JTA — The New York State Education Department is cutting off public funding to two Brooklyn yeshivas and ordering parents to find alternative educational arrangements for their children next year, citing the schools’ failure to meet secular education standards.

It’s the most significant set of consequences faced by any school in the ongoing fight between education officials and Haredi institutions in New York over laws requiring that yeshivas, like all schools, meet standards in core subjects like English and math. After years of battles in court, the halls of government and the public square, this is the first time the state has effectively closed a Hasidic school.

The two yeshivas are in Williamsburg, the center of the city’s Satmar Hasidic community. They are Yeshiva Bnei Shimon Yisroel of Sopron, which runs schools in two locations for different age groups, and Talmud Torah of Kasho. They were notified of the enforcement decisions on February 11 after ignoring final warnings issued in December, according to the education department.

By July 1, parents must find “a different, appropriate education setting” for their children and report their choice to authorities, according to a letter template that the Department of Education provided to the yeshivas for distribution. Three options were listed: a different religious school, a public school or homeschooling.

The letter template, which also came in Yiddish translation, notes that the yeshivas will not receive public funds for child nutrition programs, transportation, textbooks or other services after June 30.

Talmud Torah of Kasho did not return a request for comment. Rosa Friedman, the principal of Yeshiva Bnei Shimon Yisroel of Sopron, said in a reply to an email from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, “We are not doing anything illegal.” She did not respond to follow-up questions.

The dispute dates back a decade, when a........

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