New York ultra-Orthodox schools may lose state funding for inadequate curriculum

Updated guidelines will see inspectors visit education institutions to check English and math are being taught to proper standards

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish schools in New York could lose funding for textbooks, transportation and other state-provided services under new guidelines issued by the state Education Department.

Under the new rules, representatives of school districts will visit each non-public school once every five years to observe and determine whether the schools are providing enough instruction in required subjects such as English, math, social studies and science.

The education of the approximately 57,000 students at New York yeshivas has been under a spotlight for failing to hold to the same standard of basic secular instruction as other schools.

New York City launched a probe into its yeshiva system in 2015 following a complaint by the Young Advocates for Fair Education, or YAFFED, charging that 39 Orthodox institutions were failing to meet standards set by state law requiring private schools to offer a curriculum “substantially equivalent” to that of the public system. More than one-third of the schools did not allow inspectors to enter.

State Sen. Simcha Felder, who is Orthodox Jewish, earlier this year held up passage of the $168 billion fiscal plan until the state agreed not to interfere in the curricula at Orthodox yeshivas. A bill that he authored and passed puts ulrta-Orthodox yeshivas under the authority of the state rather than local education officials.