Regulating Ultra-Orthodox Schools within a Secular Society

In Québec (Canada), teaching the national curriculum is the Sine qua non condition for a school to be recognized by the Minister of Education. Ultra Orthodox (often Hassidic) schools that choose to offer very little secular education (mostly English, French and mathematics) and concentrate on Judaic studies are therefore considered illegals in the province. This has two immediate consequences. First, parents’ choice to enroll their children after all in these school can be considered to be “child neglect” since they do not respect the province’s Education Act that ensures the right to every person to have access to instruction it provides. Second, a largely shared criticism of their even existence within Quebec’s society questions the very fact that they are still allowed to welcome children in their facilities. However, the solution is not that obvious. Recent attempts to actively force these schools to change their approach has brought schools to declare themselves as community centers and parents to register officially for homeschooling their children. Indeed, in this way parents are allowed to offer an equivalent curriculum at home, while schools have no more obligations to respect and may concentrate on “sacred” studies (limoudei kodesh). This paper, based on a recent comparative study regarding treatment of these questions in six jurisdictions, will analyze the social, judicial and political challenges surrounding theses ultra-orthodox schools within a very secular society, like the Québec.