A bill to help parents of eligible private school children pay the steep price of tuition has been introduced in the New Jersey Legislature this afternoon.
The “New Jersey Student Support Act” establishes 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.
“Agudath Israel of America’s New Jersey office enthusiastically welcomes the introduction of the “New Jersey Student Support Act “in the New Jersey legislature,” New Jersey Legislative Director Shlomo Schorr said in a statement. “This pivotal legislation represents a significant step towards empowering parents with the freedom to choose the educational path that best suits the needs of their children.”
“We commend the sponsors and advocates, including TeachNJ and United Education of New Jersey (UENJ), for their tireless dedication to providing families in New Jersey with increased access to a variety of educational opportunities,” Schorr continued.
Under the bill, a tax credit scholarship programs would be created to allocate scholarships for all income eligible children in grades K-12 attending nonpublic schools by providing a tax break for corporations and individuals donating to Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGO).
The amount of the tax credit has not been finalized, but it is likely to be around 75%, which is in line to what exists in other states with similar programs.
The bill’s sponsors include Senator Vin Gopal (Education Chairman), Senator Joe Lagana, Assemblywoman Lisa Swain (Education Chairwoman), Assemblyman Gary Schaer, and Assemblyman Reverend Reginald Atkins. The cosponsors to date are: Senator Paul Sarlo (Budget Chairman), Assemblywoman Eliana Pintor Marin (Budget Chairwoman), Assemblywoman Margie Donlon, Assemblywoman Luanne Peterpaul, Assemblyman Robert Karabinchak, Assemblyman Avi Schnall, Assemblyman Julio Marenco, Assemblywoman Rosy Bagolie and Assemblyman Chris Tully.
“We would like to recognize the tireless efforts of New Jersey Assemblyman Avi Schnall (D-Lakewood) who has invested countless hours in bringing this bill to its current form, and we look forward to continue working together until this bill reaches the finish line,” Schorr added.
This story has been updated with new information about the bill.
How exactly does this work? Please explain in layman’s language.
So it seems that if corporations do not donate to this fund then there’s no money to fund scholarships.
Who gets selected first for scholarships? Would be asign up program on a first come basis would it be based on lowest income first?
How much would the scholarships be?
Not ready to start celebrating with the lack of details here.
There’s never been a tax credit program for corporations in new jersey history that didn’t receive the maximum donations. Businesses will always give to these programs first instead of tax, especially education.
Chance of this passing in New Jersey? I’d say 1%, 2% at most.
The public school supporters, the teachers unions & the Anti any funding for religious schools groups will fight this tooth and nail.
If you or all the naysayers are wrong and it passes and there is real tuition relief will you publicly admit that you were wrong, or will everyone quietly dissappear?
I will 100% admit I was wrong. If I’m wrong in wrong. Why would I deny it?
As someone who is a bit involved
Yes this is already approved by the teacher union
No one is wasting time the plan is on the table with a clear pathway to win
And yes l.s. will be remembered as a hero of the century
I hope so. Right now I can only say that it is very sad how much effort is being put into keeping yungeleit in Lakewood so the frum community will never ch”v spread out to states which already have free tuition and affordable housing.
A similar tax credit tuition scholarship bill has been introduced EVERY YEAR in the NJ legislature for almost the last 20 years . On May 13 , ’10. Almost ’14 years ago , there was even a rally in Trenton with thousands of Lakewood students in attendance and members of our community testifying in favor and it ended with a 6 to 0 Committee vote in favor . But
the bill ultimately went nowhere because the teachers union won’t let the politicians vote for it . Then the governor was a Republican who was in favor of the bill. And it still didnt pass. Let’s see if this time is different . I think that Bill and the rally was covered extensively by the Lakewood Scoop .
The difference here is that they negotiated with the teachers unions to get them not to oppose the bill.
Seeing is believing. Where’s the picture of the Teachers Union leadership signing onto this? If they were on board, their pictures and press release would be everywhere.
Don’t know if it will be the same but PA has this for years and it’s amazing.
In PA people give money to an organization who runs it but it is directed towards specific schools. The person then gets a 90% tax deduction on their state taxes which means they are basically giving money to schools instead of paying their state taxes. It’s a no brainer.
What will prevent the schools from doubling the tuition so parents tdont get the break?
I’m hoping the tuitions can be regulated so that they can only accept the funding if they comply…
If a business would donate funds directly to schools with 501c3 status as of now ,why wouldn’t they receive a deduction on their taxes? If so why the need for this bill?
Federal deduction and it’s limited. This is a state tax deduction which nobody gets.
This crazy. If the private schools corperations get a tax break and other tax payers have to make up the loss then I we get a say in what they teach. The gas tax is going up. Property taxes still going up. This is nuts. If you nake less then 20000.00 with one kid. Really!! You can’t afford private school. Who’s math are you using. If murphy signs this. The next govenor will be a republican and that’s ashame.
Families with one child earning below $200,000! That’s practically the whole town! what a joke
Right, but they don’t get everything they want. And when people vote against it, they are somehow antisemitic!
My question is , would this be for all
Private education? Catholic? Christian? Jewish ?