A new investigation released by the New York Times on December 29th reveals that Hasidic and Orthodox Jewish schools are using funds intended for special education for other purposes.
The report referred to a 2014 New York City government policy under former Mayor Bill de Blasio, which made it easier for private school students to receive state-funded special education. But as the Times reported, the policy led to “a windfall of government money for services that are sometimes not needed, or even provided.”
NEW: New York City pays private companies $350 million a year to provide special education in Orthodox Jewish schools. But in the Hasidic community, money is going for services that are sometimes not needed, or even provided, a NYT investigation has found: https://t.co/dMDsdPI2dq
— Brian M. Rosenthal (@brianmrosenthal) December 29, 2022
The New York Times also reported that dozens of Hasidic and Orthodox Jewish schools, also known as yeshivas, have urged parents to have their children diagnosed with disabilities. Two yeshivas sent mass emails to parents encouraging families to apply for funding.
Another school reportedly gave out sample prescriptions to parents, which they could give to their children’s doctors, allowing them to be diagnosed and receive more government resources for the yeshiva.
A New York Times investigation found that hasidic schools in New York are taking advantage of a policy designed to make special education more widely available.https://t.co/R3o14zel7I
— The New York Jewish Week (@NYJewishWeek) December 29, 2022
An analysis of city government data by the NY Times also showed that a higher percentage of students at yeshivas are classified as needing special education compared to students of public and private schools.
Although the NY Times stated that around one in five students across all schools in New York are classified as having a disability, there’s little evidence to suggest that disabilities occur more in the Hasidic and Orthodox Jewish communities.
In addition, the newspaper found out that of the 18,000 applications for special education funding filed by families last year, half of them came from neighborhoods with vast concentrations of Hasidic and Orthodox Jews, such as Williamsburg, Borough Park, and Crown Heights.
Because of more accessible access to government money, several private companies and entrepreneurs started popping up in the past eight years. Since Mayor de Blasio shifted the policy to fast-track approvals, these firms serving Hasidic and Orthodox Jewish schools have collected $350 million of state funding annually for special education that isn’t always needed or even provided, according to the New York Times.
The NY Times also found out that these companies employed people with questionable backgrounds and have collected more than $100,000 a year for part-time tutoring services for students with mild learning disabilities, billing about $200 per student, five times more than the government’s standard rate.
“There are a lot of kids in the ultra-Orthodox community who have disabilities. The problem is that the community is not serving the students,” Elana Sigall, a former top official for special education in New York City, said regarding the yeshivas. She currently serves as a consultant visiting Hasidic and Orthodox Jewish schools.
“They’re accessing tremendous amounts of city resources, but they’re not providing special education,” she added.
— Elana Sigall (@elanasigall) December 31, 2022
The investigation is a part of a series of stories by the New York Times regarding yeshivas. The series started in September when the media outlet reported that yeshivas failed to provide secular education as mandated by the New York City government while collecting state funding.
Unsurprisingly, many Hasidic Jews attacked the New York Times and mounted a media campaign against them, accusing the media outlet of bigotry and threatening the lives of Hasidic Jews.
Orthodox Jewish Advocates Hang Billboards In Times Square Slamming NY Times https://t.co/NVUqv9cj4A pic.twitter.com/B1hTkIERZf
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) January 4, 2023
However, many advocates of yeshiva school reform welcomed the investigations, saying that they are necessary to force these schools to change. Beatrice Weber, executive director of Young Advocates for Fair Education or YAFFED, also stated that it's dangerous to conflate the New York Times’ investigation with the rising antisemitism in New York.
