Agudath Israel recently reported that a Leon County Judge dismissed the lawsuit against the Corporate Tax Scholarship Program because of lack of standing. This week, the lawsuit appeal process suffered a significant setback when one of the chief sponsors of the lawsuit, the Florida School Board Association (FSBA) voted to officially remove themselves from the case and not pursue an appeal. The FSBA did not reverse its opposition to the program but recognized the difficulty the lawsuit would have to move forward.

Parents and students who benefit from this program are elated. There is hope that now Florida's school choice programs will be able to proceed with greater stability and security from constant legal attack.  

On Wednesday afternoon , many prominent members of the Highland Park / Edison community , including representatives from all five local Jewish schools, gathered for an important meeting with Assemblyman Gary Schaer (D-Passaic) and A ssemblywoman Nancy Pinkin (D-Middlesex) . The purpose of the gathering was to discuss the Secure Schools for A ll C hildren A ct , A4288 , which would allocate $4 m illion for the security needs of n onpublic schools.

A rranged by Rabbi Avi Schnall, New Jersey d irector of Agudath Israel of America , the meeting was hosted by Reenas Bais Ya ak ov H igh S chool.  T he legislators emphasized the importance of engaging community members  so they will reach out to different elected officials and encourage them to support this legislation.  Assemblywoman Pinkin informed the group that she and Assemblyman  Patrick Diegnan will soon be added as prime sponsors of the bill.

The Secure Schools for All Children Act was introduced by Assemblyman Gary Schaer, who is investing tremendous effort to push it through the legislative process .

The Ohio Senate Finance Committee unveiled the first revisions made by the Senate to the state biennial budget this past Tuesday. While there were many changes, and many more are expected to be made next week, current revisions included great news for students. The Senate bill maintained the governor's increase of the high school EdChoice scholarship amount to $5700, raised the amount for all students on a special needs scholarship by 2%, and continued the phase-in of the income-based scholarship. 

 

Following on the heels of a lobbying effort by Agudath Israel, School Choice Ohio, American Federation for Children, and others, the Senate added increased funding to the Jon Peterson and Autism Special Needs Scholarships. Specifically, the state currently allocates up to $32,000 for students with a category 6 disability (e.g. autism) in public schools. Yet, the scholarship amount for students with a category 5 or 6 disability is currently capped at only $20,000. The Senate amendment raises this arbitrary cap to $27,000 which will allow the funding to follow the child the same way that it does for students in the lower categories of special needs and will go a long way to ensuring that these students have more flexibility and educational options to cater to their needs.

 

The  special needs scholarship amount was the main issue discussed  with key members of the House of Representatives and with Senate President Pro Tempore Chris Widener during Agudath Israel's recent advocacy day.  Agudath Israel thanks Senate President Faber and the entire Senate for the broad support its members provided for special needs children.

 

After the Senate votes on this bill, a conference committee will be convened to iron out the differences between the House and Senate versions. Agudath Israel's Ohio Director, Rabbi Yitz Frank, met this week with Speaker Pro Tempore Ron Amstutz and other representatives to ask for support in this matter.

 

Please take a few minutes to contact your Senator or Representative by phone or email. It would also be helpful to contact the office of House Finance Chairman Rep. Ryan Smith.

 

Ask for their support in strengthening Ohio's school choice programs and ensuring that all students have access to the education of their choice by:

• Maintaining House Bill 64's  increase of the EdChoice scholarship amount for high school students  
• Supporting Senate changes to House Bill 64 that removed the arbitrary $20,000 cap on the special needs scholarships.

Please feel free to contact YFrank@agudathisrael.org to find out what else you can do. 

 

There are a number of other pressing issues that Agudath Israel is working on during this budget process and we hope to share a positive resolution to these issues in the coming weeks. 

Indiana's popular scholarship tax credit program reached its $7.5 million cap this week, generating $15 million for students. The 50% tax credit is awarded to donors who contribute to scholarship granting organizations. The money is then distributed to low-income students attending private schools. Thankfully, the Indiana General Assembly, with the encouragement of Governor Pence, increased the tax credit cap by $1 million for each of the next two fiscal years. The new fiscal year begins July 1st.