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| Why New York’s Inquiry Into Yeshivas Mysteriously Stalled | |
| (about 16 hours later) | |
| Over four years ago, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration began a high-profile investigation into whether thousands of children in some ultra-Orthodox Jewish yeshivas were receiving basic secular education, including lessons on how to read and write in English. | Over four years ago, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration began a high-profile investigation into whether thousands of children in some ultra-Orthodox Jewish yeshivas were receiving basic secular education, including lessons on how to read and write in English. |
| But then, the release of a report on the investigation mysteriously stalled. On Wednesday, city investigators revealed a major reason for the delay: “political horse-trading” by City Hall. | But then, the release of a report on the investigation mysteriously stalled. On Wednesday, city investigators revealed a major reason for the delay: “political horse-trading” by City Hall. |
| The long-anticipated report by the Department of Investigation and the Special Commissioner of Investigation for the New York City School District found that while Mr. de Blasio’s administration did not violate the law, it did interfere with its own education department’s probe into the yeshivas. | The long-anticipated report by the Department of Investigation and the Special Commissioner of Investigation for the New York City School District found that while Mr. de Blasio’s administration did not violate the law, it did interfere with its own education department’s probe into the yeshivas. |
| The findings are sure to raise fresh scrutiny over the de Blasio administration’s ethics. Federal and state inquiries were conducted into his fund-raising practices during his first term, eventually clearing him, and an internal city investigation that ended last year found that the mayor and his team solicited donations for his political nonprofit from individuals and companies with business before the city. | The findings are sure to raise fresh scrutiny over the de Blasio administration’s ethics. Federal and state inquiries were conducted into his fund-raising practices during his first term, eventually clearing him, and an internal city investigation that ended last year found that the mayor and his team solicited donations for his political nonprofit from individuals and companies with business before the city. |
| And Mr. de Blasio’s strong relationship with the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community he represented as a city councilman from Brooklyn has sometimes landed the mayor in trouble. | And Mr. de Blasio’s strong relationship with the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community he represented as a city councilman from Brooklyn has sometimes landed the mayor in trouble. |
| Still, investigators found that the interference in the yeshiva review did not have a significant impact on the Department of Education’s report itself, but only on the timing of its release. | Still, investigators found that the interference in the yeshiva review did not have a significant impact on the Department of Education’s report itself, but only on the timing of its release. |
| The full report about academics at yeshivas still has not been released — an incomplete version came out in 2018 — but officials said it would probably be made public this week following Wednesday’s revelations. | The full report about academics at yeshivas still has not been released — an incomplete version came out in 2018 — but officials said it would probably be made public this week following Wednesday’s revelations. |
| Freddi Goldstein, the mayor’s press secretary, defended Mr. de Blasio in a statement. | Freddi Goldstein, the mayor’s press secretary, defended Mr. de Blasio in a statement. |
| “There’s no ‘there’ there, as evidenced by the finding of no wrongdoing. The Department of Investigation and the Special Commissioner of Investigation made clear there were no findings ready for release in 2017,” she said. “In fact, the D.O.I. report accurately identifies why this process has taken so long, including ever-changing state regulations and the difficulty of gaining access to some schools.” | “There’s no ‘there’ there, as evidenced by the finding of no wrongdoing. The Department of Investigation and the Special Commissioner of Investigation made clear there were no findings ready for release in 2017,” she said. “In fact, the D.O.I. report accurately identifies why this process has taken so long, including ever-changing state regulations and the difficulty of gaining access to some schools.” |
| Sam Goldstein, a spokesman for Parents for Educational and Religious Liberty in Schools, a group that has defended yeshivas, declined to comment. | Sam Goldstein, a spokesman for Parents for Educational and Religious Liberty in Schools, a group that has defended yeshivas, declined to comment. |
| City investigators focused on the summer of 2017, when Mr. de Blasio was running for a second term and was facing a threat in the State Capitol that he believed could unravel his entire education agenda. | City investigators focused on the summer of 2017, when Mr. de Blasio was running for a second term and was facing a threat in the State Capitol that he believed could unravel his entire education agenda. |
| For the third time in his first term, Mr. de Blasio fretted as state legislators debated whether to extend his oversight of the nation’s largest public school system, under a governance structure known as mayoral control. A lengthy extension was the mayor’s top priority in Albany that year. | For the third time in his first term, Mr. de Blasio fretted as state legislators debated whether to extend his oversight of the nation’s largest public school system, under a governance structure known as mayoral control. A lengthy extension was the mayor’s top priority in Albany that year. |
| Shortly before the final vote during a tense special session on mayoral control that June, the mayor’s office struck a deal. They would delay an interim report about the yeshivas to appease state lawmakers who were deliberating on mayoral control. Some state politicians were facing pressure from their Orthodox Jewish constituents who considered the probe an attack on religious liberty and the broader Hasidic community. | Shortly before the final vote during a tense special session on mayoral control that June, the mayor’s office struck a deal. They would delay an interim report about the yeshivas to appease state lawmakers who were deliberating on mayoral control. Some state politicians were facing pressure from their Orthodox Jewish constituents who considered the probe an attack on religious liberty and the broader Hasidic community. |
| “Only in de Blasio’s New York could the future of mayoral control of public schools depend on an investigation into private yeshivas,” said Menashe Shapiro, a political consultant. | “Only in de Blasio’s New York could the future of mayoral control of public schools depend on an investigation into private yeshivas,” said Menashe Shapiro, a political consultant. |
