New York Assembly Bill A04920

New York 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/10/25
• Refer: 2/10/25
• Refer: 1/7/26

Caption

Establishes Three King's day as a school holiday for all public schools in a city school district of a city having a population of one million or more inhabitants.

Summary

This bill amends the Education Law to establish Three Kings Day, observed on January 6, as a school holiday for public schools in a qualified school district. The bill defines a qualified school district as a city school district in a city with a population of one million or more inhabitants, which in practice applies to New York City. It directs school authorities in that district to close public schools on Three Kings Day. The bill also amends the state aid attendance calculation rules so that the commissioner of education must disregard any reduction in school session days caused by observing Three Kings Day. If needed, the holiday is to be treated as a session day for purposes of those calculations, preventing the holiday from reducing the district’s required instructional-day count or affecting state aid calculations tied to attendance or session days.

Impact

If enacted, the bill would create a new statutory school holiday in the Education Law for New York City public schools and require closure of those schools on January 6. It would also modify state education funding and attendance-count provisions to ensure the holiday does not negatively affect compliance with minimum session-day requirements or state aid calculations. The practical effect is limited to the largest city school district, but it would alter both school calendar requirements and related administrative calculations under Education Law section 3604.

Sentiment

The available materials show a generally supportive or at least noncontroversial introduction, with multiple sponsors from the Assembly and no recorded votes or committee debate in the provided record. The bill’s framing suggests an effort to recognize Three Kings Day, a holiday of cultural and religious significance, particularly in communities served by the New York City school system. Because there are no transcripts or vote tallies, there is no documented opposition in the supplied materials.

Contention

The main point of potential contention is the bill’s narrow geographic scope: it applies only to a city school district in a city of one million or more residents, effectively limiting the holiday to New York City rather than statewide. Another possible issue is the operational impact on instructional time and school calendars, although the bill attempts to address that by preserving session-day calculations for state aid and compliance purposes. Any debate would likely center on equity, local autonomy, and whether the holiday should be recognized statewide or only in the largest district.