Filed on behalf of four plaintiffs and an estimated 100,000 Hasidic and Haredi students, the suit names Gov. Kathy Hochul, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and the state of New York as defendants. It challenges a provision added to the state\u2019s $237 billion fiscal year 2026 budget that rolls back education standards for nonpublic schools, including yeshivas.<\/p>\n
New York\u2019s Education Law Section 3204 requires that nonpublic school students, including those at religious schools, receive an education \u201csubstantially equivalent\u201d to what public schools provide. That includes instruction in core subjects such as English, math and history. The New York State Education Department (NYSED) spent years drafting regulations to enforce those standards.<\/p>\n
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Education advocates attend a press conference announcing the filing of class action lawsuit aimed at strengthening protections for students in New York State.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann<\/p>\n
Advocates say the new changes weaken those standards \u2014 particularly for yeshivas, which primarily focus on religious instruction in Hebrew and Yiddish \u2014 and limits the state\u2019s ability to enforce compliance, stripping away testing requirements. Schools can now pick their own assessments, switch them at will and remain in compliance simply by offering the exams to a minimum number of students, regardless of how students score.<\/p>\n
At a news conference outside Brooklyn Supreme Court, Rebell \u2014 who in 1993 led the landmark Campaign for Fiscal Equity<\/a> case that secured recognition of the constitutional right to a \u201csound basic education\u201d \u2014 called the carveout \u201coutrageous.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt is outrageous that the governor and state legislative leaders absolved yeshivas from teaching basic American history, civics, science and other subjects to tens of thousands of students,\u201d Rebell said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Constitution requires that the state ensure all children, including those in nonpublic religious schools, are provided the opportunity for a sound, basic education,\u201d he added. \u201cNew York\u2019s highest court has emphasized that all students in the state need to receive such an education in order to function productively as capable citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n Rebell alleged the provision was added to curry favor with a politically powerful voting bloc.<\/p>\n \u201cThe leaders of this Hasidic sect are the same people who deny their kids a decent education that prepares them in any way for the world,\u201d he said. \u201cThey are politically very savvy, and they go to the leading political leaders, and they make a deal with them, \u2018You support whatever legislation we want, and we\u2019ll deliver a big block of votes to you.\u2019 And they can deliver, and they have, and they do.\u201d<\/p>\n Adina Mermelstein Konikoff, executive director of Young Advocates for Fair Education (YADDED), said the lawsuit seeks to uphold every child\u2019s right to a sound education. The nonprofit was founded by people raised in Hasidic and Haredi communities and advocates for higher educational standards in yeshivas.<\/p>\n \u201cBut too many Hasidic and Haredi children are being denied an education because the state has refused to guarantee it,\u201d she said. \u201cThis lawsuit is about guaranteeing this right \u2014 and that means reversing the disastrous dismantling of substantial equivalency. We cannot accept a law that shirks the state\u2019s responsibility to educate our students.\u201d<\/p>\n YAFFED previously filed a complaint<\/a> in 2015 alleging that 39 yeshivas in Brooklyn failed to provide state-mandated instruction. That complaint led to new regulations designed to strengthen oversight. In 2019, more than 1,000 students<\/a> at a single Hasidic yeshiva failed state exams in reading and math.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/RebellLawSuit_091925-5.jpg\")
Education advocate Michael Rebell speaks outside Brooklyn Supreme Court on Sept. 18, announcing a lawsuit against New York state over changes to education standards for yeshivas.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann<\/p>\n
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Adina Mermelstein Konikoff, executive director of YAFFED, speaks about the lawsuit she says is needed to protect the education rights of Hasidic and Haredi children.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/RebellLawSuit_091925-9.jpg\")
Former yeshiva student Scott Kessler said denying Hasidic students basic education was a civil rights issue.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann<\/p>\n