The New York State Department of Education on Monday announced plans to update the rules governing education in non-public schools in the coming year, which could have major implications for the state’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish religious schools.
Critics of theological schools, or yeshiva, praised the declaration, while supporters denounced it.
New York State mandates that all children in non-public schools receive instruction that is “substantially equivalent” to education in nearby public schools. The definition of the term, and the enforcement of the law, has been a source of ongoing controversy surrounding yeshiva.
Critics of the yeshiva system point out that schools fail to provide adequate education in secular subjects, including English and mathematics, leaving graduates unprepared to enter the workforce.
In 2019, a New York City investigation of 28 yeshiva found that only two Among them provided education “quite equivalent” to secular public schools.
Monday’s announcement The state education department will issue updated rules on secular education in non-government schools in the coming months. The rules would be presented to state officials, then issued for public comment, review and revision.
The final rules will be implemented in the spring or summer of 2022, the statement said.
“We can see changes at the grassroots level in the 2022-2023 school year. This is a big step forward,” said Naftuli Mostar, the head of YFED, a New York nonprofit working to reform the Yeshiva system.
The enforcement mechanism the state will use is unclear, but the statement announced four possible “pathways to demonstrate equivalence,” including accreditation, registration, display of student results and site visits in schools.
The state said its goals are to “recognize and support the unique culture and beliefs that form the foundation of our non-public schools; and to comply with the law.”
The new law will also apply to non-Jewish schools, which include Catholic, Amish and elite preparatory schools. Monday’s announcement was made after deliberations between Department of Education staff and stakeholders in the non-public school system, including parents, students, administrators and religious leaders.
The Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council, a New York non-profit, criticized the announcement, saying “the push for a harsher definition of ‘adequate equivalence’ against private schools comes, comically, at a time when public schools standards are loosened for
“Without this change, Yeshiva is in good standing with the education law so why create a problem?” the group said.
