For the frum community across the United States, though, ECCA could finally offer a chance at tuition relief

Photo: Shutterstock / Rachel Rose Boucher

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young clerk looked up from his handwritten tally and, upon instruction from Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO), informed the members of the House Ways and Means Committee of the final vote for Bill 9462 — 23 in favor and 16 opposing.

The bill, known as the Educational Choice for Children Act — ECCA for short — had passed the first step on the way to becoming law. It was the first time since 1972 that a federal school choice bill had cleared such a hurdle.

Under the bill, individual taxpayers who make donations to scholarship granting organizations (SGOs) could then claim those donations as a dollar-for-dollar (nonrefundable) tax credits — not simply deductions — of up to 10 percent of their adjusted gross income. The SGO would then fund scholarships for eligible students to go toward approved educational expenses, such as private school tuition. The bill was hailed by education groups pushing for choices for students beyond public school, especially in failing school districts.

“The design of this bill is basically to ensure that families who face obstacles and barriers at the state level will be able to access the resources they need to broaden the array of educational options available to them,” said Greg Brock, a senior advisor with the Invest in Education Coalition, a group that advocates for school choice in all 50 states.

Welcome News

For the frum community across the United States, though, ECCA could finally offer a chance at tuition relief for parents laboring to keep their children enrolled in yeshivos and Bais Yaakovs.

Given that the largest Orthodox populations live in deep blue progressive states, where lawmakers are hesitant to support school choice initiatives, the passage of a federal bill is welcome news. In addition, the bill has three provisions of particular importance to the frum community.

Number one, the bill has a relatively high eligibility rate for students to qualify for the scholarships (300% of an area’s median income), which ensures that scholarships can be awarded to both middle- and lower-income families. For example, in Ocean County, New Jersey, home to more than 50,000 private school students, the median income is over $130,000, allowing students in households with income of $300,000 to be eligible for scholarships.

Second, unlike some government-funded programs that come with strings attached, ECCA is specifically designed to respect the autonomy of the schools parents choose, keeping them free of government intrusion. That provision is especially relevant in light of the New York State Education Department’s tussle with the yeshivah system, a legal battle still being waged out in court.

Finally, the writers of the bill envision having various scholarship granting organizations service different communities. Thus, donations to an SGO serving New York’s Jewish private schools would grant scholarships exclusively to students attending those schools, keeping donations from the community in that community.

Ultimately, the more donations a community can generate, the more scholarships that community will be awarded. If a community galvanizes its members to take advantage of the tax credit, a healthy percentage of that community’s student body can be awarded scholarships.

(The bill calls for a Treasury Department allocation of $5 billion in taxpayer credits. Ten percent of that total will be allocable equally among the states, each getting a minimum of $10 million. The remaining $4.5 billion will be awarded on a first-come-first-serve basis.)

Frum Friendly

The fact that ECCA is “frum friendly” is no coincidence. While a broad coalition of (mostly conservative) advocacy groups pushed for the bill, Agudath Israel of America was a key player in the effort.

Rabbi Abba Cohen, Agudah’s vice president for government affairs and Washington director; Rabbi A.D. Motzen, national director of government affairs; and Rabbi Avi Schnall (who transitioned from his post in the Agudah’s New Jersey office to director of federal education after being elected to the State Assembly earlier this year) were instrumental in working with House and Senate sponsors to craft a bill that would cover Agudah’s constituents.

“We firmly believe that one of the keys to educational excellence is parental involvement and that there is no better way to encourage such involvement, and to ensure educational accountability, than to allow parents to choose the school that is best suited for their children, whether public or nonpublic, secular, or sectarian,” the Agudah wrote in an official memo in support of the bill just prior to the committee hearing. “Scholarship tax credit programs, like ECCA, support two of the highest ideals in Judaism: education and charity. The bill will effectively encourage taxpayers to invest in education and cover a variety of expenses facing public and private school children.

“Thousands of students currently attend Jewish schools as a result of scholarships, but the need far exceeds the demand. This bill will spur the philanthropic spirit of American taxpayers and encourage them to invest in the future of our country — the education of our children.”

Now that the bill has cleared this committee, how smooth of a ride will it have in becoming law?

“We’re now at first base,” said Rabbi Schnall from Washington, D.C. “We still have to get to home plate for this to actually have an impact, but this shows that we’re in the game. Hundreds of bills are introduced in Congress every year, and only a fraction end up meriting a committee hearing. Getting a bill to committee shows that leadership has a vested interest in it — and during the actual committee debate, you can gauge how enthusiastic the support is and what level of opposition you’ll face.”

In the committee debate on the ECCA, supporters were passionate and focused, while the opposition’s arguments largely fell flat. Committee Democrats attempted to stall the bill, complaining that scholarships recipients could attend schools not subject to the same level of accountability and government oversight as public schools. Republicans pointed out that the bill’s entire intent is to put parents, not technocrats, in charge of their children’s education.

How can the bill get to home plate? It could head to the House floor, where, given the (albeit slim) Republican majority and Speaker Mike Johnson’s support, there is a healthy chance it would pass. (An earlier version had over 153 cosponsors, comprising 70% of the Republican caucus.)

From there, the bill’s passage into law would depend on the outcome of the November elections. If Republicans hold the House and take the Senate and the White House, the ECCA could be fast-tracked through the 119th Congress in January 2025 and then the Senate, and then to the president for signature. Even if Republicans control only two out of those three, the ECCA would likely be included in a negotiation package. If Democrats pull off a trifecta, chances that ECCA will be signed into law will be significantly slimmer.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 1029)