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10h ago

Hochul, Legislative Leaders Sued Over Law Easing Oversight of Yeshiva Secular Instruction

Plaintiffs claim the budget change undermines students’ constitutional right to a sound basic education by allowing exam participation to substitute for instruction.

Members of the ultra-Orthodox and Hasidic Jewish communities have long-resisted state regulations of what's required to be taught at yeshivas.
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Overview

  • A lawsuit filed in Brooklyn Supreme Court names Gov. Kathy Hochul, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins as defendants.
  • The case is brought on behalf of three Brooklyn yeshiva students, their parents and two former students, led by attorney Michael Rebell of Campaign for Fiscal Equity fame.
  • Plaintiffs challenge a May budget provision that superseded 2022 State Education Department rules on “substantial equivalency” for nonpublic schools.
  • The complaint argues the law delays full enforcement until 2032 and lets schools claim compliance by administering approved exams that omit civics and history and do not require passing scores.
  • The suit seeks class-action status to represent as many as 100,000 students, is backed by YAFFED and legal partners including Harvard’s Youth Advocacy & Policy Lab and Quinn Emanuel, and state officials have not commented.