NY State Senate Bill 2025-S8501

Senate Bill S8501

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Allows school districts to opt out of observing any state-designated cultural or religious holiday

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Sep 10, 2025	referred to rules

2025-S8501 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Rules
Law Section:: Education Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §3604, Ed L

2025-S8501 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Allows school districts to opt out of observing any state-designated cultural or religious holiday when less than ten percent of the school population observes such state-designated cultural or religious holiday.

2025-S8501 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S8501

SPONSOR: ORTT
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the education law, in relation to allowing school
districts to opt out of observing any state-designated cultural or reli-
gious holiday

 
PURPOSE:

This bill permits school districts to opt out of observing state-desig-
nated cultural or religious holidays when less than ten percent of such
school district's population observes the holiday.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one allows school districts to opt out of observing state-desig-
nated cultural or religious holidays when less than ten percent of such
school district's population observes the holiday.  Schools are encour-
aged to accommodate those who celebrate a state-designated cultural or
religious holiday that is not observed in a school district pursuant to

this section. This section of law does not apply to federally-designated
holidays.

Section two sets forth the effective date.

 
EXISTING LAW:

Education Law § 3604

 
JUSTIFICATION:

This bill would give greater control to school districts over their
academic calendars, and further give them the flexibility needed to
minimize disruptions in teaching. While emergency snow and extreme
weather days cut into the school year, schools end up keeping students
later into the summer to ensure they achieve the state mandated 180
school days per school year.

This bill would permit districts to opt-out of observing certain state-
designated cultural or religious holidays, when less than 10% of the
district observes the holiday. However, this bill further protects those
students and staff who do observe such holiday by reminding the district
that they should accommodate anyone observing the holiday. The bill
further explicitly excludes federally-designated holidays, as this
section of law does not apply to any exclusively federal holidays.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

NONE

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

NONE

 
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

NONE
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2025-S8501 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8501
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                            September 10, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  ORTT  --  read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
 
 AN ACT to amend the  education  law,  in  relation  to  allowing  school
   districts  to  opt  out  of observing any state-designated cultural or
   religious holiday

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Section  3604 of the education law is amended by adding a
 new subdivision 8-c to read as follows:
   8-C. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW, SCHOOL DISTRICTS  MAY
 OPT  OUT OF OBSERVING ANY STATE-DESIGNATED CULTURAL OR RELIGIOUS HOLIDAY
 WHEN LESS THAN TEN PERCENT OF THE SCHOOL POPULATION OBSERVES SUCH STATE-
 DESIGNATED CULTURAL OR  RELIGIOUS  HOLIDAY.  NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY  OTHER
 PROVISION OF LAW, SCHOOL DISTRICTS SHOULD MAKE REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS
 FOR THOSE STUDENTS PARTICIPATING IN A STATE-DESIGNATED CULTURAL OR RELI-
 GIOUS  HOLIDAY, WHEN SUCH STATE-DESIGNATED CULTURAL OR RELIGIOUS HOLIDAY
 IS NOT OFFICIALLY OBSERVED DISTRICT-WIDE PURSUANT TO  THIS  SUBDIVISION.
 THIS  SUBDIVISION  DOES NOT APPLY WHEN ANY CULTURAL OR RELIGIOUS HOLIDAY
 IS DESIGNATED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. SCHOOL DISTRICTS MAY NOT  ELECT
 TO OPT OUT OF ANY CULTURAL OR RELIGIOUS HOLIDAY DESIGNATED BY THE FEDER-
 AL GOVERNMENT, FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SUBDIVISION.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
 
 
 
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD13740-01-5

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