In April 2016, New York State promised yeshivas and other private schools millions of dollars in funding for teaching science, technology and math.
A Yeshiva World News investigation has uncovered that more than two-and-a-half years later, the State has still not distributed the first dollar to a single institution.
But this is worse than merely taking credit for something and failing to follow through. Politicians do that all the time.
What the State engineered here was a far more devious and damaging bait-and-switch.
Earlier this year, the State solicited applications for the new STEM funding from private schools. As part of the application process, all the private schools had to complete a questionnaire asking questions about their curriculum and had to attach their daily schedule of classes.
Here’s what happened next:
The State didn’t give out any money, but it did issue new guidelines requiring yeshivas to transform their schedules and to change their curriculum.
As Yeshiva World News has previously reported, these new State guideline require yeshiva elementary schools to provide nearly seven hours a day of secular studies classes.
What chutzpah!
The State held out the promise of money to get yeshivas and other religious schools to share their curriculum and schedules, and then used that information to impose new regulations on yeshivas, and all without actually giving yeshivas a nickel.
The new guidelines for yeshiva curriculum were announced with great fanfare by the Education Commissioner at a press conference in which she threatened that if yeshivas do not comply with her edict, “parents would be notified they need to transfer students within a reasonable time frame of six weeks to two months,” and that “if a student remains at the school after that, they’d be considered truant and that’s another whole process that gets triggered.”
What about the money promised to yeshivas?
On September 5, the Commissioner posted that “Due to the high volume of responses, the anticipated reimbursement date of late fall 2018 may need to be extended. Applicants are encouraged to check back here for further updates.”
In the three months since that time, she has gone radio silent. The Commissioner seems not to care about enforcing State Education Department obligations when she is the one violating them.
It is clear that the yeshiva community has been played for fools by the State. The only question is what we will do about the State’s hypocrisy and double dealing.
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39 Responses
Communism.
Why should the NYS release those funds if the yeshivos dont adequately teach those subjects!!!!!!!!
Vote Democrat they said.
This is what happens when a lot of Frum Jews support & vote for Democrats.
The State should NOT be giving ANY money to private schools. And if they do they have EVERY right to make shoe the school is teaching up to State standards.
But..but..The government only has our best interests in mind? Just like vaccinations…right?
Baaabaaabaaa
What can you expect from dumbocrats
why are surprised is there suppose to be honor among crooks, politicians, and chareidim?
The education czar is going against the Constitution that states prohibiting the free exercise of religion. Part of the Jewish religion is the Totah education of Jewish children. By taking away time for Jewish education by forcing yeshivas to teach hours of secular studies and compromising the integrity of Jewish tradition is abidging the rights of Jewish religious practice. In tje 1800’s, the haskalah movement believed that it was important to have secular knowledge together with Torah, although decades later they admitted that all that had been achieved was generations of am ho’oratzim.
haha Satmar Rebbe and his followers got fooled and they all voted for this lying politician.
The truth is that today, people know everything. They know that we are forcing the Government to pay money, for us to learn that ‘Goy Sheshovas Chayov Misso’, and, that ‘Le’osid Lovo the Goyim will run out of the Sukkah complaining that its too hot’, and that ‘Pekuach Nefesh only pertains to a child of a Yiddishe Mother’, and that ‘Hashovas Aveido is only to a Yid’, Etc.
They don’t like it, and will not allow it.
That is not even the biggest chutzpah. The biggest one is that at the agudah yeshiva summit in late October all the government people where there including the commissioner on education. They all promised up and down how it is the parent’s right to educate their child the way they see fit. Many of them are even products of the non-public school system.
After all that a mere couples of weeks later they issue this?! That is Chutzpah!
As an aside I think there is a simple way to prove educational equivalence that will certainly work in the non- hasidic world and possibly in the hassidic world as well. Take the average regents scores from the public schools and compare it to the average regents scores from the yeshivas. I’d bet they are at least the same if not better in the yeshivas.
You expect nyc to play nice after all the fraud with e-bates and lying to them about the secular subjects you were actually NOT Teaching?
You voted for these wackos! Stop taking money from the State! The more programs you accept, the more youre regulated & controlled. There are a good few Yeshivos out there that dont take a dime from the State & are not bullied. They seem to be doing well. Again, the more we take the more we have to comply. Lets stop running our Yeshiva system like the public schools. We are living in sceary world with alot of challanges & its not easy for our children… Lets put some more heart into our Mosdos & lets be there for our children. Keep the City & State away from us! They just make us trouble!
