This is the first time public schools will be closed to honor the holiday that is celebrated by several Asian communities. The Department of Education tweeted a reminder to all parents Sunday evening.
In a city where one in eight residents is of Asian descent, according to the US Census, Chinese, Taiwanese, and Korean American parents for years have had to choose between celebrating the most important Asian holiday with their children or maintaining their attendance record.
According to New York state senator Daniel Squadron, whose constituency includes residents of Chinatown, the number of Asian Americans in the public school system is higher even than the city total – one in six students are of Asian descent. And on Asian Lunar New Year, the absentee rate at some schools could be as high as 80 percent.
But for some parents, missing a day of school is still hard to justify, despite school policies that allow students to receive an excused absence for religious and cultural observations.
His decision to add Lunar New Year to the list of school holidays came three months after his inclusion of two Muslim holy days – Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr – to the school calendar. Local and state lawmakers were upset that the Asian festival wasn’t on that list.
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