In response to a proposal from the U.S. Department of Education to rescind religious freedom protection for faith-based organizations on public university campuses, deeming them unnecessary, the U.S. bishops have asked the agency to preserve the protection, which it calls “common sense.”
Following appeals and review processes that have been going on since the fall, the city’s Department of Education (DOE) has reinstated “Pre-K for All” programs in three diocesan schools next year.
The city’s Department of Education (DOE) has decided not to renew 105 “Pre-K for All” program applications for fall ’21 — including five programs in Catholic schools located throughout the Diocese of Brooklyn. The free, full-day “Pre-K for All” program has been one of the mayor’s signature initiatives since launching in 2014.
On Nov. 23, Judge Wayne Ozzi of the New York State Supreme Court — Richmond County granted COVID-19 testing relief sought by Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of New York. The Archdiocese filed a lawsuit last month against the City’s Department of Education (DOE), stating that the DOE should legally provide the same health and testing resources for its students as it does for public school students (as required under Section 912 of the State Education Law).
Remote learning has been especially difficult for special needs children, according to educators and advocates, who said lessons took much longer to set up each school day.
