Agudath Israel of America Joins Effort to Advocate for Equitable Funding for Private School Students

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Agudath Israel of America joined 38 national and state organizations in an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief filed today in Michigan v. DeVos, a case which will determine the fate of hundreds of millions of dollars for private school students.

 

The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty filed the brief in a case brought by a group of state attorneys general against the U. S. Department of Education over the allocation of CARES Act funding for private schools.  The CARES Act, enacted in March, was intended to help all students affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos issued an interim final rule that gives states and public school districts options for how to fairly allocate CARES Act relief to private schools, but some states and cities refused to comply and challenged the rule.

 

The amicus brief argued in favor of the Education Department’s sensible rule. It also demonstrated that the plaintiff’s solution would impose an inequitable distribution of the funds, cause imminent and irreparable harm to private schools and their students, and ignores the fact that private schools, many of which serve economically disadvantaged areas and families, are an integral part of education across the country.

 

“All children are deserving of an equitable share of our nation’s assistance, regardless of the type of school they attend,” said Rabbi Abba Cohen, Vice President for Government Affairs for Agudath Israel of America. “We hope that the court will agree that the US Department of Education’s interpretation is the only equitable solution to help serve all students.”

 

Agudath Israel express its thanks to attorney Jeffrey Zuckerman for his assistance with this brief and his continuing assistance on the larger issue of equitable services in the CARES Act.
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