A new bill aims to remove money for private schools from the public school revenue stream, which would have a significant impact on districts like East Ramapo.
Assemblyman Mike Lawler promised voters when he ran that he would fix the funding inequalities of the district, and a bill he introduced Thursday aims to do just that.
Under the bill, school districts would no longer provide mandated services to students in private schools. In East Ramapo, public school students are outnumbered 3 to 1 by private school students, which are predominantly yeshiva students.
"New York state reimburses that school district at 72% of those mandated services busing, books, special education etc. Under my bill - the Education, Equity and Choice Act, or EECA - those decisions and funding mechanism would no longer be under purview of public school board but rather New York state and the state Department of Education," says Lawler.
The lawmaker introduced two bills - one would apply statewide and the other to districts with a 65% and higher private school population, which East Ramapo falls under.
The district won't comment on the bill until it thoroughly reviews proposed legislation.
The Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council said,