States can now pave way for yeshiva tuition aid

The tuition crisis has been on the Jewish community’s agenda for many years. Teach Coalition has worked together with community leaders, politicians and schools to bring relief in the form of additional government funding. 

We’ve achieved remarkable progress, but no silver bullet has appeared — until now. With the creation of the Federal Scholarship Program, we are on the cusp of a revolution in Jewish education, making it vastly more affordable and accessible.

The new program (which goes into effect in January 2027) gives federal tax credits for donations to scholarship organizations, allowing donors to reduce their tax bill by 100% of the amount donate, up to $1,700 per year. The scholarship organizations take the money and give out scholarships that can be used for a range of education expenses including, crucially, scholarships for nonpublic schools. This will Jewish day schools more affordable for more families. 

Aside from tuition, the scholarships can be used for special needs services, transportation, tutoring and similar expenses. The federal legislation comes at a crucial time. Antisemitism is on the rise and more Jewish parents are seeking schools where their children feel safe and supported, and where they can be proud of their identity, feel a sense of belonging, and study Jewish texts, history and culture. Indeed, since the events of Oct. 7, more families are interested in providing their children with a Jewish education.

• • •

But it’s too soon to declare victory — because there’s a pretty big hitch: In order to unlock the potential offered by this legislation, each state must opt in to benefit.

To get this done, we need communities across the country to stand up, make their voices heard and clearly say: Our children deserve the support needed to attend the school that best suits their needs.

Thankfully, we are well prepared to seize the opportunity before us. Not only has Teach Coalition spent more than a decade building and leveraging relationships on state and local levels, we have also proven the power of communal advocacy and to make Jewish education more accessible in the last decade.

In Florida, every Jewish day school student now gets more than $8,000 off their tuition thanks to universal state scholarships, and the state maintained $20 million for Jewish school security in this year’s budget, despite statewide budget cuts.

In New York and New Jersey, Jewish schools now get annual state funding for a range of school expenses; in 2025 saw our schools receive $40 million in STEM teacher salaries and $70 million in health and security expenses. Moreover, this year for the first time all Jewish schools in New York are eligible for universal free meals for their students.

Other accomplishments include a pilot program providing busing to Jewish schools in Baltimore and the possibility of opening a state-funded Jewish special education school in California, thanks to the landmark Loffman v. California Department of Education court ruling.

Now we must turn the energy, community involvement and expertise that brought about these accomplishments toward actualizing the federal scholarship program. The future of Jewish education in America has arrived on our doorstep.

Sydney Altfield is national director of Teach Coalition.

Write: Columnist@TheJewishStar.com