The Agudah Yeshiva Summit, which occurred on Wednesday at the Staten Island Hilton Garden Inn, is always an eagerly anticipated event for New York administrators and executive directors. This year, the Agudah boldly broadened the size and scope of the event to expand its track for New York special educators and to include, for the first time, national board members. Based on the feedback received, the trickle-down effect of some 400 yeshiva leaders, board members, and special educators filling the Hilton to learn and grow will reverberate to strengthen our mosdos for years to come.

The legal and compliance demands on our overworked school executive directors are enormous. And New York City and State regulations are ever changing. Myriad opportunities for funding and services are there as well, but they require skilled navigation to obtain. The Yeshiva Summit was conceived by Mr. Avrohom Weinstock, Agudah’s Chief of Staff, in 2017. Its goal is to serve as a one-day, intense but accessible, “crash-course” on a host of compliance and funding opportunities and updates, in a forum that facilitates networking and the sharing of best practices. This year’s Summit took this aspiration to a new level.

A highlight of the event this year was the debriefing on the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit – an initiative expected to provide billions of dollars in K-12 scholarships to students attending public and private schools, including yeshivas, that just received a significant boost in New York at a meeting Governor Hochul attended at the office of Agudath Israel’s chairman of the board, Mr. Sol Werdiger. Few are better equipped to deliver this update than Rabbi A.D. Motzen, Agudah’s National Director of Government Affairs, who has been a leader in this space in Washington since its inception.

Among the thirteen sessions were navigating the 2026- 27 substantial equivalency requirement, a hot-button issue; staffing and compliance in today’s environment; mandatory child abuse training: creating winning Title services programs; implementing the Family Medical Leave Act, and more.

A unique feature of the Agudah event was the participation of the leadership of the NY State Education Department from Albany and the NYC Department of Education (DOE) to support our schools. The NYC DOE led a session on updates to various services for our children. Having the chance to hear from and ask question to the actual NYS and NYC government officials administering the programs, is truly a unique opportunity. The Agudah is grateful for the active participation of these bodies.

Of course, the endgame for this event – and our mosdos – is to further our mesorah. The Summit’s Keynote session was headlined by Rav Yaakov Bender, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Darchei Torah, whose passion, Torah, and insights galvanized the crowd, followed by remarks by NYC Comptroller Mark Levine, a staunch ally of the Jewish community. Click here to listen to the keynote.

Down the hall at the Special Education Track, sessions provided authoritative guidance on writing reports; unlocking non-governmental support services; effectively teaching students with ADHD in mainstream classrooms, and legal challenges with obtaining NYC services. These substantive sessions, expertly shepherded by Mrs. Toba Lichtenstein, Mrs. Adina Fertig and Miss Tova Wacholder supplied critical direction on emerging issues in the field.

But there is a hidden force behind our mosdos: their boards. What are their legal and hashkafic obligations? Liabilities? Opportunities? A cadre of board members from across the country gathered to find out. In addition to the compliance and legal sessions, board members were treated to a closed-door session featuring Mr. Raphael Zucker moderating a Q&A with Rav Elya Brudny and Rav Yakov Horowitz responding to some of the thorniest shailos encountered when running a school today. Finally, veteran board members Mr. Yisroel Orzel, Mr. Moishe Mishkowitz, and Mr. Yoily Edelstein led a panel imparting insight, wit, and counsel, based on their experiences on the ground, to fellow board members.

Participant schools hailed from throughout New York and beyond, encompassing Chassidish, Litvish, Modern Orthodox, Sephardic and kiruv, mainstream and special education schools. At the Keynote, Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, Agudah’s executive vice president, termed the event, “the truest expression of the holy founders of Agudas Yisroel, bringing together the diversity of yiddishkeit under one roof, and for one goal.”

“For those not running or working in schools, this all might sound dry. But schools and board members empowered to provide the right services, and educated in how to avoid compliance pitfalls, can mean the difference between a failing school and a thriving school. And children with special needs who receive the right services, at the right time, can mean the difference between a failing child and a thriving child. The Yeshiva Summit strives to impart that at scale. There was a tremendous team that helped create the 2026 Yeshiva Summit; it was a zchus to have been part of it,” said Mr. Avrohom Weinstock.

Photo Credits: Agudath Israel of America/ Moshe Gershabum