Israeli Government Admits It Did Not Enforce Penalties on Ultra-Orthodox Schools for Core Curriculum Failures

Over the past decade, the Israeli Ministry of Education imposed hundreds of fines on ultra-Orthodox educational institutions for failing to meet core curriculum requirements. However, in a recent response to the Supreme Court submitted in July 2023, the government admitted that these fines, known as offsets, were never actually enforced. These symbolic fines were minimal compared to the financial gains schools received by joining networks funded equally to state education.

The offsets, totaling approximately 103 million shekels across 346 cases, were part of a funding system used by ultra-Orthodox networks such as Agudat Yisrael's Independent Education and Shas's Bnei Yosef, which was canceled a year ago. Under this system, these networks were uniquely funded based on actual expenses rather than statutory entitlements. Investigations revealed that many ultra-Orthodox schools joined these networks primarily to secure additional funding without intending to fulfill core curriculum teaching obligations.

The Ministry of Education's response detailed numerous exemptions granted to these schools, including reduced weekly hours in math, English, and science for grades 7-8, permission to substitute English with other languages, and partial waivers for late academic year teaching. Despite some exemptions being revoked following legal petitions, others remain under directives from the ministry's director-general, Meir Shimoni.

A Ministry of Finance analysis showed that 34% of 524 ultra-Orthodox institutions failed to meet the core curriculum requirements, with 134 schools not even covering 75% of the mandated curriculum. In total, 2,551 core curriculum hours funded by the state were not delivered. Additionally, 68% of these schools employed teachers without proper certification in core subjects, and 44 schools had no qualified teachers for math, English, or science.

Government legal advisor Gali Baharav-Miara recommended conditioning future funding on full compliance with core curriculum standards starting this school year. However, past experience suggests the Ministry of Education may resist strict enforcement. Former Education Minister and current head of the Penima organization, Shai Piron, advocates strengthening state-funded ultra-Orthodox education (MAMAH) through legislation mandating its establishment wherever there is sufficient parental demand. Yet, municipal leaders often block such initiatives due to political pressure from ultra-Orthodox coalition partners who oppose competition with their educational networks. The Ministry of Education declined to comment on the report.