Non-public schools — including Hasidic yeshivas — could be subject to inspections by the city education department, under new regulations passed by the Board of Regents Tuesday.

The rules are aimed at ensuring schools follow a century-old state law which requires non-public schools to offer an education that is substantially equivalent to what’s given in public schools.

But exactly what that standard means and who enforces it is in question. The board embarked on an effort to create new guidelines after complaints that some Hasidic yeshivas were not offering students much, if any, education in secular subjects like English, math, history and science.

What You Need To Know

  • Non-public schools, including Hasidic yeshivas, could be subject to inspections after the state passed new rules Tuesday

  • The rules are aimed at ensuring schools are following a century-old state law which requires non-public schools to offer an education that is substantially equivalent to what’s given in public schools

  • Some have argued some Hasidic yeshiva are offering little or no secular instruction to boys, despite receiving government funding

“We are a state department and a Board of Regents that is truly responsible under the law for the education of all children in our state,” state Education Commissioner Betty Rosa said.

Under the new regulations, non-public schools may be subject to reviews by local school districts to determine if they’re complying with the law. The criteria for the reviews include a competent teacher gives that instruction; that there are lessons in English, math, science, and social studies; and that lessons are provided to students with limited English proficiency to help them make progress.

But schools can avoid those reviews if they meet other criteria, like having students take state exams or using a curriculum from approved organizations. That’s an option Catholic leaders have said their schools will take.

“The regulation does not single out any one group or groups. It applies equally to all nonpublic schools in the state of New York,” Jim Baldwin, senior deputy commissioner for education policy, said.

Still, the rules have seen intense pushback from Orthodox groups, including those who protested outside the education department Monday and vowed not to change their instruction.

Some parents and graduates of Orthodox yeshivas say many of the schools offer little or no instruction in English, and that graduates can struggle to read or write in the language. A recent New York Times investigation underscored those allegations, finding that 99 percent of the Hasidic boys who took state exams in 2019 failed the tests.