Cuomo Vetoes Special Ed Bill Backed by Orthodox
Gov. Andrew Cuomo Image by getty images
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo vetoed a bill that would have made it easier for religious students with special needs to receive tuition reimbursements for attending private schools.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo Image by getty images
Special needs students may currently receive a tuition reimbursement if their local public schools do not provide the services they need, according to the Poughkeepsie Journal. Parents must apply for the reimbursement every year, and show why the public school is inappropriate for the child, as well as why the chosen private school is appropriate.
The bill, vetoed on Tuesday, would have required reapplication for the reimbursement only when students’ needs change, not annually. The bill would have required schools to consider “the school environment” versus the student’s “home environment and family background.”
Haredi Orthodox Jews, as well as Catholics, backed the bill.
According to the Journal, Leah Steinberg, special education affairs director for the haredi Agudath Israel of America, called the bill “compassionate.”
Cuomo called it “an overly broad and ambiguous mandate” in a statement.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.
If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
