MANHATTAN – Today, State Senator Daniel Squadron released the following statement regarding the 2015-16 draft school calendar:

"Adding Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha to the school calendar is an important recognition of the diversity of our city. It’s great that the Mayor kept his pledge to designate them as school holidays. It’s critical that the Mayor also keep his pledge to designate Lunar New Year as a school holiday. At schools in my district and across the city, absentee rates are as high as 80% on Lunar New Year. Approximately one in six New York City public school students is Asian American, which is why acting on the mayor’s pledge is so important, so that students no longer have to choose between their most important cultural holiday and missing class.”