Selim Algar is reporting for the New York Post the state Education Department has been deluged with more than 140,000 public comments opposing a plan to increase governmental oversight of private and religious schools. The department's proposal calls for increased academic and hiring control by local school boards of the non-public schools located within their boundaries. Schools found to be defying state rules would be subject to closure. The original proposal was prompted by concerns that Jewish yeshivas were systematically neglecting academic subjects in favor of religiosity. On July 3, the state began accepting public comment and closed the process last week. Officials confirmed that more than 140,000 emailed submissions were received, as well as an unspecified number of written letters. A coalition of private school operators took legal action in March to block the state from its latest efforts at academic oversight. In an argument before State Supreme Court Justice Christina Ryba on April 15, the attorneys argued questions of bureaucratic protocol, the potential harm the policy poses to private schools, and separation of church and state as reasons why the program should be halted. Read the full story in the New York Post.