New York – Two weeks after the Department of Education issued guidelines that will subject all private schools in New York to oversight by local public school officials and also require them to substantially increase the number of hours of secular study provided to their students, the state’s Council of Catholic School Superintendents has announced its plans to boycott the new regulations.
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The Times Union (http://bit.ly/2LjES5j) reported that James Cultara, executive secretary of the Council of Catholic School Superintendents which represents approximately 500 schools, said that allowing public schools to determine if Catholic schools are providing a substantially equivalent education as required by law posed a conflict of interest.
Public schools are often faced with decreasing budgets, and because they are required by law to provide mandated services to private schools including busing, textbooks and nursing, they could have a financial incentive to give private schools failing marks in their inspections.
A letter written on December 5th to Commissioner MaryEllen Elia said that Catholic superintendents have rejected the new directive because it “practically guarantees inconsistency and subjectivity” and that it will direct all affiliated schools “not to participate in any review carried out by public school officials.”
The superintendents also announced their intention to work with legislators to have an amendment introduced that will have the review process returned to the hands of the New York State Department of Education, inviting the state to take part in the process, something that it said will ensure an objective review process.
Boycotting the new directives could result in a complete loss of state funding for all of the state’s Catholic schools. Cultura said that parents can rest assured that Catholic schools are providing students with a high quality education.
“The parents who choose our schools can have great confidence in the academic rigor of our schools,” said Cultrara. “We simply cannot accept a competing school having authority over whether our schools can operate.”
The Department of Education declined to comment on the superintendents’ letter or the proposed boycott.
so the catholics took the lead and the aguda is AWOL, but the aguda attacked Trump for stopping illegals.
BEAUTIFUL NEWS!
remember NYC is run by democrats with bill “i wish i was a dictator” deblasio at its head
You would think anyone associated with Catholic youth programs would be lying low just about now. In any case, the state has a legitimate interest in providing a universal, quality education. If they Catholics do not want to participate, close them down.
How ironic …that’s who we need to help us .We must unite ,& demonstrate !!!!
Proving once again that Catholics are our friends while liberals are not. The facts speak for themselves.
Do Catholic schools take money from the state? If they do they have to comply with their regulations. If Satmar and other yeshivas don’t take the millions of tax dollars they don’t have comply either.
#10 . Hardly matters if a school takes state money. The state has a constitutional duty to provide an education to every child in the state. If some private body wants to do that, they must do it to the state’s standard.
Great news for the yeshivas, as well. Perhaps this reaction will provide the Education Machers to rethink what they going in to.