Despite a New York State law passed in 1894 that all private schools in the state must offer a “substantially equivalent” education to that of public schools, too many persist in ignoring it (“The least we owe all our kids: Why we must guarantee a basic secular education for all children, including those in Yeshivas,” New York Daily News, Jan. 15). As a result, students in many yeshivas are taught almost exclusively religious studies.
Yeshivas resist, claiming that the law cripples their independence and imposes onerous costs. Politicians are reluctant to enforce the law because they are dependent on the votes of parents whose children are enrolled. It’s a scandal that shortchanges children.
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