Knicks' parade or Regents exam? Pleas to reschedule so NYC school kids can celebrate fall short.

Cayla Bamberger and Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News on Jun 15, 2026

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NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is defending his decision to schedule the NBA champion Knicks ticker-tape parade for Thursday, even though NYC students will be taking their Regents exams.

The date, which was selected in partnership with a coalition that included the Knicks organization, the NYPD and other city agencies and departments, likely means thousands of local school kids will be unable to attend the celebratory event, the first canyon of heroes parade in the history of the franchise.

“I know that many New Yorkers have built their entire lives around this team,” Mamdani said Monday at a news conference in the Maspeth neighborhood of Queens. “Not just for the course of these last few weeks and months and years, but frankly for decades.”

“For our students, I will still encourage them to be studying hard for the Regents exam. There will always be any number of people who will not be able to make it, no matter what day that we choose.”

Public school kids are set to take science Regents on Thursday — starting less than an hour before the parade for biology test-takers, and in the early afternoon for students in earth science, according to the New York State Education Department exam schedule.

The parade is scheduled to kick off at 10 a.m. ET, traveling north along Broadway through the “Canyon of Heroes” before concluding at City Hall. Immediately after the parade, Mamdani is hosting a championship celebration and ceremony to provide the Knicks with a “Key to the City.” It is the first championship parade in the team’s history; the 1970 and 1973 teams were honored in ceremonies at City Hall.

The test, however, is staying where it is on the calendar.

“There will be no changes to the Regents Examination schedule,” JP O’Hare, a spokesman for the state education department, said in a statement. “New Yorkers are rightfully excited to celebrate the Knicks, but our students have been preparing all year for this moment too. Just like the Knicks, they’ve put in the work and earned their chance to shine.”

At least four petitions have been launched — by parents, teachers and students — calling on Mamdani and Knicks owner James Dolan to reschedule the parade, or state education officials to move the exams or even give the city a waiver to cancel school.

“Let us not deny this generation the opportunity to be part of a moment that celebrates teamwork, resilience, and achievement — a hallmark of the values we strive to teach within educational systems,” read one of the petitions.

The most elite private schools in New York City do not administer the Regents exams and will not face the same conflict.

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