12.1.1 Holiday Closures

OSSE will pay child care providers for enrolled children on federal and District holidays regardless of whether their facility is open or closed. Providers may, but are not required to, provide child care services on holidays (see list below). All holiday closures are to be communicated in advance to families as part of the program’s standard operating schedule. 1. New Year’s Day (Jan. 1) 2. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (third Monday in January) 3. Presidents’ Day (third Monday in February) 4. DC Emancipation Day (April 16) 5. Memorial Day (last Monday in May) 6. Juneteenth (June 19) 7. Independence Day (July 4) 8. Labor Day (first Monday in September) 9. Indigenous People’s Day (second Monday in October) 10. Veterans Day (Nov. 11)* 11. Thanksgiving Day (fourth Thursday in November) 12. Christmas Day (Dec. 25) 13. Jan. 20 during years there is a Presidential Inauguration. *Child care providers are permitted to close on the day after Thanksgiving, in lieu of closing on Veterans Day, provided the closure is communicated in advance to families as part of the program’s standard operating schedule. **In the event that the day after Thanksgiving is declared a DC Government holiday by the Mayor, child care providers will be paid for the DC government holiday whether they are open or closed. A provider that chooses to remain open on the day after Thanksgiving and provides services when the day has been declared a DC government holiday may choose to close their facility another day in December and will still be paid for that day, provided they inform families and OSSE of the closure at least two weeks in advance. A provider that previously chose to operate on Veterans Day in order to close with pay on the day after Thanksgiving may, in the event the Mayor declares the day after Thanksgiving a DC government holiday, choose to close their facility another day in December and will still be paid for that day, provided they inform families and OSSE of the closure at least two weeks in advance. In general, providers should give as much notice as possible to families about any upcoming facility closure. An unplanned holiday closure as a result of a declaration of a DC holiday not included in the list above should be submitted to the provider’s education services monitor (ESM) as an approved closure.