3 More New York State Holidays Added to Public Schools 2025-2026

When the 2025-2026 school year starts next week for most of New York State public high schools, there are going to be a few more holidays that are on the list, and many will be giving students and teachers the day off.

There are new holidays being added to the academic calendar that some have previously adopted, but now almost all will recognize in the 2025-2026 school year.

The kids and teachers will get off on these 3 days off, and they started these new days off in 2026. All 3 of these will be recognized by a ton of New York State holidays:

-Diwali (Monday, October 20, 2025)
-February 17, Asian Lunar New Year
-Tuesday, May 26, Eid al-Adha (mid June)

Some parents are not thrilled with another holiday being added to the school year for 2025 and 2026. As you can imagine, it is not always easy to find child care, especially after the kids have off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the day before. On the other hand, it is a representation of all cultures and backgrounds in New York State public schools.

The school year has been creeping more and more into the traditional summer breaks. Usually, public schools are done by the second week of June. While high schools usually are done by then, some elementary schools in New York State did not end until the very last day of June. Catholic schools across the State tend to end their school year much sooner than the rest of the public schools. They will usually end sometime in May.