Yeshivas fight back, claim county inspections 'improper', 'draconian'

By Steve Lieberman And Michael D'onofrio
Journal News
June 1, 2016

http://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/rockland/2016/06/01/yeshivas-code-inspections/85234648/

Assemblyman Kenneth Zebrowski, D-New City, and County Executive Ed Day announcing inspections of private schools.

Yeshivas say they want safe schools and are open to inspections but oppose the 'draconian' methods of County Executive Ed Day

A newly formed group of Rockland yeshivas has warned County Executive Ed Day that they believe his zeal for inspecting private schools violates the U.S. Constitution.

Members of what is being called the School Religious Freedom Coalition want a meeting with the state education commissioner to discuss a "reasonable" plan for carrying out fire and safety code inspections at local private schools.

Dennis Lynch, an attorney for the group, said organization members support the need for inspections and having safe schools for students but believe Day's goal is to limit the growth of private schools.

They also feel the county executive's language at a press conference last week was "inflammatory" and prejudicial, Lynch said.

He would not say which yeshivas or rabbis are members of the coalition, which sent a letter to Day on Friday outlining its complaints and raising the possibility of legal action.

The move came a day after Day announced the state had given the county permission to inspect 53 private schools, mostly in Ramapo and Spring Valley, for fire and building code compliance. Day said at the press conference that school officials could face steep fines for any problems, and even jail time if they refuse to allow the inspectors access to their properties.

"Our concern is literally the safety of the children is being kidnapped for political reasons," Lynch said. "You don't hold a press conference and threaten people with jail - and they have no right to throw people in jail. Those types of draconian tactics violate freedom of religion and (are) not geared to safety regarding children."

Lynch said the coalition wants an immediate meeting on the issue with New York state Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia. He said her order had authorized the county to formulate a plan to inspect the schools, with those inspections to be done with the cooperation of school administrators.

Lynch said he wouldn't hesitate to take the county to court if an agreement on an orderly plan for inspections can't be reached.

Day said Wednesday that the inspections are continuing. He said there has only been one incident of a school denying some access to inspectors.

He said if inspectors are denied the access they need, the inspectors are told to inform the school administrator he or she is violating the law. The county will then seek a court order for entry and if that order is rebuffed, the administrator could be arrested.

"We will not be forcing in doors, though we can under the law," Day said. "That would be counter-productive. We're not going to be deterred and we're moving forward."

Day said the inspections were not limited to one type of private school, with 10 of the schools not considered yeshivas.

He called Lynch's missive a "highly inaccurate letter that is clearly politically motivated by someone who is being paid by the entities that are not ensuring the fire safety codes (are followed) for our schools, specifically (in) the town of Ramapo."

"The attempt to make this a religious issue is ridiculous," Day said.

Day said he had never heard of the organization that sent the letter and hasn't been able to find any information about it. Day said if the organization is legitimate the county will work with its members to achieve the county's safety goals.

Day said his only agenda is following the law and ensuring safe buildings for students.

Assemblyman Kenneth Zebrowski, D-New City, defended the inspections, which he has pressed for during the past several years working with firefighters and other advocates.

“These schools have received several notices by the state Department of Education that the law requires fire inspections," he said. "Instead of performing these vital inspections, the schools have decided to ignore the law and politicize common sense safety requirements. Unfortunately, this jeopardizes the safety of hundreds of students."

A state Education Department official said Tuesday that the agency was reviewing Lynch's letter.

The decision by the state to authorize the county to conduct school safety inspections came after the Department of Education and the state Department of State’s Division of Building Standards and Codes issued critical reports on fire and safety enforcement in Ramapo and Spring Valley.

For years, illegal schools and housing have littered Ramapo's landscape. Firefighters describe conditions they say they are routinely navigating in private schools in Ramapo and Spring Valley, including exit doors with deadbolts, exposed wiring, and extension cords snaking across bathrooms floors.

Calls for stronger state involvement followed Education Department revelations in April that Ramapo Fire Inspector Adam Peltz conducted shoddy inspections at four private schools: The Rockland Institute for Special Education, Bais Yaakov, Green Meadow Waldorf, and Bais Yehuda.

Schools that had been cleared by Peltz as safe are among those on the county's list for new inspections.

The pro-ultra Orthodox group Agudath Israel of America issued a statement at Day's press conference last week saying that 40 yeshiva leaders had pledged their cooperation with inspections weeks earlier.

The yeshiva leaders' statement said they "believe that the large majority of our institutions are in fact safe, and in full compliance with applicable fire and safety standards."