Excerpted from the Purchase College Catalog
Appendix B: Attendance on Religious Holidays
- No person is expelled from or refused admission for the reason that he or she is unable, because of religious beliefs, to attend classes or to participate in any examination, study, or work requirements on a particular day or days.
- Any student who is unable, because of religious beliefs, to attend classes on a particular day or days is, because of such absence on the particular day or days, excused from any examination or any study or work requirements.
- It is the responsibility of the faculty and of the administrative officials to offer to each student who is absent from school because of religious beliefs an equivalent chance to make up any examination, study, or work requirements that he or she may have missed because of such absence on any particular day or days. No fees of any kind are charged by the institution for making available to the student such equivalent opportunity.
- If classes, examinations, study, or work requirements are held on Friday after 4 p.m. or on Saturday, similar or makeup classes, examinations, study, or work requirements are made available on other days, where it is possible and practicable to do so. No special fees are charged to the student for these classes, examinations, study, or work requirements held on other days.
- In effecting the provisions of this section, it is the duty of the faculty and of the administrative officials of each institution of higher education to exercise the fullest measure of good faith. No adverse or prejudicial effects should result to any student because of the provisions of this section.
- Any student who is aggrieved by the alleged failure of any faculty or administrative officials to comply in good faith with the provisions of this section is entitled to maintain an action or proceeding in the supreme court of the county for the enforcement of the student’s rights under this section.
(Chapter 161 of the Laws of 1977 of New York State, effective December 1, 1977, amended Section 224-a of the Education Law by adding subdivision 6-a, which requires that Section 224-a be printed, in full, in the catalog of each institution of higher education under the jurisdiction of the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York.)