Mideast-Themed Schools Raise Curricular, Church-State Issues

A new public school with a focus on Arabic language and culture is set to open in New York City this week, after being assailed for months by opponents who claim it will be a taxpayer-funded Islamic school sympathetic to extremist political views.

In Broward County, Fla., meanwhile, a new charter school designed around the teaching of Hebrew language and culture is contending with charges that it will unavoidably teach religion, in violation of the First Amendment.

Both schools declare that their intentions are mainstream—and completely legal—and that they will be under the supervision of...