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If you, a family member, or friend would like to receive emails from the Agudah email reception@agudah.org. | | June 26, 2020 - 4 Tamuz 5780 News from the Agudah:
- Today, a federal court substantially blocked New York Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio from enforcing both indoor and outdoor limitations on prayer. This vindicates what Agudath Israel has been rallying about for over a month now. More details can be found below.
- Agudath Israel commends the new rule, set forth by U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and the Education Department, which safeguards fair treatment of private schools in coronavirus relief funds. See below for more details.
- Your sons will enjoy this week's Pirchei newsletters which feature stories, comics, and divrei Torah. Click here for the Pirchei Weekly and here for the Pirchei Pages.
- This week's Bnos Modeh Ani newsletter has exciting stories, interviews, and more. You can view and download it here.
- Agudath Israel of Florida welcomes the major expansion of the state's newest scholarship program. See below for more information.
- We'd like to share an audio with you from Bais Yaakov Miami's graduation in which the principal, Rabbi Ephraim Leizorson, thanks Rabbi Moshe Matz, executive director of Agudath Israel of Florida, for all his help in organizing a proper graduation in a safe and legal way. You can listen to the short audio clip here.
- The Iyunim B'Hilchos Shabbos program will be continuing next week. On Sunday, there will be a shiur from Rabbi Asher Weiss and divrei chizuk from Rabbi Lipa Geldwerth. See below for the full schedule.
| | Court Blocks NY Executive Authority to Limit Shuls, Vindicating Agudah's Claim | | In a powerful legal vindication of a rallying cry Agudath Israel has made for over a month now, a federal court today substantially blocked New York Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio from enforcing both indoor and outdoor limitations on prayer. Specifically, the judge ordered that the current limitations on houses of worship, which in Phase 2 areas limits indoor attendance to 25% of capacity, be changed to 50% of capacity, equal to the limits on allowed businesses. The judge also barred all restrictions on outdoor gatherings. In both cases proper social distancing must still be followed. The plaintiffs, two Catholic priests and three Orthodox Jews, claimed that the state's executive orders were a violation of the Free Exercise Clause of the United States Constitution, among other claims, because the restrictions treated houses of worship differently than non-religious businesses. Moreover, the state and the city stopped religious gatherings while both the Governor and the Mayor encouraged, and the Mayor even participated in, outdoor protest demonstrations. State law also explicitly allowed outdoor graduation ceremonies. The court felt that the executive orders were riddled with contradictions and placed constitutionally protected religious practice on a lesser plane than other practices with similar risk factors. Thus, as the court put it, "it is not the judiciary's role to second guess the likes of Governor Cuomo or Mayor de Blasio when it comes to decisions they make in such troubling times, that is, until those decisions result in the curtailment of fundamental rights without compelling justification." This is a case that is likely to reverberate around the country as a check on executive authority that unjustifiably imperils religious practice. As Agudath Israel put in its June 12 statement, "Governmental power has also been used as a sword against religion, instead of the shield the Founding Fathers intended it to be." With this victory in hand, Agudath Israel intends to press forward to protect religious rights such as religious education and religious summer camps. While Agudath Israel reminds its constituents to continue to prioritize safety, we must also zealously and unapologetically safeguard our way of life. | | New Education Rule Safeguards Fair Treatment of Private Schools in Coronavirus Relief: Agudath Israel Hails Measure | | Agudath Israel of America commends U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and the U.S. Department of Education for announcing today's Interim Final Rule, which provides fairness for America's school children in receiving the federal support they need to overcome the educational obstacles brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. For decades, the mandate of "equitable participation" in federal education programs has been a fixture in our law and policy. It looks to the needs of the child, and is meant to address those needs.
If this is what equity has meant in the past, it is certainly what it means in regard to the same mandate contained in the CARES Act's response to the COVID -19 crisis. All children are affected by, and susceptible to, the dangers of the virus. All children are facing formidable challenges at school and at home. All children are deserving of our nation's assistance, regardless of the type of school they attend. The equity calculation is simple and straightforward in its intent and effect. If all public school children are receiving CARES services, without regard to poverty, low achievement, or residence, then all private school children should receive those services on the same basis. If participating private school students comprise ten percent of the school-age population in a district, they should receive ten percent of the available funding. We note that the Interim Final Rule has included further clarification of how states can fulfill the statute's "equitable participation" provisions. We will carefully review those provisions, consider how they will affect Jewish and other schools in different states, and offer the Department our comments, if appropriate. It is our desire and intent to strongly encourage both federal and state government to craft a framework that will allow each and every public and private school child to be served under the Act. Agudath Israel is pleased that many states have already implemented the CARES Act according to the original guidance and some took further steps to recognize the important role nonpublic schools play in the education of all citizens. We are hopeful that with the Department's clear and legally binding direction, all states will take the necessary steps to ensure that all children in both public and private school will reap the benefits of the federal COVID 19 response equitably. Both public and nonpublic schools have gone above and beyond during these difficult times and, using creative and innovative distance learning methods, stretched themselves to the limit to meet the needs of every student. We thank Secretary DeVos for insisting that the CARES Act live up to its promise of bringing relief to American school children on an equitable basis. | | Agudath Israel of Florida Welcomes Major School Choice Expansion | | Rabbi Moshe Matz, Executive Director of Agudath Israel of Florida, with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in May of 2019 | | Yesterday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, signed a major expansion of the state's newest scholarship program into law. Enacted in 2019, the Family Empowerment Scholarship (FES) provides vouchers to low- and middle-income students to attend the private school of their choice. House Bill 7067 increases the number of students eligible to receive the FES by approximately 28,000 new recipients each year. The legislation also changes the income threshold so that additional families are eligible when more than 5% of the scholarships remain unclaimed. Finally, the bill allows students receiving a Florida Tax Credit Scholarship to continue renewing their scholarship even if their incomes rise in future years. The latter issue has been a priority for Agudath Israel and its coalition partners for many years. "Governor DeSantis has been a longtime champion of school choice, and recently reserved $45 million of the state's federal funding for additional support for low-income students choosing nonpublic schools" said Agudath Israel of Florida Director Rabbi Moshe Matz. "Florida is a model of what can be achieved when elected officials are focused on working on behalf of all of the state's families and students. | | Iyunim B'hilchos Shabbos Program | | On Sunday, June 28th, there will be a hachana shiur at 11:00 am EDT, a shiur from Rabbi Asher Weiss on Hakdama L'meleches Machshavos B'shabbos at 12:00 pm EDT, divrei chizuk from Rabbi Lipa Geldwerth at 1:00 pm EDT, and a chazarah shiur at 8:00 pm EDT.
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