New York State Assembly Chamber in the State Capitol in Albany, NY. Photo: Wadester16/Flickr.

JNS.org – For the first time ever, the New York state budget allocated security funding for summer camps.

It also consists of doubling funding available to protect non-public schools, daycare centers and cultural museums at risk of hate crimes, with $30 million for STEM and an additional $7 million for the Comprehensive Attendance Policy (CAP) and for Mandated Services Reimbursement (MSR), totaling $193 million.

The Orthodox Union, through its state advocacy operation Teach Coalition, has fought for security funding on the national, state and city levels, in addition to recently hiring full-time staff to provide direct assistance to schools and synagogues in their efforts to apply for state and federal grant funding.

“Together, with the support of our partners, including non-public schools, parents and even the students themselves, our community has raised our collective voice and advocated respectfully but forcefully for the necessary funding for our schools and children,” said Orthodox Union President Moishe Bane.

“More than 700 people came to our mission in Albany earlier this month and helped make the Jewish community’s voice heard,” said Orthodox Union Executive Vice President Allen Fagin. “We encourage more parents, grandparents, teachers and school administrators to get involved because the greater our voice the more we can achieve to benefit our schools. It’s important that people join us and act for our children.”