Agudath Israel of America acknowledges the New York State Education Department’s release today of proposed new regulations regarding “substantial equivalence” of instruction. We will be studying these proposed regulations closely in the days ahead, but at first glance we note that they represent an improvement over the version that SED proposed in 2019 — most notably, by establishing a series of alternate pathways to substantial equivalency. This is a positive development.
We also appreciate the proposed regulations’ explicit instruction that “Reviews shall be informed by, and respectful of, the cultural and religious beliefs and educational philosophy that may drive the curriculum in nonpublic schools and be integrated with academic content in the delivery of instruction.” This is an important foundational principle.
Yet despite these positive features of the proposed new regulations, we remain deeply concerned about the impact these regulations may have on many yeshivas across New York State. Most dismayingly, and despite numerous entreaties by Agudath Israel and other advocates for the yeshiva community, nowhere in the proposed regulations is there any mention of the need to take into account the educational value of religious studies in determining substantial equivalency. Yeshiva students devote long hours to the study of the Chumash, Mishnah, Talmud and various other religious texts – a course of study that is well known to be a rigorous academic discipline of the highest order. For a yeshiva to be judged on the quality of its educational program without taking into account these religious studies would make a cruel mockery of the review process. By ignoring this essential component of yeshiva education, the proposed new regulations may result in yeshivas having to make major changes to their school day schedules to be deemed substantially equivalent. This is entirely unacceptable.
We will continue to engage the SED and Board of Regents as the regulatory process moves forward, in the hope that any new regulations will fully respect the unique nature and essential role of yeshiva education. The stakes are high, and we cannot afford to sit on the sidelines.
As a former public-school student, I vehemently disagree with any attempt to limit the influence of the Board of Regents. I fondly and warmly remember the waft of the green herb in the hallways of Junior and Senior High School in the 1970’s. I remember the number of confiscated knives and other weapons, some still attached to the bodies of the combatants. I remember my foreign language studies, albeit conducted in English. I remember the school trips to museums, libraries, and the shore. I remember how Jimmy Carter was going to save the South Bronx and fires were set in auditoriums. I recall, whimsically, how we sat and blew through music and how we created during art (no worries the BOR has no intention of resurrecting such crass malaprops.) Ahhhh, what joy to know that my progeny and similar others will become productive (albeit self-destructive) society members.
This proposal has the smell, no the STINK, of yaffed ymsh.
The worst anti-Semites, are fin inzireh.
the goal of the state of NY is to teach toeiva to our heilega children.