"That's All We Wanted...We Didn't Want Them To Teach Them Religion"

The Ben Gamla School (Website)--the charter school that just started in Florida, has passed the hurdle of language of instruction and will now be able to teach in Hebrew. The AP article indicates that the actual teaching of Judaism, besides not being allowed, doesn't seem to be a particular goal of the parents sending their children there.

The Volokh Conspiracy has some more on the school:

If successful, with tuition at Jewish day schools generally exceeding $10,0000 [sic!] in the U.S., this model could easily spread nationwide in non-Orthodox communities (the Orthodox would generally want much more explicit religious education). In places such as South Africa, Australia, and Quebec, where the government funds state schools that primarily serve Jewish students, a high percentage of Jewish students (I once read 80% in Australia) attend such schools. The American Jewish community is more assimiliated, and more committed to the ideal of "neutral" public schools, that the Jews of those countries, but nevertheless the Ben Gamla model would have great appeal to many here, especially, I'd guess, former Israelis and Russians.

He also links to an article in The New York Times that indicates there will be an interesting mix in the school: 37% of parents at the school name Hebrew as their first language, and 17% name Spanish.

One issue is how many less observant families will send their children to that school because of the prohibitive cost of a Yeshiva Day School education. A solution to that problem now becomes more pressing.

Technorati Tag: Ben Gamla Charter School.