A bill to help parents of eligible private school children in New Jersey pay the steep price of tuition suffered a severe, and likely fatal blow this week after the bill’s prime sponsor in the Senate withdraw it from consideration.

Since being introduced earlier this year, the “New Jersey Student Support Act” has come under intense opposition from opponents across the state and around the country.

Days after being introduced, a group of more than 50 education groups and progressive activists signed a public letter to Governor Phil Murphy and all legislators expressing their strong opposition to the bill.

The bill would have established a program in Department of Treasury to provide tax credits to taxpayers contributing to a private organization which awards scholarships to eligible nonpublic school students.

According to the text of the proposed bill, a family earning below 2.6 times the federal income guidelines for reduced school lunch, which would be $126,000 for a family of four, would be eligible for a scholarship, with the money coming from donors who would have received a tax credit on their state income tax bill equal to 75% of their donation.

Additionally, the bill would have required the state to allocate an equal amount, or $37.5 million in additional funding for poorer districts and that it would not “supersede, impact, or interfere” with fully funding traditional public schools.

That last provision was an effort to neutralize the main argument from opponents of the bill, that it would cause funds to be diverted from the public schools.

There are approximately 160,000 children attending nonpublic schools in New Jersey, with roughly half of those enrolled in Orthodox Jewish schools, including over 50,000 in the Lakewood area.

It’s unclear if a different bill will be introduced in the future.

Askonim from the UENJ made the following statement to TLS.

“A year and a half ago, we embarked on our most ambitious challenge to date- a multiyear campaign to bring tax-credit scholarships to New Jersey’s students.

When we began this very important battle, we knew it would be a long-term campaign with multiple stages – one with highs and lows, setbacks, and opportunities.

We have made tremendous progress over the last 18 months of this campaign. In November, you voted at a historic rate across the state. This voter turnout allowed the process to begin and in March, the Student Support Act was introduced, sponsored by 21 legislators across both sides of the aisle. You sent in over 25,000 emails to legislators, and you called district offices and engaged lawmakers daily.

We hoped, based on all that momentum to pass this bill this June. Due to several factors, the bill will not be voted on in this budget cycle as we had initially hoped and we were therefore advised to pull the bill and repost it at a later date. To be clear, our commitment to pass this groundbreaking legislation is steadfast. The fight is far from over and we fully intend B’ezras Hashem to make this a reality.

There have been a tremendous amount of people who have been involved in this effort, and we will continue to need your help moving forward. Thank you for all you have done to bring us to this point, and with siyata dishmaya, we look forward to reaching the finish line with you soon.”