Statement from Comptroller Lander on Board of Regents Vote on Academic Standards at Private Schools Receiving Public Funds

 

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander issued the following statement on today’s New York State Board of Regents vote to establish new regulations for holding private and parochial schools to substantially equivalent academic standards. The vote comes on the heels of The New York Times story outlining a lack of oversight of private Hasidic Jewish schools that fail to provide a basic secular education.

“Every single New York City child is owed a solid education that prepares them to thrive – yet as The New York Times report this week made starkly clear, too many yeshivas are failing that essential task. That so many young people have been denied the necessary skills they need to succeed in the higher educational opportunities, jobs, and diverse cultural and civic life of our city is a tragedy. That some of them may have been subjected to physical abuse is a shande.

“It is entirely possible for yeshivas to offer enriching English, math, and science education at the same time as a strong grounding in religious texts and Jewish tradition – indeed, many do. I know it personally, because many of my friends and colleagues are smart, well-educated yeshiva graduates.

“It’s also true that too many of our public schools fail to provide the enriching education that every one of our students deserve. The answer, of course, is to do all we can to demand accountability from all our schools – not to use the shortcomings of some to excuse those of others.

“Like all other private and public schools in New York State, yeshivas receive public funding to help meet the needs of and their obligations to their students. The government has an oversight responsibility to ensure those public dollars are spent as intended. Unfortunately, in recent years both the City and State have failed to hold yeshivas to appropriate educational standards. It is time for that to change. 

“Today, the Board of Regents adopted regulations clarifying the City’s oversight responsibilities to ensure that private and parochial schools offer a substantially equivalent basic education. As Comptroller, I’ll work to make sure we meet them.”