Last November, Beatrice Weber told NY1 that her son's school, Yeshiva Mesivta Arugath Habosem in Williamsburg, provided little instruction in U.S. history, science, math or English.

"He can read English better than his teacher," Weber said of her son.

Weber — a mother of 10 who left her marriage and the ultra-Orthodox community — must continue sending her child to the school as part of a family court order.

So she filed a complaint with the state's Department of Education in 2019, saying the school was violating state education law, which requires all non-public schools to provide an education that is substantially equivalent to public schools.

Last week, state education commissioner Betty Rosa agreed, saying the school "has not sufficiently demonstrated" it provides a substantially equivalent education.

For Weber, it's vindication.

"I just felt so voiceless. I felt like what I said didn't matter, what I wanted didn't matter," Weber said of her time as part of an ultra-Orthodox community. "And it's just so amazing to be in a place where, you know, it does matter. It does matter. When you speak up and take action, it does matter."

Rosa's ruling, first reported by the New York Times, was a rebuke of the city, which had recommended the state find the yeshiva in compliance with the law.

The city first reported to the state about the school last November, saying that the yeshiva "provides some but not all of the required subjects of secular instruction."

Rosa told the city that wasn't definitive enough and asked city officials to complete its investigation to determine if a substantially equivalent education was being offered.

In July, the city replied to the state again, saying it found the school substantially equivalent.

But Rosa says the city didn't back up its change of heart with hard evidence, and said the information the city did provide to the state did not show full compliance under the law.

She wrote that the city's recommendation "is entitled to minimal weight" and that the city did not examine each of Weber's complaints.

A spokesman for the school crticized the decision.

"Educators from the city's Department of Education visited the school several times and determined that it met the substantial equivalence standard," Yeshiva Mesivta Arugath Habosem spokesman Richard Bamberger said. "It is disappointing that political appointees at the state Education Department won't accept the city's findings."

The city stands by its investigation.

"We conducted a thorough, detailed investigation in this case involving multiple school visits and classroom observations, extensive reviews of curricular materials and interviews of school staff. We submitted a 10-page recommendation detailing our findings and applying the standard for substantial equivalency in the statute and regulations," spokesman Nathaniel Styer said.

Still, Styer acknowledged that the Department of Education's finding is only a recommendation, and the final say is with the state.

"We welcome further guidance from the state and/or the courts that brings greater clarity regarding what is a substantially equivalent education — so that all private schools can be assessed fairly and there is transparency about the process and standard applied," Styer said.

The ruling requires the school to work with the city to develop a timeline and a plan for meeting standards. Weber is skeptical.

"I'm concerned about the process and the plan they put in place, relying on the school and the Department of Education, who have clearly proven themselves to be not acting in good faith," Weber said.

Schools that violate the law could eventually lose public funding they receive for things like meals or busing.

The decision comes at a time of increased scrutiny on ultra-Orthodox yeshivas in the city following a New York Times investigation. And it's just weeks after the state adopted new regulations about how to determine whether schools are meeting state standards.

Those regulations will require the city's Department of Education to determine whether yeshivas are meeting standards, unless the school chooses other pathways like offering certain curricula or administering certain state exams. The state's skepticism of the city's investigation may raise questions about how robust that oversight will be.

And the rules are already being challenged — a coalition of religious groups filed their own lawsuit this week.