Religious School Reprieve from NY Education Standards to be Included in State Budget

New York lawmakers have agreed to delay regulations on nonpublic religious schools, bowing to pressure from Orthodox Jewish leaders and ignoring concerns from the state’s top education officials.

Draft bill language reviewed by the New York Public News Network would create another pathway for nonpublic schools to meet a standard known as “substantial equivalency,” which requires them to be more or less on par with public schools on subjects like reading and math. The Democratic leaders of both branches of the state Legislature confirmed that changes to the standard would appear in the still-pending state budget.

The state education department approved substantial equivalency regulations in 2022 and has spent the intervening years implementing a process for private schools to demonstrate compliance. That work has been particularly controversial for some yeshivas — schools run for and by the Orthodox Jewish community — where a state investigation found in 2023 that some offer little to no instruction in English, math and other non-religious topics.

While most nonpublic schools have reached or are in the process of reaching compliance, a small number have refused to engage with regulators, education department officials said. The department sent letters earlier this year to six yeshivas in Brooklyn saying they must shut their doors after the end of the school year.

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins both said Monday that all schools would have the opportunity to take more time before facing any sanctions.

“It’s not a loosening,” said Heastie, a Bronx Democrat. “It’s just allowing yeshivas and schools to get themselves in compliance.”

At a state Board of Regents meeting on Monday, state Education Commissioner Betty Rosa said the current rules are important for ensuring students are ready to get jobs and participate in civic life.

“Watering down this issue does not serve our children well,” she said. “My hope is we all think about not a political situation, but an educational situation on behalf of all children.”

The current regulations provide seven pathways for nonpublic schools to show they met the standards, including participation in the International Baccalaureate program and certification by a local school district.

Lawmakers plan to change the pathway under which nonpublic schools can use assessments to prove they comply with the law, according to the draft legislative language reviewed by the New York Public News Network and two people briefed on the deal who were not authorized to discuss it.

Nonpublic schools must currently use tests approved by the state education department. Under the deal, nonpublic schools could use tests approved by at least three other states. At least 33% of students must be deemed proficient using those tests, according to the draft language and people briefed on the deal.

If schools opt to use this pathway, they could begin phasing in their compliance with children in elementary school. Currently schools can demonstrate their lower grades are substantially equivalent if an affiliated high school meets state standards. As a result of this new “bottom-up” approach, the deadline for compliance could be pushed by as much as seven years, according to a memo of opposition circulated by YAFFED, an advocacy group founded by Orthodox Jews who say their education in yeshivas was substandard.

YAFFED in 2015 filed a complaint against 39 yeshivas in New York City, alleging that instruction of English and mathematics was provided for only 90 minutes per week and largely stopped for boys after the eighth grade. Of those schools, six were determined to be substantially nonequivalent.

Assemblymember Simcha Eichenstein, a Democrat from Brooklyn, was one of the main advocates of the change, according to three people familiar with the lobbying on the issue who were not authorized to speak publicly. He didn’t respond to repeated calls and text messages seeking comment.

Eichenstein has previously stated that his education in yeshivas provided an excellent foundation for his professional life. He also said that YAFFED is unfairly tarring the broader community of yeshivas based on the bad experiences of a few individuals.

There are approximately 170,000 students at 438 Jewish schools around the state, state education department officials said Monday.

Orthodox Jewish groups including Agudath Israel have opposed the state education department’s push to enforce substantial equivalency regulations. Agudath has said the substantial equivalency rules don’t consider the educational value of religious studies.

An Agudath representative declined to comment on Monday.

Orthodox Jewish communities are potent constituencies in Brooklyn as well as Rockland and Orange counties. Politicians from both parties meet with Jewish leaders prior to elections, and their followers often vote as a unified bloc.

Hochul said Tuesday that she supported the changes to the substantial equivalency regulations.

“ We’re just simply saying there are other ways to do it so we can make sure we have the proper balance between children getting their education and their parents’ right to educate them according to their protections under the First Amendment,” the Democratic governor said.

Heastie and Stewart-Cousins said language addressing the matter would be inserted into state budget bills that are being finalized this week. The issue was one of the last sticking points in talks about the $254 billion spending plan, which is more than a month late.

Story by Jimmy Vielkind/WNYC/New York Public News Network
Jimmy Vielkind covers how state government and politics affect people throughout New York. He has covered Albany since 2008, most recently as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal.

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