Agudath Israel’s Ohio director Rabbi Yitz Frank was featured in Ohio newspapers several times this week. On Monday, Ohio’s Statehouse news service, Gongwer, interviewed Rabbi Frank about the private school community’s concern with the College Credit Plus Program.  Rabbi Frank  said that while he appreciated the Administration’s goal of increasing access to college credit, private schools should still be allowed to make their own decisions about how to participate. Click here to read the full article.

On Wednesday Gongwer featured a second interview with Rabbi Frank highlighting the impact of “safe harbor” on voucher eligibility.  Safe harbor freezes public school ratings for the next several years.  Since the Ed-choice program relies on school report cards to determine what is consistently an under-performing public school, safe harbor prevents students who are assigned to low performing public schools from being eligible for a scholarship.  Click here to read the full article about “safe harbor” schools and voucher eligibility.

On Wednesday, the Columbus Dispatch printed Rabbi Frank’s letter to the editor criticizing a city policy to ban head scarves worn by police officers. Rabbi Frank highlighted that this type of policy is one of the key reasons why Agudath Israel strongly supports the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, to ensure that religious minorities are fully able to participate in public life. Click here read Rabbi Frank’s letter to the editor.