Fulton County Schools adjusted its work calendar to recognize the new federal holiday Juneteenth.

June 19 marks the anniversary of the day in 1865 when news of the Emancipation Proclamation, issued more than two years before, reached enslaved people in Texas.

President Joe Biden signed legislation earlier this year declaring the day a holiday.

While most school system employees do not work during that part of June, there are 1,630 Fulton employees who do. The school board on Thursday voted to reduce the number of annual work days for those employees from 235 days a year to 234 in order to recognize the new holiday.

The Fulton school district’s action is in line with other employers, including Atlanta Public Schools, which announced previously that it also would make Juneteenth a district holiday.

About the Author

Keep Reading

Women walk through a John Portman skybridge in Atlanta on Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025. Portman, Atlanta’s most famous architect-developer, designed most of the skybridges in the downtown area. (Abbey Cutrer/AJC)

Credit: abbey.cutrer@ajc.com

Featured

Donald Trump's administration deployed the military to Washington, D.C., in the name of fighting crime, and in an Aug. 11 news conference he mentioned the possibility of military being sent to other large American cities, all of which are led by Black, Democratic mayors. And while Atlanta wasn't included in Trump's list, the city fits that profile under Mayor Andre Dickens. (Photo Illustration: Philip Robibero / AJC | Source: Getty)

Credit: Philip Robibero