Make Your Voice Heard As New Regulations For Private Schools Looms

by Monsey.info

The independence of private schools in New York State hangs in the balance as a proposal for regulations on public schools may soon become law.

“There is no greater threat than the interference with the traditional and wholesome Chinuch of our Children,” Oholei Torah wrote in an email. “The State Education Department has proposed new regulations for all private schools, including Yeshivas. These regulations will dictate the curriculum that Yeshivas must teach, and will give local public school districts the sole authority to approve our teachers.”

The proposed regulations were originally published in 2019, but the backlash was such that the drafted proposal was retracted. Following multiple delays due to COVID-19, the updated version of the proposal was resubmitted in March of this year.

Under the new proposed regulations, private and parochial schools would have six ways to prove they are offering education that is “substantially equivalent” to what is available in public schools, otherwise, local school districts would remain responsible for assessing the instruction provided in those schools.

Those six methods are:

-Participating in the international baccalaureate program.
-Regularly using SED-approved assessments that can be used to demonstrate student academic progress.
-Earning accreditation from an organization that is SED-approved.
-Being part of a school program that includes a high school registered by the Board of Regents; grades 1 through 8 of a nonpublic school that has a registered high school program will also be deemed substantially equivalent by virtue of the school’s high school registration.
-Being classified as an approved Private Special Education School (‘853’), State-Operated, or a State-Supported School (‘4201’).
-Delivering instruction approved by the United States government on a military base or service academy.

These proposed regulations, which were drafted due to law, have come under intense criticism as a vast majority of private schools and parents across the state voice outrage over the proposals.

“The history of decrees targeting yeshivas spans throughout our history as Jews,” wrote Rabbi Chaim Rosenstein in an Op-Ed published on CrownHeights.info. “At times it has been with threats of death and torture, while in more recent times (post-holocaust) it has been through the disguise of ‘protecting’ us from self-destruction.”

As a method of fighting back against these proposals, PEARLS New York, a non profit advocating for freedom in Yeshiva education, asked community members to write letters to the Board or Regents informing them of your opposition to the plan.

A link with information to write a letter can be found here.