Yeshivas and other religious schools in small cities would receive millions of dollars in tax dollars each year to hire more security guards to combat the growing threat of hate, according to a proposed new bill.
Under current law, only non-public schools with 300 or more students receive these safety fees, but a bill proposed by Democratic Brooklyn City Councilman Justin Brannan would expand coverage to all schools. will be done.
“This is a new harsh reality,” said Maury Litwak, founder and CEO of the Teach Coalition, which advocates for yeshivas and Jewish day schools.
“Hate crimes and harassment fueled by anti-Semitism and Islamophobia are at record levels, and our children deserve to be protected no matter where they attend school,” he said. said.
“While this program is successful and effective, it needs to be expanded to ensure that small schools are on a level playing field to ensure they have the resources they need to keep their students safe. there is.”
The city is authorized to spend up to $19.8 million under the current safety grant program for large non-public schools. Including smaller schools could double that amount to nearly $40 million.
There are approximately 550 private and parochial schools in the city with fewer than 300 students that could benefit.
The city plans to reimburse the school for the cost of hiring the security guard.
“Nothing is more important than keeping our children safe when they are at school,” Brannan said in a statement. “Expanding the Nonpublic School Reimbursement Program (NPS) to include more schools and more students makes sense because we know this program works.
“This allows children to focus on learning and provides invaluable reassurance to parents and guardians in a world that is turned upside down. Schools are places of education, exploration and inspiration, and never hate. There must be no violence, fear or violence,” Paul said.
“When it comes to keeping children safe, it makes no difference what kind of school building they are learning in. Every child in New York City schools deserves to be safe.”
But not everyone is on board.
At a public hearing on the bill last month, Beth Harolds of the New York Civil Liberties Union blasted the current law and Brannan's bill expanding it, calling it a “violation of the constitutional separation of church and state” and calling it “bad policy.” I called.
Meanwhile, representatives of charter schools that don't share space with traditional public schools said they wanted to participate in the program. Security guards are currently funded from private schools' general budgets, which are funded with public funds.
