Assemblyman Ron Kim, US Representative Grace Meng and City Councilwoman Margaret Chin said in a statement after the bill's passage.

In March, New York City added two Muslim holidays to the 2015-16 public school calendar, but not Lunar New Year, which is widely celebrated by the Asian community in New York City and sometimes results in absentee rates of up to 60 percent among students of Asian descent during the holiday.

At the time, politicians, community leaders and advocacy groups said that Mayor Bill de Blasio did not keep his promise to consider Lunar New Year for the public school holiday list. About one in six public school students in New York City are Asian.

The mayor's office did not respond to a request for comment.

"I urge my colleagues in the state Assembly to join the Senate in taking this action so that we can allow students to spend this important holiday with their families without the stress of missing school," said New York state Senator Martin Golden, who introduced the bill, in a statement on Tuesday.

"As legislators, it is vitally important that we work tirelessly to ensure our state remains culturally sensitive and promotes our ethnic diversity," he said.

Wellington Chen, executive director of the Chinatown Partnership, said that absentee rates have been as high as 80 percent during the Lunar New Year.

"It's quite obvious that even if doesn't impact anyone else," being able to take Lunar New Year off as a holiday "really impacts this community", he said. "As a tradition, you are expected to celebrate. Lunar New Year is a big deal, so if you want to preserve culture and history, it'll be helpful for kids to have the day off."

amyhe@chinadailyusa.com