|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
By: Meyer Wolfsheim
Four Brooklyn yeshivas filed a federal civil rights complaint against New York State on Monday, alleging that stricter educational review practices unfairly discriminate against Jewish schools.
According to the NY Daily News, the 20-page complaint argues that these practices undermine the schools’ religious character and violate civil rights protections.
The schools—Bobover Yeshiva Bnei Zion, Oholei Torah, United Talmudical Academy, and Yeshiva Mesivta Arugas Habosem—claim that state reviewers dismissed the value of Jewish Studies instruction and interfered in hiring decisions. The complaint states: “Taken together, these discriminatory practices would strip the yeshivas of their essential Jewish character. If they can’t devote sufficient time to Jewish Studies with instruction in their original language … then they are no longer Jewish schools.”
United Talmudical Academy’s Central UTA Boys Division in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, was among those reviewed. The schools contend that the process disregards their unique educational approach and imposes secular priorities.
The civil rights complaint targets regulations adopted by the state in 2022. These rules require private schools to demonstrate “substantial equivalency” to public school curriculums in core subjects like reading and math. Although schools accredited by independent bodies or with students who pass state-approved tests are exempt, the yeshivas argue that the reviews disproportionately burden religious schools.
The NY Daily News reports that the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has yet to confirm receipt of the complaint. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the New York State Education Department pushed back on the allegations, stating, “We disagree with the claims, which constitute a challenge to state law. Counsel for these complainants has previously unsuccessfully challenged the Board of Regents’ substantial equivalency regulations in court.”
The yeshivas’ attorney, Avi Schick, clarified that the complaint does not challenge the regulations outright but accuses reviewers of using the process to impose secular standards on Jewish schools. Schick urged federal officials to investigate the alleged bias: “The Office of Civil Rights should exercise its oversight over these New York agencies that receive billions of dollars in federal funds annually by thoroughly investigating their discriminatory practices and remediating their discriminatory conduct.”
Advocates for yeshiva reform, however, criticized the move. Adina Mermelstein Konikoff, executive director of Young Advocates for Fair Education, told the NY Daily News, “This federal civil rights complaint is nothing more than a desperate and cynical attempt at court shopping. These grievances have already been dismissed repeatedly in state court, and this latest maneuver reeks of bad faith.”
Konikoff further argued that the complaint deflects accountability. “Let’s be clear: this is not about protecting civil rights—it’s about shielding institutions from accountability while tens of thousands of children are denied a basic education,” she said. “Teaching English, math, science, and social studies does not contradict Jewish values; it complements them.”
The complaint also comes amid broader debates about parental rights and educational freedom. As noted by the NY Daily News, the filing coincides with increased scrutiny of educational practices across the country, including allegations of antisemitism and calls for greater transparency in school curriculums.
