COLUMBUS- Today, State Senator Niraj Antani (R-Miamisburg) announced a law that will give all Hindu students in Ohio a holiday for Diwali and 2 other Hindu holidays per school year. Senator Antani is the 1st Hindu American State Senator in Ohio history and the youngest Hindu American state or federal elected official in the nation.
Sen. Antani co-sponsored HB 214, which has been passed by the General Assembly and signed into law by the Governor. It will be in effect for next school year starting in 2025. The bill requires all K-12 schools in Ohio to give school off for students for 3 religious holidays a year. The bill requires schools to not penalize students academically for taking the religious holiday off school, and requires schools to provide reasonable alternatives for any exams missed. The bill requires schools to allow students to participate in sports and extracurricular activities even if they are using a religious expression day to take school off. A student taking a religious expression day as a holiday will not be considered absent.
"Because of this law that I co-sponsored, every Hindu student in Ohio will be able to take school off as a holiday for Diwali beginning in 2025 and then for the rest of history. This is an incredible victory for Hindus in Ohio. This makes us the 1st state in American history to give every student Diwali school off as a holiday. As well, our law surpasses any other school district in the nation so far as it also allows 2 other religious holidays to be taken. That means a Gujarati Hindu student can take a day off for Navaratri or Annakut, a BAPS devotee can take off for Pramukh Swami Maharaj Jayanti, a Swaminaryan devotee can take off for Hari Jayanti, a Telegu Hindu student can take Ugadi off, a Tamil Hindu student can take Pongal off, a Bengali Hindu student can take Durga Puja off, a Punjabi Hindu student can take Lohri off, an ISCKON devotee can take Krishna Janmashtami off, and more. I remember as a kid that for Navarati on weeknights not being able to stay for dandiya at the end of the night. This will no longer be a problem for any Hindu kid in Ohio henceforth," Sen. Antani said.
The bill does require a parent to send the principal of the school a signed letter informing them of the religious holidays the student will be taking off. The signed letter must be sent to the principal within 14 days of the 1st day of the school year. The principal must approve the days off.
"Ohio is setting an example for the rest of the country on how schools can ensure all students can practice their faiths fully without the fear of negative academic consequences. The Hindu American Foundation applauds Senator Antani and the interfaith community of Ohio for their leadership on this important initiative," Samir Kalra, Esq., Managing Director of the Hindu American Foundation said.
The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce has recognized Diwali as October 20 and October 21 for 2025.
“As a Hindu parent of students who recently graduated in Cleveland, this would have been astounding to have during Diwali. It would have allowed my children to observe Diwali fully and without worrying about their studies. I am so glad that now, no other Hindu student or parent in Ohio will have this worry. On behalf of Hindu parents in the Cleveland area, I thank Senator Antani for accomplishing this for us,” said Dr. Rakesh Ranjan, Director, Cleveland Chapter, Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA)
“HinduACTion commends Senator Niraj Antani for his leadership in ensuring Hindu holidays are recognized as part of Ohio’s three “religious expression days.” This landmark effort empowers nearly 120,000 Hindus across the state to celebrate their cherished traditions with their families, fostering inclusion and cultural understanding. More importantly it furthers Ohio’s commitment to upholding family values. This will serve as a template for many other states with significant Hindu populations, to emulate,” said Utsav Chakrabarti, Executive Director, HinduACTion
“Hindu students in Ohio will now be able to better observe their Hinduism without fear of getting behind academically. This is tremendous for Hindus families across Ohio. We thank Senator Antani for getting this done, setting a national standard that other states can follow,” said Dr. Jai Bansal, Vice President for Education for the Vishva Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA).
