Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law on Sept. 25 making Native American Day a paid state holiday. The change could eventually mean an extra day off for Carlsbad Unified students and MiraCosta College campuses.

Assembly Bill 1841 elevates Native American Day, observed each year on the fourth Friday of September, from a recognized state holiday to a paid one for state employees. The catch: funding comes later. State workers won't receive the paid day off until the California Legislature approves an appropriation.

Carlsbad Unified's 2026-27 school calendar, adopted June 18, 2025, does not list Native American Day as a holiday. That calendar was finalized more than a year before Newsom signed the bill.

Under state law, public schools can close on Native American Day only if a district's governing board agrees to the closure through an agreement with employees, as Patch reported. The law also authorizes state employee bargaining units to negotiate for the paid holiday. If teachers' unions secure the day off in contract talks, school districts would likely follow.

Neither CUSD nor the district's teachers' union has said whether the district plans to add the day to future calendars.

MiraCosta College, which serves Carlsbad and coastal North San Diego County, has not announced plans for Native American Day. The community college closed all campuses for Juneteenth in June 2024, consistent with how California community colleges handle paid state holidays.

Private employers are not required to give workers the day off.

California has recognized Native American Day since 1998, but until AB 1841 it was not a regular paid holiday for most state workers. Employees could use personal-holiday credit instead. California courts already close for the day under a 2021 law that made it a judicial holiday beginning in 2022, replacing Columbus Day on the court calendar, CBS Sacramento reported.

Assemblymember James Ramos, a Democrat from San Bernardino and the first California Native American elected to the state Legislature, authored the bill. Ramos said AB 1841 "recognizes the profound role Native communities have played in shaping the state's culture and identity by setting the foundation for a paid state holiday," according to a statement from the governor's office.

Newsom signed the bill as part of a broader package advancing tribal priorities. That package also included the Rowena Mae Ramos Act, which formalizes an apology by the state Legislature and judiciary for historical harms against Native Americans, and a bill making the Governor's Office of Tribal Affairs permanent.

For Carlsbad families watching the CUSD calendar, the next step is whether the district's board and teachers' union negotiate the holiday into a future agreement.