New York Hasidic education controversy
A six-month Jewish Week feature in 2015 revealed details of the state of education at Hasidic yeshivas, but the reporters similarly struggled to involve dignitaries.
[2] As far back as 2003, most government officials in New York City close to the matter reportedly knew of the lack or inadequacy of secular education in Hasidic boys' schools, also called yeshivas, but did not wish to advocate for change or even acknowledge the situation publicly.
News media similarly remained quiet, worrying that they would be accused of antisemitism for reporting on it, and insiders were generally unwilling to tell their story publicly.
[7] In 2015, the Jewish Week and WNYC ran a six-month investigation into the matter, interviewing dozens of former students and teachers of Hasidic schools, education experts, lawyers, as well as community members and activists who were against government intrusion.
Then-mayor of New York Bill de Blasio sent the paper a statement promising "zero tolerance" for inadequate secular instruction at yeshivas, and Daniel Dromm, then-Queens Councilman, gave his outspoken support, telling the Jewish Week, “We can’t have students leaving schools in New York City that can’t speak English, that have no idea of science or history or social studies,” ... “That is not allowed by the state and we cannot continue to allow that to happen”.
But other then-relevant council members Chaim M. Deutsch, Mark Levine and Brad Lander, as well as education regulators then-Governor Andrew Cuomo, then-State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and then-Public Advocate Letitia James, either did not return messages from the paper or declined to comment.
[4] In July of that year, Yaffed sent a letter signed by 52 former yeshiva students, parents and teachers to seven district superintendents in Queens and Brooklyn and the city's schools chancellor, calling for government intervention, alleging that 39 New York yeshivas (thirty-eight in Brooklyn and one in Queens) failed to meet New York state law of “substantial equivalency”; a copy of the letter was also shared with the media.
David Bloomfield, an education professor at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center, referring to the city's duty to oversee private schools, said, "There are political, fiscal, and legal complications involved in this" ... "all of them militate against the application of the rule".
[7] In a news conference held by Yaffed in front of New York City Hall in April 2016, the group criticized the de Blasio administration for the lack of any noticeable headway in the probe that their letter had prompted eight months prior, and expressed the belief that the delay was politically motivated to maintain good relations with the Haredi community.
The contention that the investigation had stalled was seemingly corroborated by the fact that in July 2015, Harry Hartfield, a spokesman for the education department, said it was “in the process of finalizing a set of requests” for the yeshivas, but then in 2016, Hartfield used the same words, telling news site Patch that they were “in the process of finalizing” them and would be sending them out “soon.” A spokesman for de Blasio responded to concerns of a politically motivated delay, saying the investigation was “active and ongoing", and maintained that to say the requests had not been sent out was inaccurate, but did not elaborate.
[8] At a Council hearing in May 2016, then-Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina testified that the DOE had visited “several” yeshivas and that the probe was “moving faster.” “We now have a committee that is working exclusively on this, so I expect like within a month or so I can give you a written report”.
Asked when the education department intended to release an investigation-report, a spokeswoman said, “The investigation is ongoing and we are treating this matter with utmost seriousness.”[12] That September, Yaffed released its own report[13] on the state of education in Hasidic yeshivas, in which they alleged that on average, boys aged 7–12 were given secular instruction which included reading and writing in English, four times a week for ninety minutes, and past the age of 12, boys typically ceased learning English subjects altogether; girls generally received more secular education than boys, according to the report.
There’s another fifteen that would not allow DOE officials in the door and that, to me, is not an acceptable state of affairs.”[17] Moster said in a statement, “It is disappointing, but not surprising, that nearly half of the schools to be investigated refused entry to the Department of Education.
In fact, the DOI report accurately identifies why this process has taken so long, including ever-changing state regulations and the difficulty of gaining access to some schools.
"[18] Naftuli Moster called it "a disgrace", saying it demonstrated that "the city is willing to trade away the education of tens of thousands of students for power and political influence", and raised concerns as to whether the waited-for report would be reliable.
[18] Simcha Eichenstein, an assemblyman who represents the Brooklyn Hasidic community and previously worked for de Blasio's legislative affairs team, pointed at the finding that no illegalities were committed and said, "Nothing newsworthy here.
[26] In January 2023, State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa accused the city DOE of stalling the investigation for "political reasons", and demanded the report be published no later than June 30, including specific reviews of each individual school.
[26] On the day of the deadline, June 30, 2023, eight years from the start of its investigation into Hasidic yeshivas,[27] the city Department of Education released the final report of its findings in form of letters[28] and verbal statements.
[44][45] In February 2020, The department said it would be reviewing the regulations after receiving 140,000 public comments on the issue in just three months, with, media sources said, the vast majority opposing the plan.
[49] On September 12, 2022, a day after the New York Times investigative report, a Board of Regents committee[50] unanimously approved the amended regulations[51] which went into immediate effect for the state's estimated 1,800-2,000 nonpublic schools, 911 of them in NYC including 102 yeshivas.
