Establishes the Asian Lunar New Year day as a school holiday for all city school districts of cities of one million inhabitants or more, with an Asian population of seven and one-half percent or more; uses the year 2010 federal decennial census as the basis for calculation of the Asian population.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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581
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE(Prefiled)
January 7, 2015
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Introduced by Sen. SQUADRON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to establishing the Asian
Lunar New Year school holiday
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 3204-a
2 to read as follows:
3 § 3204-a. Asian Lunar New Year school holiday. 1. The day of the Asian
4 lunar calendar designated as the first day of a new year and commonly
5 known as "Asian Lunar New Year's day" shall be a school holiday for all
6 public schools in a qualified school district.
7 2. A qualified school district, for purposes of this section, shall
8 include a city school district of a city having a population of one
9 million or more inhabitants and having an Asian population equal to or
10 greater than seven and one-half percent thereof. The Asian population,
11 for purposes of this section, shall include those persons, adults and
12 children, who are fully or partially of Asian descent and shall include
13 all those persons and ethnic groups identified as Asian by the United
14 States census bureau for purposes of the year two thousand ten federal
15 decennial census.
16 3. The school authorities of every qualified school district are here-
17 by authorized and directed to cause all public schools within such
18 district to be closed on Asian Lunar New Year day.
19 § 2. Section 3604 of the education law is amended by adding a new
20 subdivision 7-c to read as follows:
21 7-c. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for purposes of any
22 calculation under subdivision seven or eight of this section, the
23 commissioner shall disregard any reduction resulting from observance of
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00392-01-5
S. 581 2
1 the Asian Lunar New Year and, if necessary, such observed holiday shall
2 be calculated as a session day.
3 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
4 it shall have become a law; provided that any and all rules and regu-
5 lations and any other measures necessary to implement any provision of
6 this act on its effective date may be promulgated and taken, respective-
7 ly, on or before such effective date.
