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 davening 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.