Strengthening Torah Life. Advocating for the Community. Serving Each Individual. | | | March 23, 2023 - 1 Nissan 5783 News from the Agudah:
- Today, the New York State Supreme Court ruled on Agudas Yisroel's lawsuit, joined by others, attempting to invalidate the New York State Education Department's substantial equivalency regulations. See below.
- A Universal School Choice Bill passed the Florida Legislature today, and is heading the Governor to be signed. See below.
- Rabbi Avi Schnall of our New Jersey office testified at a state budget hearing about nonpublic school funding increases. See below for more details.
- Agudas Yisroel cosponsored a school choice rally in Texas, bringing together community leaders and parents to advocate for school choice. See below for more details.
- Join Agudas Yisroel in our Overseas Pesach Campaign! This Yom Tov, you can help ensure that yidden across the globe can prepare for their sedorim. See below for more details.
- Bnos and Pirchei newsletters: Click here to download this week's Bnos newsletter. For this week's Pirchei newsletter, click here.
| | Lawsuit Decision: While Short of Victory, Court Recognizes State Education Overreach in Substantial Equivalency Regulations | |  | | Following months of arduous litigation, the decision in the lawsuit challenging New York State Education Department Regulations regarding "substantial equivalency" of yeshiva education to that offered in public schools was handed down today. While the decision does not entirely invalidate the Regulations, as hoped, Judge Christina Ryba, of the Supreme Court of New York, did strike down key portions of the Regulations, in a way that provides important protections for Orthodox Jewish education in New York. Key sentences of Judge Ryba's decision were: "The Court finds that certain portions of the New Regulations impose consequences and penalties upon yeshivas above and beyond that authorized by the Compulsory Education Law… The statutory scheme places the burden for ensuring a child's education squarely on the parent, not the school…" "The Court finds that respondents lack authority to direct parents to completely unenroll their children from nonpublic schools that have been determined to fall short of meeting each and every substantial equivalency criteria, nor do respondents have authority to direct the closure of such schools. Rather, the parents should be given a reasonable opportunity to prove that the substantial equivalency requirements for their children's education are satisfied by instruction provided through a combination of sources." While not the complete victory many were praying for, Agudath Israel is grateful that the court recognized the egregious overreach the Regulations sought. The prospect of forcibly shutting down schools, and of the state mandating which schools children should be reenrolled to, is not something one would typically associate with 21st century America. This was a battle we needed to wage. Thankfully, the court recognized that the State Education Department lacked authority to require this, and struck the most dangerous and offensive portions of the Regulations. This is the third time that perilous Regulations regarding Orthodox Jewish education has been moderated or defeated since 2018. Agudath Israel thanks Avi Schick and the Troutman Pepper firm, once again, for their tireless legal work. The lawsuit was brought by Agudath Israel of America, Parents for Educational and Religious Liberty in Schools (PEARLS), Torah Umesorah, and Yeshivas Rabbi Chaim Berlin, Torah Vodaath, Tifereth Jerusalem, Rabbi Jacob Joseph and Ch'san Sofer. | | Universal School Choice Bill Passes in Florida Legislature | | Rabbi Moshe Matz and Rabbi Avrohom Luban with bill sponsor Senator Corey Simon | | Rabbi Moshe Matz with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis | | | Today, the Florida Legislature passed a historic universal school choice bill. SB202 makes all schoolchildren in grades K-12 eligible for an $8,000 scholarship.
The bill, sponsored by State Senator Corey Simon, will change the Florida scholarship program to an Education Savings Account (ESA). The state will provide an ESA for each eligible child equal to the amount the state allocates for students attending a public school.Parents can then spend the money for approved uses such as tuition payments and fees, tutoring, and learning devices such as laptops.
Another important change in the bill is a funding increase for the scholarship programs for students with special needs and unique abilities. Currently, the program has a waitlist of more than 9,000 children.
The bill will now go to Governor Ron DeSantis' office for consideration.
This expansion will revolutionize the school choice movement, not just in Florida, but across the country. Agudath Israel of America's Florida office is grateful to the House and Senate sponsors and to all of the legislators that took this bold step in paving the highway of opportunity and success for all our children.
