Public testimony and a policy discussion over school calendar language were both on the Jan. 22 School Committee agenda, with callers urging the committee to consider Lunar New Year as an official Quincy Public Schools holiday and committee members debating how to make the calendar's required days clear.

Public comment: Lunar New Year
During the meeting's open forum, Andy Pham asked the committee to recognize Lunar New Year as an official Quincy Public Schools holiday, saying his group had offered testimony at prior meetings and sought public acknowledgement of those comments. Pham told the committee, "moving forward with Lunar New Year as official Quincy Public Schools holiday aligns perfectly with our city's identity, which is proud, inclusive and forward thinking," and said he was disappointed that prior testimony had not been acknowledged on the calendar agenda.

Policy committee calendar discussion and language amendment
Later in the meeting the full committee discussed proposed revisions to the district's school calendar policy (section 9.2). Committee members said the draft policy language will remain consistent with state regulation on student learning time but that the policy text could confuse readers because one clause refers to "at least 185 school days" while another reference states a minimum of 180 days. Several members recommended clarifying that the district schedules 185 days to include up to five cancellation days (sometimes called "cancellation" rather than "snow" days).

The committee agreed to add an asterisk/footnote clarifying that the 185 days in the calendar include five built‑in cancellation days. A motion to add the footnote was moved, seconded and adopted by roll call during the meeting; members recorded as voting in favor included Miss Cahill, Mr. Gautreaux, Mrs. Lebo, Mrs. Perdios and others (roll call recorded verbally in the meeting). Committee leadership said the calendar itself—dates for school and committee meetings—will be voted at a future meeting after the policy language is finalized.

Context and next steps
Members also raised questions about a state regulation included verbatim in the draft that excludes certain non‑instructional services from counting as structured learning time; some members urged clearer wording so families and special education staff would understand which services count toward students' time requirements. The committee did not hold a final vote on the calendar policy on Jan. 22; staff said the revised language and the full 2025–26 calendar will be on an upcoming agenda for a final vote.

Ending
Committee members who voiced support for Lunar New Year said they remain disappointed the item was not discussed formally at the policy subcommittee level with broader committee presence; staff and members said public testimony is heard at open forum and that follow‑up discussion can be scheduled through the policy process.