- Diwali on October 20, 2025, Monday
- Asian Lunar New Year on February 17, 2026
- Eid al-Adha on May 26, 2026, Tuesday
Some schools had already recognized these holidays before, but now almost all across New York State will give students and teachers the day off. These new days off officially start in 2026 and will now be part of the New York State holiday list for schools, as reported by wyrk.Some parents are unhappy about more holidays being added because it makes finding child care difficult, especially when holidays are close together like Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Others feel these new days bring better cultural representation for the diverse backgrounds of students in New York State, as per the reports.
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School years are slowly pushing further into summer breaks. Usually, public schools finish by the second week of June, but some elementary schools in New York State went all the way until the last day of June in past years. Catholic schools in New York State usually finish much earlier, often ending their school year by May, as stated by wyrk.
Top 10 WNY public high schools – US News & World Report
- City Honors School ranked 1 in Western New York and 20th best in New York State.
- Williamsville East High School ranked 2 in WNY and 70th in New York State.
- Williamsville South High School ranked 3 in WNY and 91st in New York State.
- Hamburg High School ranked 4 in WNY and 92nd in New York State.
- Clarence High School ranked 5 in WNY and 99th in New York State.
- Williamsville North High School ranked 6 in WNY and 100th in New York State.
- East Aurora High School ranked 7 in WNY and 102nd in New York State.
- Lewiston Porter High School ranked 8 in WNY and 141st in New York State.
- Orchard Park High School ranked 9 in WNY and 147th in New York State.
- Starpoint High School ranked 10 in WNY and 151st in New York State.
FAQs
Q1. Which new holidays are added to New York public schools in 2025-26?
New York public schools will now give holidays for Diwali, Asian Lunar New Year, and Eid al-Adha in the 2025-26 school year.
Q2. Why are New York schools adding new holidays?
The new holidays are added to give cultural representation to diverse communities in the state.