De Blasio Delayed Report On Yeshivas For Political Gain, Investigation Finds

More than four years after the Department of Education began to look into allegations that private yeshivas in New York City were not providing their students with an adequate education, the de Blasio administration still has not released its findings. According to a report released today by city investigators, the city's inquiry has been delayed at least a year due to "political horse-trading between the Mayor’s and State legislators’ representatives."

The three-page report issued today by the city's Department of Investigation and the Special Commissioner of Investigation for schools states that the yeshiva findings have also been delayed because of "prolonged disputes with the yeshivas' attorney" and because of the DOE's "collaborative approach" in dealing with the religious schools.

But in the summer of 2017, nearly three years after the DOE began looking into 29 yeshivas, the state legislature called a special session to vote on mayoral control of city schools. According to the DOI/SCI, an "interim report" on the yeshivas was supposed to drop that summer, but was pushed back "as part of a multi-pronged effort to bolster legislative support for continued mayoral control over the DOE."

While the report states that it couldn't be determined whether Mayor Bill de Blasio "personally authorized" the delay, "the Mayor was aware that the offer to delay had been made, prior to the final push to secure the votes for mayoral control."

From today's report:

That interim yeshivas report was ultimately delayed even more, until August of 2018. According to the DOI/SCI, any report released in the summer of 2017—three years after the de Blasio administration began its inquiry—"would have contained only limited information" because it was "still in its early stages." When the interim report was finally released, Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza blamed recalcitrant yeshivas for the fact that it took the DOE four years to visit 15 schools.

The DOI/SCI said they "did not identify any criminal conduct," and notes that "the agreement had little to no substantive effect on the progress of the Inquiry or on the ultimate conclusions of the interim report."

But David Bloomfield, a professor of education leadership, law and policy at Brooklyn College and The CUNY Graduate Center, told Gothamist that the DOI/SCI's conclusion sidesteps the entire purpose of the yeshiva inquiry.

"What about the tens of thousands of yeshiva students who continued to be denied a secular education, as a deal between the mayor and the yeshivas?" Bloomfield said. "This shouldn't be reduced to a mere bureaucratic conflict. It's about the education of ultra-Orthodox children, whose education continues to be denied through these lengthy legal and political compromises."

Bloomfield added, "Even if we agree that the horse trading stinks, but is not criminal, the delay of a required investigation for political purposes is criminal."

Naftuli Moster, the executive director of YAFFED (Young Advocates for Fair Education), the group that spurred the city's investigation of the yeshivas by filing a complaint in 2015, called the conduct detailed in the DOI/SCI report "a disgrace."

“The DOI/SCI investigation shows the City is willing to trade away the education of tens of thousands of students for power and political influence," Moster said in a statement. "These findings also raise concerns as to whether the City will provide an accurate assessment of what is happening inside Yeshiva schools when it finally releases its report.”  

Mayor de Blasio's press secretary, Freddi Goldstein, responded to the city's report in a statement: "There’s no 'there' there, as evidenced by the finding of no wrongdoing."

"The Department of Investigation and the Special Commissioner of Investigation made clear there were no findings ready for release in 2017. In fact, the DOI report accurately identifies why this process has taken so long, including ever-changing State regulations and the difficulty of gaining access to some schools," Goldstein said. "We will continue to work to ensure all New York City students receive a quality education.”

The de Blasio administration said the final report will be released this week—the week before the Christmas holiday, and the same week that President Donald Trump is likely to be impeached.

The state Board of Regents was supposed to vote on a set of education standards and investigatory procedures that would apply to yeshivas this fall, but have not done so. "This [report] is a reason for the board of regents to pass these regulations as soon as possible," Bloomfield said.

The DOI/SCI and Goldstein did not say whether de Blasio was interviewed as part of the investigation. A group representing the yeshivas declined to comment.

"We are in the final stages of preparing a report that we will send to the state education department," Schools Chancellor Carranza said when asked about the investigation. "But again I want to be really clear that there has been no grass or moss growing underneath our feet. We've been moving and I think very quickly you'll see that there's a report coming forward."

In a letter to the City Council last year, former DOI Commissioner Mark Peters said he encountered interference and "visible anger" from the de Blasio administration when it came to investigating the yeshivas. Peters was fired by de Blasio after a report showed he had misled the City Council and overstepped his authority by allegedly trying to take over the SCI, which helped produce today's investigation. Peters argued that his ousting came at a convenient time for the mayor. De Blasio appointed Margaret Garnett to replace Peters, and the City Council confirmed her appointment.

"It's certainly not OK that four years after the complaint, we still don't have a report, and the fact that he mayor's horse trading only contributed to the delay does not excuse it," said Susan Lerner, the executive director of the good government group Common Cause. "So how many thousands of students have graduated without being fully prepared for today's world?"

Additional reporting by Brigid Bergin and Jessica Gould.