The case centered on two thorny constitutional issues, andthe judge ruled in favor of parents on both questions
he obligation to provide children a sound education is on their parents, not their school.
This is how a state Supreme Court judge split her ruling, supporting the New York State Education Department by upholding the century-old law mandating that private schools be “substantially equivalent” to their public counterparts, while preserving parents’ right to determine their children’s schooling.
In the 21-page Solomonic ruling handed down last Thursday afternoon, Judge Christina Ryba agreed that the state had a compelling motivation to ensure that every child receives a sound secular education, but it did not have the authority to penalize or shut down schools that are not in compliance with the law. Legislation to grant the education department that power has been proposed several times in recent years but has languished in Albany, with virtually no cosponsors or support.
The law, Ryba wrote, “places the burden for ensuring a child’s education squarely on the parent, not the school.” She added that “certain portions of the new regulations impose consequences and penalties upon yeshivos above and beyond that authorized by the compulsory education law.”
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