Regents, school officials link on standards

The decision to hold non-public schools to the same standards as public schools is a difficult one since it could mean the state providing funding to non-public schools.

According to Bill Hirschen, spokesperson for the State Education Department, the Regents are in the preliminary stages. "They are going to look at the issue of higher standards and how they apply to non-public schools," he said. "They've met with the non-public school community to begin the conversation. No decisions have been made."

Implications

Mr. Hirschen said requiring non-public schools to meet the new standards would lead to an "awful lot of implications."

Those implications include providing the non-public schools with equitable resources, such as teacher training, access to technology and remedial resources for students.

According to James Cultrara, associate director for education of the New York State Catholic Conference, if the state's non-public schools are required to follow the new standards, they will need access to the assistance being provided to the public schools. That assistance includes what Mr. Cultrara described as "significant and sustained staff development" as well as technical resources and a safety net for students.

Requirements

The state's new learning standards eliminated the local diploma and require all students work toward a Regents diploma. The Regents courses and exams have become more rigorous, which means some students will need more than four years in high school to earn this diploma.

"The new Regents diploma may take longer to get. It may take five years," said Sister Mary Jane Herb, IHM, superintendent of schools for the Albany Diocese. "Who is going to pay [for the extra year] in the non-public schools? We can't ask the parents."

When the new learning standards were implemented in the public schools, a safety net was built in for students who would need extra assistance, Sister Jane said. This includes an extensive remediation program. If non-public schools are to be held to the same standards, they would need these remediation programs as well.

"We need assistance for students having trouble," she said. "Are the same forms of assistance going to be available to non-public schools? Many of our places struggle to get what we're [already] entitled to, especially in the area of remediation."

Mr. Cultrara said the type of assistance needed is constitutional. "Any financial resources would be benefiting the child, not the Catholic school," he said. "The Supreme Court has upheld many forms of support on the child benefit theory. Every kid has the right to basic resources, like busing, books and adequately prepared teachers."

Diocesan standards

"As far as we're concerned, we'll voluntarily comply with the standards," Sister Jane said. "Much of our curriculum is above state requirements."

Mr. Cultrara said the state's Catholic schools are ready for the new learning standards. "Our inter-diocesan curriculum committee has been working for two years looking at our curriculum and the new standards," he said. "We're ready for implementation."

Most non-public schools in the state are complying with the new learning standards, Mr. Cultrara said.

There have been challenges in this voluntary compliance. Prior to administering the state's new fourth grade language arts test, for example, teachers needed to be trained on how to administer and score the test, explained Sister Jane. "Our teachers found out late," she said. "In some cases, they found out a day before the training."

Caution

The superintendent understands what the Regents are trying to do. "The [Catholic school] superintendents have had conversations over the past two years with Commissioner [Richard] Mills," Sister Jane said. "He says we need to be concerned about the education of all students in New York State, and I agree. He also recognizes that we are accountable to our public."

The Regents recently toured non-public schools in Queens, Mr. Cultrara said, including Catholic schools. He was a part of the tour and said, "The Regents came away with a positive understanding of Catholic schools."

While these discussions are just beginning, Mr. Cultrara is hopeful. "We believe that ultimately it will be positive," he said. "It will be good for our schools."

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