Teach NYS, a project of the Orthodox Union, praised the New York State government for releasing millions of additional dollars in reimbursement funds for nonpublic schools across New York. Teach NYS has led the effort to encourage the legislature to release all the reimbursement funds due to nonpublic schools, including Jewish day schools.

These funds, known as CAP payments, are used to reimburse nonpublic schools for services mandated by the state during the 2003-2004 school year. This week’s payment is part of the 2015 end of session agreement that released $250 million in back-funding for nonpublic schools.

The 2015 agreement was reached between Governor Andrew Cuomo, Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan, and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie in June 2015 and set aside $250 million over two years to repay schools for a period of underfunding in previous administrations. Teach NYS maintains a full-time lobbying team in Albany during the legislative session and has long advocated for increases and repayment of this funding.

“Many Jewish schools don’t realize there are millions of dollars on the table that can be used to pay for basic educational services mandated by the state,” said Jake Adler, Director of Government Affairs for Teach NYS. “Teach NYS plays a critical role in working with the state to release these funds and helping schools access them. We are extremely grateful for our partners in government for correcting this issue.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)