N.J. school choice bill is expected to change in effort to gain legislative approval
Published: Tuesday, June 22, 2010, 3:30 PM Updated: Tuesday, June 22, 2010, 4:45 PM
New Jersey education Commissioner Bret Schundler, stands at the podium in the foreground, left, as he addresses the crowd. Students, parents, and teachers arrived at the Statehouse in Trenton in May for a rally demanding state lawmakers provide disadvantaged families with the opportunity to have school vouchers.TRENTON — A controversial school choice bill will undergo significant changes in an effort to win legislative approval before the end of the month, its sponsor said today.
Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Union) said the Opportunity Scholarship Act will be adjusted by limiting the pilot program to "chronically failing schools in specific municipalities," based on local legislators' support. The proposal had targeted 176 "chronically failing schools" throughout the state, Lesniak said. He declined to say how many schools might be targeted now, but cities still certain to be involved include Newark, Camden and Elizabeth, he said.
The new version of the bill would also eliminate an "innovation fund" and allow districts to keep the difference between the cost of the scholarship and the state aid for that child, Lesniak said. He spoke at a press conference where more than a dozen members of the Black Ministers' Council of New Jersey urged Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (D-Essex) to support the bill.
The ministers said while Republican Gov. Chris Christie and Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) support the bill, Oliver was standing in the way. Oliver, who is the first African-American woman to hold the Assembly's top job, issued a statement this afternoon saying she has
Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Union) said the Opportunity Scholarship Act will be adjusted by limiting the pilot program to "chronically failing schools in specific municipalities," based on local legislators' support. The proposal had targeted 176 "chronically failing schools" throughout the state, Lesniak said. He declined to say how many schools might be targeted now, but cities still certain to be involved include Newark, Camden and Elizabeth, he said.
The new version of the bill would also eliminate an "innovation fund" and allow districts to keep the difference between the cost of the scholarship and the state aid for that child, Lesniak said. He spoke at a press conference where more than a dozen members of the Black Ministers' Council of New Jersey urged Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (D-Essex) to support the bill.
The ministers said while Republican Gov. Chris Christie and Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) support the bill, Oliver was standing in the way. Oliver, who is the first African-American woman to hold the Assembly's top job, issued a statement this afternoon saying she has
