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38 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE T he effort to secure a fair share of government funding for yeshiva students took a huge step forward last month as the New York City Department of Education (DOE) approved a proposal by the Sephardic Community Federation (SCF) and other groups to provide a host of private educational services to students in yeshivas. The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) passed into law in 2001 included a requirement for an increase in the participation of private and parochial schools in the disbursement of government funds for education. Under Title I of the act, funds for participating private school children include instructional services provided by public school employees or third-party contractors; extended-day services; family literacy programs; counseling programs; computer-assisted instruction; home tutoring; and instruction using take-home comput- ers. However, because of the way the DOE had structured its Title I program – centralized in public schools – most qualifying yeshiva students never received the services to which they were entitled. SCF Executive Vice President David G. Greenfield and United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg (UJO) President Rabbi David Niederman, both of whom were appointed by the Mayor’s office to the DOE’s Non-Public School Standing Committee, led the historic effort to obtain the millions of dollars worth of education services that Brooklyn yeshiva students were missing out on. As part of its effort SCF prepared a comprehensive 28-page report in February 2007 entitled, “Why Aren’t New York City Yeshivas Receiving Their Fair Share Of NCLB Funds & Services And What Can Be Done To Remedy This Inequity?” The study found that although the NCLB Act requires that all funds get distributed in an equitable dollar per pupil eligibility formula for public and private schools, there was substantial evi- dence that students in New York City’s yeshivas have not benefited from this legislation. The report concluded that 30,000 students in Brooklyn yeshivas are missing out on approximately $40 million each year in Title I services which they are entitled to, but not receiving. One of the primary components of the SCF report focused on the fact that Title I services do not have to be provided by teachers employed by the DOE. In fact, NCLB regulations actually encourage local school agencies to contract out the provision of Title I services for students at- tending private schools to third-party vendors. These third-party vendors can be individuals, for- profit and not-for-profit organizations. Although to this point New York City had not yet employed this system, many other major U.S. cities including Dallas, Miami, Memphis, Chicago and Milwaukee do contract out their Title I ser- vices through a competitive system to organizations specializing in remedial education. Greenfield and Niederman met with Deputy Mayor Dennis Wal- cott and other top-level members of the Bloomberg administration about this issue in February 2007, at which time they presented the city officials with copies of the report, and the two have maintained an ongoing dialogue with the city regarding the NCLB Act for over a year. Based on their findings, Greenfield and Niederman told the Mayor’s office and the DOE that only by offering yeshiva principals the option of using third-party vendors will the estimated 30,000 Title I eligible students in Brooklyn yeshivas finally get the help they need to succeed in school. In response to the concerns raised by SCF and UJO, the city invited the two groups to submit a proposal for the implementation of a third-party vendor system. SCF and UJO prepared a comprehensive proposal and submitted it to the Mayor’s office. In the 2008 school year six schools will begin receiving ser- vices under a pilot program. If all goes well, in 2009 all New York schools will be able to participate. Both Greenfield and Niederman praised the Mayor’s office and the DOE’s Bureau of Nonpublic School Reimbursable Services for their willingness to engage in a meaningful dialogue about this issue and for their efforts to rectify the situation. Alongside David Green- field and Rabbi David Niederman, Rabbi David Zwiebel of Agudath Israel and Rabbi Martin Schloss of the Board of Jewish Education of Greater New York were instrumental in the successful negotiations with NYC-DOE officials. “The federal government established a program intended to ben- efit all struggling students, in both public and private schools alike, yet not everyone has been able to take advan- tage of this program,” said SCF Executive Vice President David Greenfield, “As a result of the city’s decision to implement a third-party vendor system for private schools, I am optimistic that no student in New York City will be left behind any longer. Every child, regardless of where they go to school, deserves the chance to get the education they need in order to achieve success in life and fulfill their hopes and dreams.” SCF, the umbrella government relations and public policy organization of the Sephardic Jewish community, has nearly 10,000 students in yeshivas, and UJO represents approximately 15,000 students in yeshivas. SCF leads successful effort to get fair share of federal “No Child Left Behind” money for New York City Yeshivas. David Greenfield, Executive Director of the SCF and Mayor Michael Bloomberg Million forYeshivaDay Schools?