A New Concern That Probably Isn’t

The regulations require nonpublic schools to submit to regular reviews by local public school districts. They will evaluate whether the schools are meeting standards of “substantial equivalence” to their public counterparts. 

Most private schools will be exempt from the review process through “pathways” to demonstrating standard equivalence. These pathways include school accreditation and administration of the Regents examination. 

… hypothetically (TvD would) be exempt from the review process because its high school administers the Regents examination.  

Yet Rabbi Reisman isn’t sure that his school won’t face the scrutiny of review from local school districts. 

Schools may think they’re “safe” from the review process because they adhere to one of the pathways, Rabbi Reisman says, but a single complaint to the state education department can trigger the review process — even for exempt schools. 

Rabbi Reisman then cites an example of one such school where this happened. Adding that it took 2 years to get the state off their backs.

I want to be clear. I have tremendous respect for Rabbi Reisman. As I do for his Yeshiva, TvD. He is one of the good guys. And his Yeshiva has a decent enough Limudei Chol (secular studies) curriculum to administer the Regents exam in which his students do quite well. However, as noted in the Sun article:

Rabbi Yisroel Reisman’s school, Yeshiva Torah Vodaath, is one of the five petitioner schools in a pending lawsuit against the state’s education commissioner, Betty Rosa, seeking to halt the new regulations. 

Despite my respect for him, and despite the fact that I am sure that he is 100% L’Shma, I disagree with what he is doing for reasons I have stated many times (that are beyond the scope of this post). And because he is involved in the abovementioned pending lawsuit, he is perforce a Nogeah B’Davar. And that cannot but taint the evaluation of his observation. 

I understand his fears. Like his fellow petitioners he believes that the government ought to completely stay out of religious schools as a matter of the religious rights guaranteed under the constitution. And although he may disagree with them, he probably believes that schools that refuse to offer a Limudei Chol curriculum have the right to do so as a matter of their specific religious values. Values that place little if any importance on Limudei Chol. And the fact that they do quite well both financially and socially within the confines of their particular values culture ought to be enough for the state..

I’m sure that Rabbi Reisman also shares with his fellow petitioners the ‘slippery slope’ argument that once the government gets their foot in the door, they will eventually require teaching subjects that are anathema to the  religious values of all of Orthodoxy.

I have always argued that in the unlikely event that this ever happens we can and should deal with it then. But to discard a policy that is clearly intended to better the welfare of all students by enforcing the ‘substantial equivalency’ policy with a curriculum that has been in place for decades in the vast majority of other religious schools is throwing the ‘baby out with the bathwater’, Bathwater that doesn’t even exist yet if it ever will. 

Contrary to the view of advocates that are fighting these new regulations, they are in essence promoting the right to be semi ignorant of the English language; and the right to be nearly completely ignorant about the principles upon which this country was founded and in which it attempts to operate.

What about Rabbi Reisman’s new fears? 

This is how I see it. If they were realistic then all the Catholic schools that have accepted these new rules would have the same fears and would have joined the lawsuit. They haven’t. The fact that they are exempt in the same way TvD is exempt is enough for them to leave it alone. They apparently aren’t worried about a disgruntled parent bringing a frivolous lawsuit that would entail lengthy and burdensome reviews by local school boards.  I tend to agree. My gut feeling is that the one example  Rabbi Reisman gave is an anomaly that is unlikely to happen with any degree of frequency if at all - ever again.

So unless I am completely off about this, I remain committed to the goal of assuring every Jewish student be provided with both a decent religious and a decent secular curriculum. And to do whatever it takes to make that happen. Anything less than that short changes them. 

In the case of the former it increases their ability to live their lives as close to the way God intends His people to live as possible. In the case of latter it provides very real opportunities for a better financial future as well as becoming being better informed about the language of the land, and better informed about the people, culture, and the principles for which this great country (referred to by R’ Moshe Feinstein as the Medina Shel Chesed) stands.