With recent victories in both houses of the state legislature, the Opportunity Scholarship Act is gaining momentum as it draws closer to a final vote.

The bill – which establishes a five-year pilot program to provide scholarship funds for children from low-income families living in failing school districts – cleared its first legislative hurdle in the State Assembly when it received approval from the Commerce and Economic Development Committee by a 5-0 vote Feb. 3. The decision comes on the heels of an 8-5 approval by the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee Jan. 20.

The Assembly version will now advance to the Budget Committee for further review, and if approved, would go before the full Assembly for a vote. The Senate version had previously been passed by the Economic Growth Committee last May and is now preparing for vote on the Senate floor, which is expected to take place later this year.

The bill has received bi-partisan support in both the Senate and Assembly, as well as the endorsement of Gov. Chris Christie. It has also faced strong opposition, however, most notably from the New Jersey Education Association.

In its current form, the bill would establish scholarships derived from corporate tax credits to benefit students in 13 New Jersey school districts designated as “chronically failing.” A district is deemed to be failing if 40 percent or more of its students have failed both math and language arts assessment tests for two consecutive years, or 65 percent or more have failed in either subject area.

Of the 13 districts named in the bill, three are located within the Trenton Diocese: Asbury Park, Lakewood and Trenton.

Students living in failing districts who meet income eligibility requirements would be able to receive full scholarships to attend either a nonpublic school of their choice within the district or a public school outside of the district.

In the bill’s first introduction to the Assembly before a packed crowd of both supporters and opponents, Assemblyman Angel Fuentes, one of the bill’s primary sponsors, called it a “pro-child initiative” which confronts the reality that many young people have been failed by the state’s public school system.

“I don’t believe we should ever be satisfied with the status quo when it comes to education,” said Fuentes, a Democrat representing New Jersey’s fifth district, which covers portions of Camden and Gloucester Counties.

“Thousands of children in New Jersey are attending failing schools… We need new approaches and opportunities to help these children find a brighter future.”

Since it was first introduced, the Scholarship Act has received support from the Catholic community statewide. A number of Catholic voices were heard during the five-plus hours of testimony before the Assembly committee, including Newark Auxiliary Bishop Edgar da Cunha and New Jersey Catholic Conference Director of Education George Corwell.

Noting that “not every school is right for every child,” Corwell said that parents should have a right to send their child to a school that is best suited to that child’s needs, regardless of the family’s economic status. Particularly in urban areas, he said, there is an overwhelming desire among parents to send their children to nonpublic schools as an alternative to what the public schools can offer.

But financial challenges remain an obstacle for many families, he said.

“Nonpublic schools in general, and Catholic schools in particular, wish to continue to be part of the solution for helping those children and parents who knock on our doors asking for assistance,” Corwell said.

“We continue to find ways to provide scholarship assistance, but both their needs and the ongoing pressures from other ministries in the Catholic Church have caused a widening gap between those that can be helped and those requesting the help.”

Corwell added that the Catholic community’s support of the bill comes not because it would benefit Catholic families, but because it would further the Church’s mission of reaching out to people in need regardless of their religious affiliation.

“We don’t educate students because they are Catholic,” he said. “We educate them because we are Catholic.”

The bill also allots 25 percent of scholarship funds to students who are currently enrolled in private schools, which has drawn sharp criticism.

Opponents of the bill argue that the state should not be helping families who already send their children to private schools, only those in public education.

According to Usha Rosidivito, director of the New Jersey Network of Catholic School Families for the Dioceses of Trenton and Camden, that argument overlooks the fact that many low-income families must make great sacrifices to afford a private school education. And without the Scholarship Act, many of those families may have to send their children back to public schools, thus costing those schools – and taxpayers – more money.

“This 25 percent of kids who are already in private and parochial schools are not from wealthy families. They are struggling to make it and they need help,” she said.

Rosidivito has been working tirelessly to spread the word about the Scholarship Act and to correct misconceptions that people may have about it. She is also encouraging individuals to contact their representatives in support of the bill.

Legislators, she said, have indicated that their vote will depend on e-mails, phone calls and personal visits they receive from constituents.

And with many voices arguing against the bill, it is critical for Catholics to let their representatives know where they stand.

“Right now we are in the process of motivating parents and community members, if they can come with us and they can articulate their story well, to start making visits (to legislators),” Rosidivito said.

“We are at a point now where we can’t sit on our hands.”