Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been signing into law a flurry of legislation over the last several days, but an increasingly controversial measure that would give parents and guardians broader ability to seek taxpayer-funded reimbursements for private school.

The bill passed in the Legislature in the final week of the session in June and some rank-and-file lawmakers grumbled privately that it was pushed through the Republican-led Senate and Democratic-controlled Assembly with little notice.

Supporters of the bill say it’s aimed at giving greater access to schools for children with special needs in order to meet their unique educational requirements. But critics have read the bill a different way; arguing that is allows parents or guardians to place their children in schools based on religious background at the taxpayer’s expense.

It also appears aimed specifically at Orthodox Jewish families. The bill was drafted by Agudath Israel, a NYC-based Orthodox Jewish group, says Gary Stern at LoHud.

The measure has received some press since we first blogged about back on June 21.

Both the state School Boards Association and Mayor Michael Bloomberg oppose the bill, charging that it would essentially usher in New York’s first broad-based voucher system.

A Cuomo spokesman said this afternoon the bill has been forwarded to his desk, but governor continues to review the bill. Cuomo has until midnight Aug. 1 to sign it.

In a way, the debate over the bill is similar to the post-session lobbying effort to prohibit insurers from requiring policyholders to only purchase prescription drugs through a mail-order pharmacy. Like the reimbursement bill, it became one of those measures that the intense lobbying comes after it is approved by lawmakers.

In the end, Cuomo signed the bill in December, but sought retroactive changes from the Legislature.

Among the bills Cuomo signed today includes a measure that would mandate doctors to inform women they have dense breast tissue.

s t a t e o f n e w y o r k

Share|