New York has paid companies millions of dollars to help children with disabilities in religious schools. But the services are not always needed or even provided.
Parents who try to withdraw their children from yeshivas over a lack of secular education often cannot do so, hampered by social pressure and a rabbinical court system.
The Central United Talmudical Academy, which operates the largest all-boys yeshiva in New York State, acknowledged illegally diverting money from federal food aid and other programs.
Representative Lee Zeldin, a Republican candidate for governor, is hoping for a realignment of political loyalties in parts of the borough, including those of Hasidic Jews.