While state law provides for a school district to pay some private school expenses, for transportation, textbooks and special education, the state alleges that East Ramapo has been too quick to move children mostly Jewish children from the public schools into special education schools run by the Orthodox.

WSJ: Barbs of racism, anti-Semitism in NY school clash

Yang and the 18 others in the batch, aged between 15 and 16, all attend a special boarding school for minorities attached to the education college.

CNN: On-line in Yunnan

Among others honoured were Julie Mudd, head teacher of Ivel Valley Special School, who became an OBE for services to education and Det Supt Nigel Stone, of Bedfordshire Police, appointed MBE for services to policing.

BBC: Laura Trott

But the delay for special education defunding buys only a few months of time because school districts must finalize their budgeting and hiring for the upcoming year this spring.

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While research continues, many schools are approaching kids who might have problems earlier through a strategy known as "responsive intervention" rather than waiting for them to fail, says Dixon Deutsch, executive director of NYC Charter School Center's Special Education Collaborative.

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The stark division has led to a flurry of lawsuits and petitions, and New York State has intervened, blocking the sale of a public school building to a Jewish congregation and warning the board to change the way it uses public special education money for private schools.

WSJ: Barbs of racism, anti-Semitism in NY school clash

One reason for the relatively large high school completion rate is that the United States offers a number of "second chances" for students to obtain a high school diploma, including attendance at special school-based programs and obtaining a General Education Credential (GED) credential, usually by passing a high school equivalency examination.

UNESCO: II Part Analytic Section