Let me state unequivocally that I have a bias in this fight.  I am the product of 9 years of yeshiva.  And, while I was probably NOT the favorite of my teachers (now THERE’s an understatement), I did receive an outstanding education.  Not that they would have known that, since I spent more time out in the hall during my first years at HANC than I did in the classroom.  (They stopped sending me to the hall by the middle of my third year there.)  But, I did read religiously (pun intended) all the textbooks, handouts, etc.  that were provided to the classes.

I also know that there are a slew of yeshivot (that’s the plural of yeshiva, in case you didn’t know) that don’t quite match the standard that was set by HANC.  Oh, sure, those yeshivot probably would have attempted to make me a much more qualified Talmudic scholar- but they also only consider that sort of study to be the only one they should afford their students.  Secular studies- the kind that we need to survive in America (or, even in Israel)- are not even an afterthought.  (It seems that only the younger students get any- and that’s limited to an hour and half a day.)

But, the ultra-Orthodox have a fair amount of political power in places like New York.   And, they declare immunity from many regulations, declaring that it is a state intrusion against religious freedom.   Which is why folks like Mayor Bill de Blasio were unable to investigate how well those almost 60,000 students at New York City yeshivot fare when it comes to secular education.   (Consider this:  The Satmar, an ultra-Orthodox sect, runs the fourth largest school system in New York State.  That’s just behind Manhattan, Staten Island, and Queens [all parts of New York City]!  And, there are about 440 yeshivot in New York state with a student population of about 165K.)

MaryEllen Elia, the New York State Commissioner of Education, has promulgated some regulations right before Thanksgiving that might tip the scales in this battle.  If the private schools (theoretically, it’s not just regulations for yeshivot to follow- but you;ll discern this canard soon enough) fail to provide a “substantially equivalent” instruction, they stand to lose the little funds that New York provides private schools.  And, Elia has threatened to force parents to remove their kids from a failed institution.  (That’s why the New York State Catholic Conference also is complaining about these new regulations.  But, these regulations ONLY apply to those private schools that provide a bilingual education- so the hoity-toity private schools that exist across the state are exempt.)

This is not to say that public school education is doing all that well.  Consider that the New York City Public School System (with about 1800 units) is not dealing appropriately with de facto racial segregation or student homelessness.

But, the actual regulations don’t make a lot of sense to me.

Consider these program definitions for a private (non-profit) school to be regulated by these new guidelines.

What does that really mean?   These regulations are clearly aimed ONLY at the ultra-Orthodox schools.  Because schools like mine, which provide educational opportunities that are among the best across the USA, finish well before those stipulated times. As do most Catholic schools. (By the way, HANC had 2 National Merit finalists, not bad for 390 kids in grades 7 to 12!)

It’s not surprising that the ultra-Orthodox are up in arms.  (I have much less knowledge about Catholic schools, so I won’t offer any comments about their complaints.)  Because their institutions do not believe they need to offer any secular education.  (Of course, most of their students will clearly have problems obtaining reasonable jobs when they finish.  Which by the way is exactly the same problem that obtains for the ultra-Orthodox in Israel.)

The yeshivot claim that parents desire their children to be imbued with a specific moral, ethical, and religious framework.  I agree that is true- but just like I take umbrage (closer to expressing outrage) that the Commonwealth of Virginia lets parents keep their kids out of school for religious reasons (and provide ZERO instruction), I find it unconscionable to let parents ruin their children’s futures for purported religious reasons.  (I should also remind you that I am fairly religious myself.)

But, if the ultra-Orthodox are correct (the documentation from the state does not clearly denote these requirements), then there is a problem with the new rules.  According to their (the yeshivot’s) complaint, the regulations stipulate 7 hours of daily instruction for 11 courses in grades 5 through 8.   For what it’s worth, my secular education ran no more than 4 hours a day- and we bested that offered by every public school on Long Island.  (And, back then, Great Neck provided the best public school education in the USA.)

As you can see, I don’t agree with a time requirement.   Moreover, given the New York state education system’s penchant with Regent’s exams and the Regent’s Scholarship test, I don’t see why requiring students at yeshivot to take and pass those exams to be out of line.   (Of course, they are so darned easy that they don’t provide a clue as to educational excellence.  But, we are looking for minimum standards, right?)

Using those exams as guidelines would let yeshivot still offer their religious instruction AND provide (minimal) secular education (one not time-based, but results-based) to help educate and train these students for life- one filled with religion and a potential for a job when they are adults.

Let’s deal with the problem- not with the development of factory-based education.