The New York State Board of Regents voted on Tuesday to require private schools to comply with the state's minimum academic standards, CBS News reported.
The Board of Regents approved new oversight rules that would make it easier to crack down on religious and other private schools and ensure they provide a secular education in subjects like English and math that are substantially equivalent to what public schools offer.
The proposal was discussed extensively at the board meeting Monday. On Tuesday, a vote was held on "the proposed addition of Part 130 of the regulations of the commissioner of education relating to substantially equivalent instruction for non-public school students."
The regulations charge local school districts with assessing education quality in all nonpublic schools within their borders. Local districts, with the state education commissioner, also must establish action for those that don't provide an education that is considered substantially equivalent to what kids in the public schools receive, according to Lohud.com.
The move could impact dozens of Hasidic yeshivas in New York City and the Hudson Valley.
Orthodox leaders in New York on Monday stood outside the State Department of Education in Albany to voice their concern over the measure.
A spokesman for the yeshivas told CBS2 on Tuesday that they oppose the Board of Regents' ruling.
"Parents in New York have been choosing a yeshiva education for more than 120 years, and they are proud of the successful results, and will continue to do the same, with or without the support of state leaders in Albany," the spokesman said.
Naftuli Moster, director of Yaffed, a group fighting for reform in Hasidic yeshivas, called the passage of the regulations “a giant step forward in ensuring that all children attending non-public schools receive the education to which they are entitled.”
“This widespread violation of the law and the resulting egregious educational neglect was known to officials at every level for decades,” he said, according to the New York Daily News.