News & Information for the Week of
May 30th - June 4th, 2021
Agudath Israel of Ohio Lauds the Ohio Senate’s Focus on Students and Families
Photo: Rabbi Yitz Frank, Executive Director of Agudath Israel of Ohio with Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman. (Photo Credits: Agudath Israel of America Electronic Archives) 
 Earlier this week, the Ohio Senate’s Finance Committee adopted a substitute version of H.B. 110, the state’s biennial operating budget. Welcomed by families and education advocates alike, the substitute bill included several key provisions: 

  • Increases the maximum value of EdChoice and Cleveland Scholarships from the current $4650 to $5,500 per pupil for grades K-8 and from $6000 to $7,500 per pupil for grades 9-12. 
  • Clarifies scholarship eligibility to include students entering 9th grade and siblings of current scholarship students. 
  • Eliminates deductions from districts’ state aid and instead directly funds all scholarship programs and charter schools. 
  • Creates a scholarship granting organization designation to any non-profit (religious or secular) that primarily awards academic scholarships for primary and secondary school students, and allows a 100% tax credit to donors up to $1000; 
  • The current minimum of $250 for payments in lieu of transportation now becomes the lesser of $2,500 or 50% of the cost identified by the district for transporting a nonpublic student. 
  • Retains Executive and House language allowing for auxiliary services payments to be made directly to religious schools. 


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Big Win for Illinois Parents as Tax Credit Scholarship Program Survives Budget 
Rabbi Shlomo Soroka with Senate President Harmon and Senator Ram Villivalam
by Sandy Eller 

After months of intense advocacy organized by Agudath Israel of Illinois and its allies, private school parents in Illinois are breathing a sigh of relief as legislators held the line to preserve a $100 million tax credit program on the final day of the legislative session. The effort included thousands of emails and handwritten letters, dozens of meetings and multiple visits to the state capital, once again proving the effectiveness of grassroots advocacy. 

Launched in 2018, the Invest in Kids program has awarded more than 22,000 scholarships and raised more than $170 million over the past three years, providing individuals and businesses with the ability to reduce or eliminate their state tax liability by offering a 75 percent credit on their Illinois taxes in return for a donation to a recognized scholarship organization. Those donations are then used to fund tuition scholarships awarded to low-and-middle income students at eligible schools statewide. 

More than 1,300 students in Illinois Jewish schools are currently receiving scholarships with an average value of $12,000, and another 1,000 students are already approved for the upcoming school year. 

The five-year program garnered bipartisan support, but pandemic-related shortfalls had the tax credit slashed nearly in half, to 40 percent, by Governor J.B. Pritzker in his proposed 2022 budget.

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LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD ON ANTISEMITIC VIOLENCE 

There is no need to review here the horrors of what American Jews have been experiencing and witnessing in recent years and particularly these past few days. Wanton violence and hateful epithets have deeply wounded us, and some are fearful even to walk outside with their children. Why? Simply because they are Jewish. 

We are thankful to President Biden and Vice President Harris, and many elected officials on both sides of the aisle, for speaking out and condemning these antisemitic attacks. Agudath Israel and other Jewish groups have reached out and met with White House officials and congressional leadership to discuss steps that can be taken to help address the problem. 


To learn more about specific steps Agudah and other Jewish groups are asking Congress to take and to contact your member of Congress, click here.
Agudath Israel of America's division of government affairs is engaged in advocacy and legislative outreach activities on the local, state, and federal levels. In so doing, Agudath Israel seeks to protect the rights and advance the interests of observant Jews and their growing network of educational and religious institutions; and to offer a uniquely Orthodox Jewish perspective on contemporary issues of public concern.

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