Diwali or Deepawali is the Hindu Festival of Lights celebrated every year. One of the major festivals of Hinduism, it spiritually signifies the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, knowledge over ignorance, and hope over despair. Diwali is celebrated by Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs and some Buddhists to mark different historical events.

The Bethpage School District  has a considerable number of students of Indian/South Asian Decent. With the changing demographics, Bethpage Schools need to embrace the diversity and recognize Diwali as a formal holiday that is part of it's school calendar of days off. Many students take the day off and miss the school work.

Syosset Schools , Hicksville Schools and many other schools have already taken an initiative and instituted this change many years ago. It's now official that DIWALI will now be recognized as a holiday in These School District. In an effort to recognize the cultural diversity that is so prominent in the Bethpage Schools and to remain consistent with policies of neighboring school districts, the Bethpage Schools should recognize our culture and tradition and make Diwali an official holiday.

PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION AND LET'S MAKE THIS HAPPEN FOR OUR COMMUNITY.  Let's take an initiative to be recognized.