Yaffed Warns NYSED Proposal Disadvantages Yeshiva Students

NEW YORK, NY (05/31/2019) (readMedia)-- In response to breaking news from the NYS Education Department proposesing new regulations for substantially equivalent instruction at non-public schools, YAFFED released the following statement.

"We are deeply concerned that NYSED's approach plays into the hands of groups like Agudath Israel which for years have resisted any oversight of yeshivas at all, while lobbying for millions of taxpayer dollars and subjecting students to gross educational neglect," said Naftuli Moster, Executive Director of YAFFED. "Instead of acting quickly to implement emergency regulations, NYSED has chosen a lengthy process which all but guarantees that in the 2019-2020 school year, tens of thousands of children will continue to be denied the education to which they are entitled by law."

The proposed regulations alone already contain some serious problems:

• That new schools only get reviewed within three years of operations, even though public funding for those schools begins from day one.
• Existing schools get reviewed by the "end of 2022-2023 or as soon as practicable thereafter." That's like saying "when you get around to it, but no rush."
• The proposed regs state that they: "Allow for integrated curriculum that delivers content by incorporating more than one subject into the content of a course." This offers a wide opening for unscrupulous schools to game the system and claim that teaching Noah and the flood is part of a world history curriculum.

Background

In response to an Albany judge's ruling in April which struck down the state's revised guidelines to provide reasonable oversight for non-public schools, Yaffed sent a letter urging the New York State Education Department (NYSED) to enact emergency regulations. Yaffed's letter includes affidavits from former yeshiva students about the devastating and debilitating effects of being denied a secular education. Since then, others have echoed that call including leading voices for educational reform like Cynthia Nixon and Zephyr Teachout, Michael Rebell, Common Cause/NY Executive Director Susan Lerner, and Columbia Professor Ester Fuchs.

Pursuant to Section 202(6) of the New York State Administrative Procedure Act ("Notice of Emergency Adoption"): "if an agency finds that the immediate adoption of a rule is necessary for the preservation of the . . . general welfare and that compliance with the requirements of subdivision one of this section [requiring the submission of a notice of proposed rulemaking and inviting public comments] would be contrary to the public interest, the agency may dispense with all or part of such requirements and adopt the rule on an emergency basis."

Yeshivas receive millions in state funding, but for years have eschewed the statutory requirement to provide a substantially equivalent education, leaving graduates woefully unprepared to succeed in secular society. Currently, students receive only 90 minutes of secular education in Hasidic boys' elementary schools, and none in high school.

The revised, minimal guidelines, established on November 20th, 2018 would've allowed:

• Nonpublic schools and religious schools to be inspected minimally: within the first 2 to 3 years, then once every 5 years thereafter.
• Academically rigorous instruction in the five core classes: English, History, Science, Mathematics, and Civics to develop critical thinking skills.
• The local school board or the Chancellor to determine whether a substantially equivalent education is being provided in religious or nonpublic schools
• The Commission to work with the religious and nonpublic schools to review textbooks and ensure that each student is receiving a sound education while respecting the school's culture.

In early March, the New York State Association of Independent Schools filed a lawsuit to stop the state from enforcing its revised guidelines. These guidelines are designed to make sure that nonpublic schools are meeting the legal requirement to provide an education that's "substantially equivalent" to public schools. The guidelines do not differ significantly from previous versions, requiring the teaching of the basics, such as English, math, science, and social studies. A consortium of yeshivas and Catholic schools also filed two similar lawsuits claiming religious freedom from oversight. The judge did not rule on the basis of merit, but rather on procedural grounds.

About Yaffed

YAFFED is an advocacy group committed to improving educational curricula within ultra-Orthodox schools. They fervently believe that every child is entitled to a fair and equitable education that is in compliance with the law. Their work involves raising awareness about the importance of general studies education, and encouraging elected officials, Department of Education officials and the leadership of the ultra-Orthodox world to act responsibly in preparing their youth for economic sufficiency and for broad access to the resources of the modern world.

In 2017 YAFFED released a 90-page report, Non-Equivalent: The State of Education in New York City's Hasidic Yeshivas, which includes updated data on the amount and quality of secular education in New York City yeshivas, a detailed examination of funding provided to yeshivas, new demographic projections of Hasidic school enrollment in New York City, recommendations for the New York City Department of Education and New York State Education Department, and more.