No school tests on any religious holiday

What began as a bill to prevent school tests from coinciding with two Muslim holidays, ended last week as a much broader piece of legislation, adding any religious holiday currently not known by the State Department of Education to the non-testing calendar.
Sen. John Sabini introduced the bill to prevent tests from being scheduled on Eid-al-Adha and Eid-al-Fitr, after Muslim students were forced to take tests during the religious holiday Eid-al-Adha this past January. His bill - amended to include all religious holidays - was passed by the State Senate in the final minutes of the Senate's 2006 session.
&#8220Almost 350 years after the Flushing Remonstrance was written to help promote freedom of religion here in New York and across the nation, we are continuing to establish public policy that is responsive and sensitive to the private lives of our citizens,” Sabini said. &#8220The results of statewide exams follow young students all the way until their college applications; no child should have their educational future put at risk because of some bureaucrats in Albany.”
Another religious holiday that had not been recognized by the testing calendar was Diwali, a Hindu holiday meaning row of lights. A five-day festival combining several holidays, Diwali falls on the 15th day of the Hindu month kartik. During this year's celebration - which will begin October 21 - testing will not be scheduled for students at New York public schools should Governor George Pataki sign the bill into law.