The New York Board of Regents is expected to pass new rules Tuesday to tighten regulation over private schools, requiring them to begin the process of meeting state standards by December 2023.
Defenders of the schools say parents have the right to send their children to programs consistent with their beliefs and traditions. As the Regents met Monday, protesters assembled outside, some with signs reading: "We will sit in jail rather than change our children's education."
The proposed new rules would give private schools multiple pathways to show they meet a longstanding legal mandate to provide an education that is "substantially equivalent" to that of a public school. Among the criteria is that primary subjects be taught in English. "The regulation respects that parents have a constitutional right to send their children to an independent school and that we respect the worldviews of the schools and their communities," assistant commissioner Christina Coughlin said.
Under the rules, a school can demonstrate equivalency, for example, by using state-approved assessments or operating a high school registered by the Board of Regents. It also can be reviewed by the local school district.