Bill > A396

Introduced Session

This bill directs the Department of Education to oversee the implementation and execution of the New Jersey Property Tax Relief and Education Empowerment Program. Under the program, an eligible student will qualify for an education empowerment grant to enroll in a participating nonpublic school. The grant will equal the lesser of the participating nonpublic school's per pupil cost to educate and fees or 50 percent of the annual spending per pupil of the district in which the eligible student resides. To be eligible, the student must be from a household with an income that does not exceed 3.70 times the federal poverty threshold for a family of four for the school year preceding the school year for which the education empowerment grant is initially distributed. The 2018 federal poverty guidelines provide that for a family of four the poverty threshold is $25,100, so the income limit in the bill would be $92,870. In addition the student must be eligible for enrollment in the resident school district in grades kindergarten through 12, must not be classified as eligible for special education programs and services pursuant to chapter 46 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes, must not have been enrolled in a nonpublic school in the school year preceding the school year for which the education empowerment grant is initially distributed, and must have attended a public school for at least 100 days in the school year preceding the school year for which the education empowerment grant is initially distributed. A parent of a student who is accepted for admission to a participating nonpublic school must apply to the school district in which the student resides for the grant. Upon verification of certain information, the district will disburse the grant amount directly to the participating nonpublic school. Savings generated from the program must be applied to property tax relief within the resident school district in the form of a reduced local school tax burden and a dollar-for-dollar increase in the homestead benefit program. A nonpublic school that wishes to participate in the program must apply to the department and demonstrate that it: · complies with all applicable health and safety codes;· does not discriminate in admissions on the basis of race, color, national origin, or religion; · does not teach or advocate any type of domestic subversion; and· requires criminal background checks on school employees. In order to participate in the program, a nonpublic school must also demonstrate its financial viability by providing the department a financial information report completed by a certified public accountant who must also certify that the report is free of material misstatements. The bill stipulates that the amount of any reduction in school district budgets as a result of the bill's implementation must be used exclusively and for no other purpose than the reduction of the school tax levy portion of the property tax burden on individual taxpayers and business entities.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Bob Auth (R)*,  John DiMaio (R), 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee (on 01/09/2024)

Official Document