"This success didn't happen overnight," said Rabbi Moshe Matz, director of Agudath Israel's Florida office. "This was a decades long effort that began with Governor Jeb Bush and a coalition of school choice advocates including faith leaders and the teams at Step Up for Students and the Foundation for Florida's Future. However, the true heroes are the ones celebrating today - the tens of thousands of parents who called, emailed, and traveled to Tallahassee time after time to make their voices heard. It is to their credit that every child in Florida will now benefit from the educational setting that best meets their needs." | | Agudath Israel's New Jersey Office Testifies at State Budget Hearing About Nonpublic School Aid Increases | | Public Hearing of the NJ Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee | | Rabbi Avi Schnall, Director of Agudath Israel's New Jersey Office, Testifying | | Rabbi Avi Schnall's Testimony | | | With the Fiscal Year 2024 budget season now underway in New Jersey, both houses of the state legislature have begun holding a series of public hearings, where members of the public can come and testify. On Tuesday, Agudath Israel of America's New Jersey director, Rabbi Avi Schnall, traveled to Mahwah, where the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee held its first public hearing at Ramapo College of New Jersey, to ask the members of the committee to increase the amount of funds allocated for nonpublic school auxiliary services. During his testimony, Rabbi Schnall noted that while Governor Murphy's proposed budget projects an expected increase of 9,000 students who will be eligible for such aid in 2024, the amount allocated per pupil remains stagnant at last year's levels, without reflecting the increased number of students. Rabbi Schnall also pointed out that since 1998, when the state legislature determined an allocation of $995 per student was necessary to ensure all eligible students receive the proper remedial education, the total amount has only increased by $45, a number well below the recommended amount especially when considering wage and administrative increases, as well as inflation. Fewer funds available for children means less money available to hire teachers, which results in larger class sizes and/or less time per student.
"The children eligible for these services are the most vulnerable amongst our students," Rabbi Schnall noted. "These children deserve, as the statute says, the 'fullest possible opportunity to develop their intellectual capacities,'" he told the committee. "We therefore implore the members of this committee to increase the per-pupil amount from $1,040 to $1,300," he added. Such an increase would add about $13 million to nonpublic schools' budgets for aid to students who need it, including about $6 million that would flow to the yeshiva system.
While the governor proposes the budget, it is ultimately the lawmakers who are responsible for drafting and approving the annual appropriations act, sending it to him for his signature or veto prior to the July 1st deadline. | | | Agudath Israel Brings Texas Parents Together to Rally for School Choice in the Capitol | | Parents from the Orthodox Jewish community after the rally. | | Capt. Chaim Stitzer, USAF, Ret., Rabi Avi Pekier, Rabbi Ari Weisenfeld, associate director of state relations for Agudath Israel, Rabbi A.D. Motzen, national director of government affairs, Agudath Israel Rabbi Enan Francis, and Representative Ed Thompson | | Senator Brandon Creighton lead sponsor of SB 8 with Rabbi Ari Weisenfeld | | Representative Dustin Burrows Rabbi Avi Pekier, Rabbi A.D. Motzen, Rabbi Ari Weisenfeld and Capt. Chaim Stitzer, USAF, Ret. | | | On Tuesday, Agudath Israel of America brought parents and community leaders from Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio to a rally at the Texas State Capitol. The rally, which was cosponsored by Agudath Israel, was organized to show support for universal school choice, an issue that is currently being considered in the Texas Legislature.
Governor Greg Abbott voiced his support for Senate Bill 8, which would create an education savings account (ESA) program that gives parents $8,000 per student to spend on a wide range of educational expenses, including private school tuition. "We're going to show the Legislature exactly why it is so important that we empower parents to choose the education that is best for their child," said Governor Abbott to the cheering crowd.
Agudath Israel representatives and community members also had an opportunity to engage with lawmakers in the Capitol before and after the rally. The group held productive meetings with Senator Brandon Creighton, and with Representatives Dewayne Burns, Dustin Burrows, Briscoe Cain, Nicole Collier, James Frank, Sam Harless, Brooks Landgraf, Matt Shaheen, and Ed Thompson. In every meeting, the delegation highlighted the growing Orthodox community in Texas and how important this issue is for them and their families.
"As a parent, I'm proud to put my children in a school that provides the education and values I want them to receive. I hope all Texans can have that same opportunity," said Elie Herskovits, a parent from Houston.
"Over the last few years, momentum for universal school choice has been steadily building across the country, and we are grateful to Governor Abbott and the legislative sponsors for working to bring ESAs to Texas. Every Texan should have the ability to send their child to the school or educational program that best fits their unique needs," said Rabbi Ari Weisenfeld, associate director of state relations for Agudath Israel. "Everywhere I go, Texas families are excited about the possibility of bringing universal school choice to the Lone Star State, and that was clearly evident by the fact that so many of our parents, rabbis, and community leaders traveled to Austin make their voices heard."
Texas residents can urge their lawmaker to support education savings accounts for every child by going to agudah.org/texas-school-choice. | | We hope all is well and your Pesach preparations are going smoothly. Please help make sure that Yidden across the globe can make their sedorim as well, by contributing to the Agudah's annual overseas Pesach campaign. Please click here to help. | | | | |
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