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New York approves new private school regulations as yeshivas face mounting scrutiny
By
Sophia Chang
Published Sep 13, 2022
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By
Sophia Chang
Published Sep 13, 2022
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State education policymakers have approved new regulations requiring New York’s private schools give students a robust education, as allegations mount that some Hasidic yeshivas did not teach basic math, history, and English.
The Board of Regents, which sets policy for the state Department of Education, unanimously voted in favor of the rules with little fanfare Tuesday.
The new framework for what qualifies as an education “substantially equivalent” to one offered in public schools follows a New York Times investigation into Hasidic yeshivas in Brooklyn and the Hudson Valley. The paper reported Sunday that out of roughly 1,000 boys at one Hasidic yeshiva in Williamsburg, virtually none passed any state math or reading tests in 2019.
The paper also uncovered allegations of abusive behavior by teachers and failure to meet educational standards in secular instruction. Meanwhile, Hasidic boys' schools have received more than $1 billion in government funding in the last four years, according to the report.
The state education department drafted the new rules in response to allegations, first raised in 2015, that more than two-dozen city yeshivas did not meet the threshold. The city's education department then found in 2019 that only two out of 28 yeshivas were providing students with an education “substantially equivalent” to one in public schools.
A lawsuit filed last year by the mother of a Brooklyn yeshiva student said her 8-year-old son had barely received instruction in English and that her older sons “were not taught any classes in American history, American government, civics, or voting.” That suit is ongoing.
Notably absent from the Board of Regents vote were the protesters who reportedly gathered outside the state Education Department’s building in Albany on Monday while a subcommittee considered the new regulations, according to the Times-Union.
Rabbi Yaakov Shapiro of Queens, who led a group of rabbis at the protest, told the paper that “the fact that they’re failing math is not indicative of a problem.”
In a statement, Naftuli Moster, executive director of Yaffed, which has pushed for more oversight of religious schools, called the regulations “a giant step forward in ensuring that all children attending nonpublic schools receive the education to which they are entitled.”
The new regulations now require teachers to demonstrate competence in the subjects they’re teaching and update requirements for instructional time in core subjects like math and social studies.
Some 1,800 nonpublic schools in New York state will be affected by the new guidelines, which go into effect on Sept. 28. Schools have until June 2025 to comply.
Tagged
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yeshivas
Sophia Chang
Sophia Chang is a former WNYC and Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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