Hadran Academy plans to come to market Thursday with approximately $56 million of tax exempt revenue bonds and around $3.7 million of taxable bonds, with issuance via Build NYC Resource Corporation, the bond documents state. S&P Global Ratings assigned the deal a BB, which sits below investment grade, and said the debt is backed by collateral that includes the school's gross revenues, which primarily stem from tuition.
Hadran is a private yeshiva that follows Orthodox Jewish traditions and enrolls boys diagnosed with autism or other disabilities in grades 6 through 12. Instruction is in English and Yiddish, and students can pursue either a yeshiva track or a Regents track, per the school's website. Tuition was set at $173,000 last year, and bond materials indicate roughly 93% of that amount is reimbursed by the New York City Department of Education. At least 75% of students receive reimbursement covering 80% or more of tuition, the filings say.
Families who placed children at Hadran or in its separate offsite program have prevailed in "due process" claims asserting the public school system was unable to deliver the free and appropriate public education mandated by federal law, which is why the city pays. The New York City Independent Budget Office reports the city spent $1.1 billion tied to such cases in fiscal 2025, including $723 million for private school tuition. The rest covered special education services delivered in private schools, transportation to those schools, and legal fees awarded to families.
Beyond the main campus, Hadran runs an offsite program for elementary and middle schoolers inside other Jewish schools. That option charged $140,000 per student last year, and city payments covered the full cost, according to bond disclosures.
The school currently enrolls 144 students at its main site and serves another 80 through the offsite program. Proceeds from Thursday's sale are earmarked to equip a new Brooklyn facility with "autism-friendly design" and spaces such as a STEM lab, a makerspace, dedicated rooms for art and music therapy, and a synagogue. The new building is expected to lift total capacity to 250 students.
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"The proposed campus expansion reflects the school's continued commitment to meeting the educational and developmental needs of students with disabilities through strong academics across all subject areas, social-emotional learning and evidence-based therapeutic services tailored to meet their individual needs," the school said in a statement. The statement also emphasized job-oriented instruction and workplace social skills "with the overall goal of preparing students for greater independence and meaningful opportunities beyond school."
Hadran says it follows Orthodox Jewish traditions and customs, teaches in English and Yiddish, and provides both yeshiva and Regents tracks. It accepts students of all faiths "whose needs were not fully met in traditional schools," according to bond documents. Mordechai Meisels established the academy in 2016 and also launched Encore Support Services, a provider of applied behavior analysis alongside special education support.
Nonprofit private schools can tap the municipal market, and nearly $600 million has been sold by such schools nationwide so far this year, Bloomberg data show. For everyday investors, here is the through-line: these bonds are tied closely to tuition flows and to outcomes of special education "due process" cases that drive city reimbursements. If you follow munis for income, keep an eye on how programs like this intersect with public budgets and legal obligations.
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