The Honorable Carl Heastie
New York State Speaker of the Assembly
Legislative Office Building, Room 932
Albany, NY 12248
April 9, 2015
Dear Assembly Speaker Heastie,
On behalf of Reform Jewish Voice of New York State (RJV), which serves as the Reform Jewish
Movement’s advocate for social justice in New York State and works with over 100 Reform
congregations and nearly 100,000 Reform Jews, we welcomed the news that both the education
tax credit and the NY DREAM Act were removed from the 2015-2016 state budget. Decoupling
these bills and allowing them to move through the legislature outside of budget negotiations
allows each to be considered on their individual merits.
Reform Jewish values teach us to support our public school system in keeping with the values
laid out by the revered Jewish sage, Maimonides, who wrote that "any city that does not have a
school in it shall be cut off [all contact] until they find a teacher for the children" (Hilchot
Talmud Torah 2:1). We have a special obligation to support our public schools and to make
known to our communities the important role that they play in our society.
We believe that the State government also plays an important role in ensuring equal educational
opportunities for every child in New York, which is why we were so troubled by the Education
Investment Incentives Act, and its linkage to the NY DREAM Act in the budget. The possibility
that taxpayer dollars could divert desperately needed resources away from the public school
system and help only a few of our State’s children is deeply problematic.
Any program that permits private, religious schools students to receive public funds through a
scholarship program – essentially, a voucher program – is poor public policy and invites legal
challenges as well as U.S. and New York State constitutional challenges on church-state
separation grounds. A central principle of the First Amendment's Establishment Clause is that
members of particular faiths, and not the government, should fund religious institutions. We are
also concerned that religious schools that receive these funds could lose their autonomy because
with government money comes government rules and regulations. Such control would not be
beneficial for either religious organizations or the government.
Tying such reform to much-needed legislation like the NY DREAM Act is also bad public
policy. We are glad that they are now separated and out of the budget because the NY DREAM
Act would ensure that undocumented students who came to the United States when they were
very young could access higher education and help young people access greater educational
opportunities and have a better chance at achieving the American Dream. Leviticus 19:33-34
reminds us, “When strangers sojourn with you in your land, you shall not do them wrong. The
strangers who sojourn with you shall be to you as the natives among you, and you shall love
them as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” Our support for the NY DREAM
Act is reflected in these teachings. Decisions about diverting public funds to private education on
the one hand, and ensuring access to education for immigrant children on the other are each too
important to be made dependent on one another. For the good of students and our educational
system overall, we welcome the news that these measures will receive separate consideration.
We urge you to oppose any legislation that would create an education tax credit that would
effectively divert public funds through "voucher programs" which would provide support to
private and religious schools, and we commend you and the Assembly for already passing the
NY DREAM Act.
Sincerely,
/s/
Barbara Zaron and Joel Elliot
Co-Chairs
Reform Jewish Voice of New York State