In our lives, we are faced with moments where we must understand the need to take action. Today that time is here. We are facing an imminent threat to our way of life. We are facing a challenge that we as a community must overcome.
In our lives, we are faced with moments where we must understand the need to take action. We must understand the importance of eis laasos, that now is the time to act.
Today that time is here. We are facing an imminent threat to our way of life. We are facing a challenge that we as a community must overcome.
In the past, there has been a push on the governmental level, to insert the secular way of life into our Torah-true values through our school curriculums. This push was obvious and clear and the response by the communities affected was strong and overwhelming and, baruch Hashem, stopped the overreach.
This time is different. Very quietly and quite insidiously, new regulations and guidelines are being proposed that will greatly affect the way we run our schools. Under the guise of a somewhat pareve term, “substantial equivalency,” the Local School Authority (LSA) will be given unprecedented power.
What does the proposed regulation say?
The LSA will have the authority to:
- Vet our teachers and deem them qualified or unqualified to teach: (a) competent teacher means instructional staff employed by the school who demonstrate appropriate knowledge, skill, and dispositions to provide substantially equivalent instruction. A competent teacher must be certified.
- Dictate our curriculum to meet substantial equivalency standards: (b)substantial equivalency for a non-public school, means an instructional program which is comparable to that offered in the public schools.
- Deem a non-public school non-compliant (by their standards) and have your child go to school elsewhere: (c) The LSA (local school authority) shall provide a reasonable timeframe for parents to enroll their children in an appropriate educational setting, consistent with Education Law 3204.
- Begin an investigation/audit based on a complaint from ANYONE, even a disgruntled employee or student, even those not even remotely affiliated with the school: (d) the Commissioner may direct an LSA to investigate a non-public school if the commissioner receives a complaint.
There are a host of other disturbing points in the proposed guidelines.
These are the most abhorrent.
They are real. They are clearly stated.
Do not be fooled by clever wording. Do not be swayed by seemingly “fair” standards.
How you can help:
We have until May 30th to collect a minimum of 10,000 signatures on the petition site, protectchinuch.com.
Please take 30 seconds to sign the petition and protect our Chinuch.
If you have already signed, encourage others to sign as well.
- Anyone over the age of 13 can sign.
- You can live anywhere in the United States.
Our Yiddishe Chinuch is being willfully challenged. The third Lubavitcher Rebbe, the Tzemach Tzedek was arrested 22 times to protest government interference in the education of children. We cannot let these progressive regulations anywhere near our precious children.
This affects all of us. All Yidden. Chassidish, Litvish, Modern Orthodox, everyone. Together with other Jewish communities we hope to collect 200,000 signatures before the deadline. We must stand together to fight the passage of this legislation.
Silence is not an option.
Visit www.ProtectChinuch.com now!
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