Many Students Will Now Have Off This Friday in New York State

Many New York State public schools are getting off this Friday.

For a lot of districts, it is the first time that they will get this day off for both students and teachers. Memorial Day is coming up on Monday, May 26, which is a federal holiday giving all schools off. However, may districts have given students off the Friday before Memorial Day as well.

What if more districts started summer vacation on Memorial Day? And then this is when they would go back!

Most school districts did this in New York State for President's Day as well, back in February.

The decision to have this day off is controversial in New York State.

Many New York State schools have given kids and teachers off the Friday before Memorial Day, but a lot of parents are not happy about this decision. The extra day off is another day that working parents have to figure out how to get child care on a day that, typically, the rest of the workforce is still working. In addition, another day off during the school year means that graduation dates and school-ending dates are pushed back.

Some Western New York school districts are set to end 5 days before the 4th of July, on June 30th. Maybe if there were fewer days off, students' summer vacation could be longer?

There are several new holidays that are recognized at schools in New York State, and students now have off.

In the Williamsville School District, students will have several new holidays off, including Diwali (November 1), Asian Lunar New Year (January 29, 2025), Eid al-Fitr (April 1, 2025), and Eid al-Adh (June 6, 2025). These changes were implemented starting in the 2024-2025 school year.