Tuition Relief Bill Reintroduced With Watered Down Version After Opposition

 Updated

The Tuition relief bill that was introduced last month came under fierce opposition from the teachers union the bill was stuck and didn't move anywhere.  Teach NJ coalition of Modern Orthodox schools in New Jersey inder the OU was hoping for passage in June.

The bill was now reintroduced again on April 4  as bill A4144 with major changes that will have many families  with higher incomes not eligible who could have been so with the initial bill. 

Another major change  the tax credit is not dollar for dollar but only 75 cents for the dollar. 

Another drastic change the maximum allowed per year to go toward the program is $37.5 Million down from $250 million in the initial bill

The eligibility requirements will knock off alot of families as it is now only for students with a  household income that does not exceed the federal income guidelines for reduced price lunch under the National School Lunch Program multiplied by 2.6.  The previous bill allowed eligibility to be multiplied by 4.32

So, a family of 4 who can make up to $55.500 for reduced school lunch can multiply that by 2.6 and make up to $144,300 and be eligible for tuition scholarship. A family of 8 can make up to $243.191 to be eligible while with the previous bill they could  make up to $404k (the income levels go up slightly every year) see income levels Here 

But regardless of the changes there have been other provisions thrown into the bill attaching it to other legislation with public school funding and disabled veterans and senior funding, could would make it tough to pass.

As some have pointed out 

9. The provisions of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall not supersede, impact, or interfere with any of the following: a. the full funding in each State fiscal year necessary to satisfy the requirement in Article VIII, Section IV, paragraph 1 of the New Jersey Constitution that the Legislature provide for the maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient system of free public schools for the instruction of all the children in the State between the ages of five and 18 years;

There won't be a dime for nonpublic schools in Lakewood until its public schools are fully funded. Moreover, statewide, the funding formula has been fully funded only three times in the last two decades.

It also can't  pass unless there's full funding for $250 veterans tax deduction and  senior citizens and disabled persons $250 property tax deduction

Correction: Schools do NOT need to be in districts where 50% of students are eligible for free/reduced lunches.

Section 2 states: " As used in sections 1 through 10... "Eligible school" means a nonpublic school that: is eligible to participate in the National School Lunch Program; complies with all federal and State anti-discrimination statutes; and complies with the “Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act,”... " .

That's all the requirements mentioned.

The 50 percent requirement is for Section 12 only.

The new Section 12 essentially gives the public school system the same amount the private system is benefitting from this bill.

It establishes a separate grant program for school DISTRICTS, funded with $37.5 million annually via the Dept of Education.

The grant may be used for tutoring programs, teacher retention bonuses, mental health or counseling services, etc.

Only districts with 50% of the student pop. eligible for free/reduced lunches are eligible for this grant.

Language of the reintroduced bill:

"full funding of the veterans’ $250 property tax deduction, required to be provided to eligible veterans pursuant to the State Constitution; the senior citizens’ and disabled persons’ $250 property tax deduction authorized by the State Constitution; the full payment of contributions required by law to be made to the State-administered retirement systems; and the full funding of the Stay NJ property tax credit program established in P.L.2023, c.75 (C.54:4-8.75a et seq.).

"business tax or personal gross income tax equal to 75 percent of any contribution made to a student support organization; in the case of the gross income tax credit, a taxpayer is required to contribute a minimum of $100 to a student support organization in order to claim a tax credit.  The value of a credit for an individual taxpayer in a given year or privilege period is not permitted to exceed the lesser of 50 percent of the taxpayer’s total tax liability or $1,000,000 for a tax credit against the corporate business tax or $100,000 for a credit against the personal gross income tax.

 "The maximum amount of tax credits allowable in each State fiscal year may not exceed $37.5 million".

"To be eligible for a scholarship from the student support organization, a student is to reside in New Jersey and intend to enroll in grades kindergarten through 12 in the next school year. A student is required to have a household income that does not exceed the federal income guidelines for reduced price lunch under the National School Lunch Program multiplied by 2.6.

 "As used in this section, “eligible school district” means a school district in which at least 50 percent of the student population is eligible for free or reduced price lunch under the National School Lunch Program".