| When the report into the yeshivas eventually came out a year later, it was incomplete: Education officials had only visited about half of the schools, in part because officials said that some yeshivas did not permit them to enter. Though representatives for the schools denied that allegation, it was backed up by Wednesday’s D.O.I report. | When the report into the yeshivas eventually came out a year later, it was incomplete: Education officials had only visited about half of the schools, in part because officials said that some yeshivas did not permit them to enter. Though representatives for the schools denied that allegation, it was backed up by Wednesday’s D.O.I report. |
| Mr. de Blasio was made aware of the deal and spoke to at least one state senator along with members of the Orthodox community “about their broader concerns regarding oversight of yeshivas and how those concerns related to the extension of mayoral control,” the report found. | Mr. de Blasio was made aware of the deal and spoke to at least one state senator along with members of the Orthodox community “about their broader concerns regarding oversight of yeshivas and how those concerns related to the extension of mayoral control,” the report found. |
| It’s not the first time Mr. de Blasio has faced questions about whether his close ties to the Orthodox community have affected his handling of public health and education issues. | It’s not the first time Mr. de Blasio has faced questions about whether his close ties to the Orthodox community have affected his handling of public health and education issues. |
| Critics said he moved too slowly to declare a public health emergency that would have required vaccinations after a measles outbreak spread through Hasidic neighborhoods in Brooklyn. | Critics said he moved too slowly to declare a public health emergency that would have required vaccinations after a measles outbreak spread through Hasidic neighborhoods in Brooklyn. |
| In 2015, the mayor eased rules on a circumcision ritual that was infecting some Hasidic babies with herpes, though he eventually changed course. The mayor also signed legislation to funnel $20 million to security at private and parochial schools, including yeshivas, prompting an outcry that public schools were being shortchanged. | In 2015, the mayor eased rules on a circumcision ritual that was infecting some Hasidic babies with herpes, though he eventually changed course. The mayor also signed legislation to funnel $20 million to security at private and parochial schools, including yeshivas, prompting an outcry that public schools were being shortchanged. |
| Rabbi David Niederman, the executive director and president of the United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg — and an ally of Mr. de Blasio’s whom the mayor referred to last week as “someone I have known for decades and respect highly” — has called criticism of secular education at yeshivas “a smear campaign against our community and what it stands for.” | Rabbi David Niederman, the executive director and president of the United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg — and an ally of Mr. de Blasio’s whom the mayor referred to last week as “someone I have known for decades and respect highly” — has called criticism of secular education at yeshivas “a smear campaign against our community and what it stands for.” |
| Investigators found that the agreement over yeshivas and mayoral control was far from the only cause for the long delay in releasing the report on the yeshivas. | Investigators found that the agreement over yeshivas and mayoral control was far from the only cause for the long delay in releasing the report on the yeshivas. |
| Attorneys for the yeshivas themselves sometimes did not turn over information about their curriculum requested by the city. But the review also dragged on because of the “accommodating approach taken by the [Department of Education] to that conflict,” the report found. | Attorneys for the yeshivas themselves sometimes did not turn over information about their curriculum requested by the city. But the review also dragged on because of the “accommodating approach taken by the [Department of Education] to that conflict,” the report found. |
| By the time the deal on mayoral control was struck — two years into the probe — city officials had only visited six yeshivas. The city has now visited all 28 schools it vowed to investigate. | By the time the deal on mayoral control was struck — two years into the probe — city officials had only visited six yeshivas. The city has now visited all 28 schools it vowed to investigate. |
| The issue of secular studies in yeshivas was thrust into the spotlight following a 2015 legal complaint filed by yeshiva graduates who said they had not learned enough English or secular subjects. | The issue of secular studies in yeshivas was thrust into the spotlight following a 2015 legal complaint filed by yeshiva graduates who said they had not learned enough English or secular subjects. |
| An advocacy group called Young Advocates for Fair Education charged that Hasidic boys are being trapped in a cycle of poverty. Without a firm grasp on English, it is extremely difficult for Hasidic Jews to find work outside their low-income neighborhoods, where the predominant spoken language is Yiddish. | An advocacy group called Young Advocates for Fair Education charged that Hasidic boys are being trapped in a cycle of poverty. Without a firm grasp on English, it is extremely difficult for Hasidic Jews to find work outside their low-income neighborhoods, where the predominant spoken language is Yiddish. |
| The quality and quantity of secular education varies widely across different types of yeshivas. Advocates for more secular education in yeshivas say some Modern Orthodox schools, which split the day between religious and secular studies, could be a model. | The quality and quantity of secular education varies widely across different types of yeshivas. Advocates for more secular education in yeshivas say some Modern Orthodox schools, which split the day between religious and secular studies, could be a model. |
| Naftuli Moster, the executive director of Young Advocates for Fair Education, called Wednesday’s report “a disgrace.” | Naftuli Moster, the executive director of Young Advocates for Fair Education, called Wednesday’s report “a disgrace.” |
| The investigation, he said, demonstrates that “the city is willing to trade away the education of tens of thousands of students for power and political influence. These findings also raise concerns as to whether the city will provide an accurate assessment of what is happening inside yeshiva schools when it finally releases its report.” | The investigation, he said, demonstrates that “the city is willing to trade away the education of tens of thousands of students for power and political influence. These findings also raise concerns as to whether the city will provide an accurate assessment of what is happening inside yeshiva schools when it finally releases its report.” |
| But Simcha Eichenstein, a Brooklyn assemblyman who formerly worked for Mr. de Blasio’s legislative affairs team in Albany and represents the Hasidic community, highlighted the finding that no laws were violated. “Nothing newsworthy here,” he said. | But Simcha Eichenstein, a Brooklyn assemblyman who formerly worked for Mr. de Blasio’s legislative affairs team in Albany and represents the Hasidic community, highlighted the finding that no laws were violated. “Nothing newsworthy here,” he said. |