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As you may know, the so-called “Opportunity Scholarship Act” – the voucher bill, S-1872/A-2810 – was reported out of the Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee last week by a 5-0 vote. That was no surprise to NJEA and other opponents of private school vouchers, because the bill's sponsor is a member of the committee. But the legislation still must be reported out of the Assembly Budget Committee, and as of today, no hearing has been scheduled.

For more information on the legislation, click here.

Please call or email your legislators and tell them to oppose this legislation. 

Please direct your colleagues, friends, and families to the New Jersey Kids and Families website, which now has more than 200,000 pro-public education New Jerseyans enlisted in the fight to stop vouchers and other threats against our successful public schools.

Stay tuned and stay involved!

On February 3, after a hearing that went past 8 p.m., the Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee voted 5-0 to approve A-2810, its version of the so-called “Opportunity Scholarship Act.”  The Committee members were Assemblypersons Coutinho, Lampitt, Fuentes, Quigley, Bucco, and DiCiccco.

The voucher bill was released by the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee on Jan. 20 as S-1872.  As you are aware, it would divert up to hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue away from public schools and into the hands of private and parochial school operators.

The next stop for the bill is the Assembly Budget Committee.  No date has been set for a hearing.  Should it pass that committee, it would move to the Assembly floor for a vote.  Because of the efforts of our leaders and members, there are signs that the anti-voucher lobbying effort by NJEA and a large coalition of pro-public education organizations is having an impact on rank-and-file legislators, so it’s vitally important to keep up the pressure.

To take action and learn more go to: http://www.njea.org/issues-and-political-action/vouchers.

Go to NJEA website above to contact your legislators and voice opposition to this bill!

The TTEA Officers have made every effort to form a team that represents the wide range of our members.  Please join us in supporting their efforts and encouraging their work. 

The members are:

Aretha Arroyo, Lowell

Sandra Beckford, CST  

Loren Daniels, Whittier

Laurel Friedmann, THS

Kathy Guzman, Eugene Field

Thomas Papaleo, TJ

Helen Schlereth, Hawthorne

Diana Spain, BF (Negotiation Chairperson)

Visit this source...

...for NJEA assistance for RIF'd members

...to learn about the governor's new Education Agenda

 ...to discover what you can do to protect members' rights and public education