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Religious Liberty and Education: A Case Study of Yeshivas vs. New York

(Rowman and Littlefield, 2020)

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Featuring Jason Bedrick (@JasonBedrick), Coeditor; Director of Policy, EdChoice; Adjunct Scholar, Cato Institute; Rita Koganzon, Contributor; Assistant Professor of Politics, University of Virginia; Kevin Vallier (@kvallier), Contributor; Associate Professor of Philosophy, Bowling Green State University; moderated by Neal McCluskey (@NealMcCluskey), Director, Center for Educational Freedom, Cato Institute.

When, if ever, should government override parents’ educational decisions? That is the question at the heart of an ongoing battle over Orthodox Jewish schools in New York City. It pits the freedom of parents and communities against graduates who believe themselves disserved by the yeshivas they attended and against the state with which those graduates want to render private schools “substantially equivalent” to public. It is an especially timely discussion in the midst of Hanukkah and Advent, but the question applies to everyone: Where should the freedom of families and communities end and government authority begin? Join us with lots of questions and comments for our panel.

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Religious Liberty and Education: A Case Study of Yeshivas vs. New York

Over the last few years, Orthodox Jewish private schools, also known as yeshivas, have been under fire by a group of activists known as Young Advocates for Fair Education, run by several yeshiva graduates, who have criticized them for providing an inadequate secular education.

At the heart of the yeshiva controversy lies two important interests in education: the right of the parent to choose an appropriate education, which may include values-laden religious education, and the right of each child to receive an appropriate education, as guaranteed by the state.