This is what happens when we vote for Democrats, against the direction of the Gedolim of the previous generation, just because we think we will get more money from them. It comes back and kicks us in the face!
Next time we should vote for the right choice according to our Torah values, and trust that the money comes from the Ribono Shel Oilam, not from morally corrupt polititions.
Maybe these gezeiros are a wake up cal for us. Stop voting for polititions who are passing toeiva laws and other laws which are in direct violation of the Torah!
Thank you Cuomo and Democrats. May you all retire speedily from politics to new careers where you can do less or no harm.
Thats what happens when you vote democrat!!
We learn mosr of these curriculum in Yeshivos for 10 hours a day. When we learn Gemura it covers so much knowledge. Our boys minds are being sharpened through challenging and understanding our Rishonim and Achronim. We should be enough with 30-60 minutes a day to cover English language and grammar which is not learned in Gemura or for one spider the boys should learn in English Artscrol.
lets be clear, Mr. Cuomo was recently running for reelections, he asked the Satmar Rebbe of Williamsburg to endorse him in return for no investigations into the Yeshiva probe and full funding for Yeshivas-NOW WHAT???
this is the way DUMMYCRATS WORK!
History Repeats Itself:
The Czarist Gov in Russia with the help of Haskalah and Meshumadim suddenly had sincere intentions of “educating” all Jews, and hence forced the closure of the famous Yeshiva of Volozhin.
Meanwhile, the typical peasant/masses of Russia could not even read….
NY PS while spending the most on each student nationwide have one of the LOWEST grades/education..
Let them fix their education system first and THEN regulate others.
The most ridicules part is, they should base it all by grades on the essential subjects, not try to enforce their “curriculum” on others.
I am certain, most mosdos who teach properly Math, reading, etc can surely match up with ANY PS in NYC.
(And yes, Charedi mosdos should have adequate grades on those subjects, even with 2 1/2-3 hrs of class.)
Simply put this was a Chassdish educational issue. Now it’s a problem for all of us. Why the Chassidim feel it’s OK not to properly educate their children is beyond me. That is their decision. Problem is now it affects all of us. Instead of blaming since on voting democrats put the blame where it belongs. The leadership of the Chassidish education system, the Rebees!! This is their fault!!!
It’s not them, it’s us! The NYS Education Dept did not get you, HASHEM got you!
The government takes our money in the form of taxes, supports the public school system and we get left out! Let us teach our own children the way we want! Don’t take our taxes and don’t tell us what to do!
They want all citizens to have an education that allows them to be what they view as productive members of society.
Most yeshivos do that (and surpass it) in the few afternoon secular hours.
They want all citizens to have an education that allows them to be what they view as productive members of society.
Most yeshivos do that (and surpass it) in just a few afternoon secular hours. That’s why until recently the government didn’t get involved. They trusted us.
A few yeahivos took advantage of that trust. This is the result. Our askanim may be able to work with them and find another solution. But even so if we keep abusing their trust eventually we will have less autonomy then we would like in our schools.
> Talmidchochom
> Why should the NYS release those funds if the yeshivos dont adequately teach those subjects!!!!!!!!
The way it looks like from this article, two years ago the promised money was the outlay to create a secular sub-structure within the institutions for teaching the subjects. Your question is like asking why a construction company should pay its employees anything during the years it takes to construct a high-rise when clearly there is no high-rise completed (ready for occupation) until after the years-long effort to build it is complete..
> WgFPD2
> The State should NOT be giving ANY money to private schools. And if they do they have EVERY right to make shoe the school is teaching up to State standards.
That is a sick remark. It is not State money. It is taxpayer money and Jews are taxpayers. Cherry picking a few Jews here-and-there that are on government assistance is despicable. A real comparison between what Jews as a whole bring into government coffers compared to non-Jews (in ratio to their respective populations) would be required for a reality-based discussion.
> ader
> The truth is that today, people know everything. They know that …
Idiotic statement. It is blatantly obvious they know nothing and they don’t care. They live in an imagined world where Jews cannot eat food touched by woman (or a woman in menstruation). Where “kosher” means food blessed by a Rabbi (I know this personally when I asked for kosher food on a trip they told me there is not enough time to find a Rabbi to bless the food).
How certain is This??!? Will the Gedolim call for Massive Protests all over New York every man, women and child??? As this is an Existential issue! and a Freedom of Religoun and Separation of State and Religoun issue! And equality under the law for govt aid for secular subject funding as well. Especially as often noted in Yeshivas there is NOT ONLY normally BETTER ACADEMIC SUCCESS but Much Fewer Gun Violence and Sexual Harrassment by the Students Than in the NY State Public Schools! Maybe they should learn from US
>>Georgeg
Wishful thinking. They know everything even about To’os Akim, and about Amm Hadomeh Lachamor. And they also know that the word “Idol worshippers” in the Artscroll Gemoros, refers to any Non-Yid. This info flows very rapidly via today’s technology. I’ve heard it from many sources.
