New York City Public Schools are quietly updating their academic calendar as the current semester draws to a close in June. The latest changes indicate that the upcoming Lunar New Year break for the 2025-2026 academic year will be extended by one day, allowing students to enjoy a 12-day holiday period. This adjustment was made in consideration of January 2, 2026 falling on a Friday, right after the Lunar New Year break, which would have resulted in only one day of school for that week if the traditional academic schedule had been followed, disrupting the weekend continuity and causing inconvenience. Therefore, the city government has proactively modified the calendar this year to include January 2nd as part of the Lunar New Year break.
According to revelations first made by the New York Daily News, the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) in New York City had sent out text notifications to its members last week, stating, “We did it! January 2, 2026 is now included in the Lunar New Year holiday.” A spokesperson for the city’s Department of Education later confirmed this change.
This is not the first time the city government has adjusted school holidays to avoid the situation of having only one day of school in a week. Last December, Mayor Adams responded to a petition launched by an eighth-grade student in Brooklyn that garnered over 20,000 supporters by declaring December 23, 2024 as a holiday. This time around, the city government announced the new arrangement in advance, preventing the confusion faced by schools and parents last year.
Under the new academic calendar, the winter break for all city schools will span from December 24, 2025 (Wednesday) to January 4, 2026 (Sunday). Students can now enjoy a 12-day break without the need to return to school on Friday, January 2nd.
For parents in New York City, planning family activities based on the school calendar is often a challenge. The city government’s adjustments to school holidays are typically announced very late, and this almost happened again this time. New York City must adhere to the state government’s requirement of 180 instructional days, allocate time for additional holidays like Diwali, and also reserve flexibility to accommodate unexpected situations such as emergencies or snowstorms. Nowadays, in the event of natural disasters or special circumstances, most schools will switch to online classes rather than a complete closure.
The extension of the winter break will not result in a delayed end of the academic year. The Department of Education will rearrange teacher training days to free up January 2nd as a student holiday, ensuring that no makeup classes will be necessary.