18 private Hasidic schools in New York City accused of failing to provide adequate secular instruction

NEW YORK -- An investigation has found that 18 private schools run by the Hasidic Jewish community in New York have been breaking the law by not providing students with adequate secular instruction.

The findings by New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks are final for four of the schools. The rest must be approved by the state.

They will have two years to come up with plans to remedy the situation.

Parents for Educational and Religious Liberty in Schools (PEARLS) flatly rejected the findings in a statement, saying those who favor religious instruction "will continue to do so, regardless of how many government lawyers try to insist that yeshiva education is best measured by checklists."