Bishop David O’Connell, chair of the Committee on Catholic Education, represents and supports the federal school choice bill introduced on Capitol Hill. 

This bill, the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA), would generate private charitable donations to fund scholarships for use in K-12 education. As many as two million students across all 50 states would benefit. The ECCA will be reintroduced in the House of Representatives and Senate with new bill numbers in early 2025.

ISSUE:                A federal school choice bill has been introduced on Capitol Hill with genuine prospects for success.  The Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA) is based on tax credit scholarship programs that have had success in many states.  Under the bill, private or corporate donors would receive a tax credit for contributions made to a scholarship granting organization, which would then use those donated funds to give scholarships to low- and middle-income families for private school tuition.  Congressional leadership is supportive of this legislation, and President Trump said he would support the bill.

As the Principal of Donovan Catholic, I ask you to join Bishop O’Connell and advocate for our schools  by accessing the Votervoice link below. This process is fairly simple and will take no more than five minutes of your time.

Read the following attachments for more information regarding this request.

  Attached to this Action Alert, are a one-page summary of the bill and USCCB’s official response to the introduction of the bill, which includes a letter of support written by Bishop David O’Connell, Chair of the Committee on Catholic Education of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops, and Bishop of the Diocese of Trenton.  For more information visit https://investineducation.org/.

                Also enclosed for your use are lists with contact information for our two United States Senators and members of the House of Representatives.  You can also find this information on the NJCC Find Your Representative webpage. 

ACTION:           Please contact your two United States Senators and your member of the House of Representatives and ask that they support the ECCA and also that they sign on as co-sponsor of the bill.  For your convenience, you can contact your representatives through the NJCC Voter Voice System: 

https://www.votervoice.net/NJCC/Campaigns/121536/Respond