Entire NYC Congressional Delegation Sends Letter to De Blasio Calling for School Holiday for Lunar New Year

Press Release

This afternoon, the entire New York City Congressional Delegation -- led by U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens) -- sent a letter to Mayor de Blasio expressing concern over the lack of progress in creating a school holiday for Lunar New Year.

"We strongly support the commitment you made one year ago, to incorporate Asian Lunar New Year, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha to the New York City Department of Education school holiday calendar," the lawmakers wrote. "We are pleased to see that the school calendar for 2015-2016 does indeed include Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha as school holidays. However, we are puzzled and concerned over the absence of Asian Lunar New Year from next year's calendar. We sincerely hope you understand the community's frustration that students must now wait another year to celebrate with their families or face potential academic consequences of missing school."

Signatories -- in addition to Meng -- include Reps. Joseph Crowley, Steve Israel, Carolyn Maloney, Jerrold Nadler, Jose Serrano, Yvette Clarke, Eliot Engel, Hakeem Jeffries, Gregory Meeks, Charles Rangel and Nydia Velazquez.

The new law requiring New York City to consider closing schools for Lunar New Year, as well as Eid al-Adha, Eid al-Fitr and Diwali, was a measure Meng sponsored when she served in the New York State Assembly.

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