Am I the only one feeling that Hashem is tightening the screws on us in Galus?
I did not vote for one dem, in the last election.
Ader, you seem like an anti-Semite yourself because anti-Semites thrive by lying. Idol worshippers does not refer to any non-Jew. To’os Akim and everything else you wish to bring forth that is seemingly negative of Judaism does not create any problems besides for Jew haters like you. According to strict halacha, Jews may copy DVDs and audio CDs without the author’s permission, even from Jewish authors. Does this make us Jews Jew haters because we are technically allowed to copy stuff created by Jews because it is not considered physical property? We all look down at people who copy without permission and the same is with our behavior with non-Jews, most frum Jews would return items to a non-Jew is received by mistake.
You are parroting the anti-Semites who twist Judaism, lie about us, and create all kinds of excuses to hate us. Unfortunately there are many Jewish haters of Jews as well. Usually it’s the dumb people who cannot differenciate between left and right and when bombarded with enough proganda, they start believing it. It’s nausciating.
>> philosopher: You’re full of emotions not facts. Where ever the Arts Scroll uses the term Idle Worshippers it does apply L’halocho to all Non-Yidden. To’os Akim applies to many more situations than copying CD’s. Re. Hashovas Aveido we Paskin like the Ramoh that its Osur to return to any Non-Yid even a decent person. (Machlokes Rambam and Raavad). Gezel Akum is a Machlokes in Shas, and Rashi says that the reason for the Shita that its Osur is because of Chilul Hashem, in other words we have to pretend that we are good. Re. Pikuach Nefesh Bishvil Akum the Biur Halacha clearly says that it has nothing to do with the fact that he doesn’t keep Shabos, the fact is that Vochai Bo’hem only pertains to a Yid. Payments for Arbo Ovos Nizikin only pertains to A Yid (Shor Achicho).
Just start learning.
Ader, you are creating your own “halacha”. If every non-Jew would be an idol worshipper then Adam, Noach, Shem, etc. would be considered idol worshippers. ACCORDING TO HALACHA, idol worshippers are those who worship idols, how simple is that to understand? It seems that you don’t understand basic language so you make up your own halacha with sources all from you…
Did I say that to’os Akim has anything bechlal to do with copying CDs ?! I mentioned copying to prove that according to halacha we can do things that are seemingly not nice to other Jews either, does that mean we mistreat ourselves?! Halacha does not take away from the Fifth Shulchan Aruch which you are so desperately lacking.
georgeg:
>That is a sick remark. It is not State money. It is taxpayer money and Jews are taxpayers. Cherry picking a few Jews here->and-there that are on government assistance is despicable. A real comparison between what Jews as a whole bring into >government coffers compared to non-Jews (in ratio to their respective populations) would be required for a reality->based discussion.
What the hell are you talking about? Where was there a mention of ” Cherry picking a few Jews here->and-there that are on government assistance”? Your just opening your mouth and nothing that makes any sense is coming out.
I stand by my statement NO PRIVATE schools either Jewish, Catholic or other should receive ANY State money. And if by some reason they do, they MUST meet all State Education requirements.
There’s a very important point to consider that no one wants to address. The Yeshivas in question don’t spend much class time on secular studies. They certainly do NOT have STEM programs nor will most of them EVER have a STEM program. So what are they intending to do with the funds? If they use them for anything other than STEM classes they would be committing fraud. Seems to me that it takes a lot of chutzpah to demand funds for programs one has no intention of teaching. Some would say it’s even deliberate fraud.
“I stand by my statement NO PRIVATE schools either Jewish, Catholic or other should receive ANY State money. And if by some reason they do, they MUST meet all State Education requirements.”
So would that exempt one from paying all taxes equivalent that goes to Schools?
What right does the Gov have to force those taxes on me, when on the other hand they force me to only educate according top their own unsuccessful education curriculum?!
GAON
“So would that exempt one from paying all taxes equivalent that goes to Schools?
What right does the Gov have to force those taxes on me, when on the other hand they force me to only educate according top their own unsuccessful education curriculum?!”
Your Taxes go for PUBLIC schools, you CHOOSE not to send your child them. Taxes are paid for lots of things people do not use or want, but that is the price you pay for living in NYC/USA. Deal with it.