There have been many important newsworthy items discussed lately in The Link and its letters, but one vital issue we have not been talking about is the fact that a few weeks ago, a bill was introduced in Trenton called the Student Support Act. This was the first bill of its kind and would be transformative—if approved, it would mean receiving real money for nonpublic school students.
It is not by luck that this bill was introduced, but by concerted effort spearheaded by the advocacy group Teach NJ (under the umbrella of the OU) and by many in our community getting out the vote this past November. Indeed, the Jewish community came out in such overwhelming numbers that it really made an impression on our legislators, and so they are going to bat for us with this bill.
Over the next few months, this bill will be debated, likely changed and voted on. It will not be easy to get this bill through; our legislators are already under fire for it.
The most impactful thing you can do right now in support of Jewish education in New Jersey is to show your strong support for this bill. That means calling your local legislators and expressing your support for the Student Support Act. (To find the number to call, Google your district—Teaneck is District 37—and then Google your district office’s number.) That means donating to the Teach NJ PAC (https://www.teachnjpac.com) to make it the strongest lobbying group it can be. That means when someone in your WhatsApp group shares an action alert to send out a form email, you take notice and take the 30 seconds to do it. That means signing up for the Teach NJ mailing list so you never miss another alert (https://teachcoalition.org/nj/). This bill can happen, but it will not happen without an overwhelming outpouring of support from all of us.
