A deal hammered out between the mayor's office and a group of private schools will allow children attending publicly funded pre-kindergarten to take prayer breaks and attend school during federal holidays. In exchange, the city hope to include these pre-k seats in next school year's expansion.  

The new guidelines came after months of talks between the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio and groups representing Orthodox Jewish schools, Catholic schools and providers who have different educational goals than the city, such as some Montessori-based schools. City officials heralded it as a great resolution. 

“We’re opening the door for even more families to participate in pre-k for all, and that’s a very good thing," said Maya Wiley, counsel to the mayor. "This additional flexibility preserves the high standards and inclusiveness of our program, and ensures this will continue to be a single pre-k system that serves all New Yorkers.”

The major sticking point boiled down to the minimum number of instructional hours required by the city.  To be eligible for pre-k funds, schools must offer six hours and 20 minutes of secular instruction a day. Under the new policy, the weekly total of 31 hours and 40 minutes can be spread across six days a week rather than five. 

In order to meet the required 180 days in a school year, groups that take additional time off for religious holidays can offer school during some of the 11 federal holidays. Additionally, some professional development days can move to August. 

Finally, the programs can offer a break during the school day for "non-program activities," according to a letter from Deputy Mayor Richard Buery. These might include a post-meal prayer or unstructured play time. Buery stipulated that this time will not count toward the required weekly hours, and that there much be an option for any child who does not want to participate.

While many Orthodox Jewish groups, including Agudath Israel, supported City Hall's efforts, support was not universal. Maury Litwak, the director of state political affairs for the Orthodox Union, said he was disappointed.

"Unfortunately, the information released by City Hall contains only cosmetic changes to the rules and New York’s Jewish day school parents still cannot expect to enroll their children in a city-funded UPK program next September,” he said in a statement.

On Thursday, Mayor de Blasio said officials would inspect  on a regular basis to ensure proper use of taxpayer dollars by the faith-based organizations. 

"If there is a violation and if that violation is not resolved, they will no longer get funding," he said. "What we found already from the experience so far this year and certainly from the previous administration’s experience is that the religious schools that participate understand those ground rules and abide by them. Those that do not want to live by the ground rules don’t ask for the funding."

Letter to Pre-K Providers