NJPI and ACE Scholarships launch tutoring fund for New Jersey public school students

The New Jersey Policy Institute and ACE Scholarships announced a new fund that will pay New Jersey teachers to tutor public school students at no cost to state or local budgets. The effort is tied to a federal tax credit that starts Jan. 1, 2027, but New Jersey must opt in by Dec. 31, 2026 for the money to support in-state students.

Why it matters: - The fund is designed to expand high-impact tutoring for New Jersey public school students without pulling from school district budgets, property taxes or state programs. - New Jersey teachers would be paid to deliver the tutoring, creating a new funding stream for educators and a new support option for families. - The structure could direct more than $5 billion a year to New Jersey students if every eligible taxpayer participates.

What happened: - The New Jersey Policy Institute and ACE Scholarships announced the NJ Teachers Public School Tutoring Fund on Nov. 12, 2026. - The fund will pay for high-impact tutoring for New Jersey public school students. - The tutoring will be delivered by New Jersey teachers who are paid for the work. - Every scholarship the fund awards will go to tutoring for New Jersey public school students.

The details: - The fund uses the Federal Education Tax Credit, which begins Jan. 1, 2027. - Taxpayers can redirect up to $1,700 of federal tax liability, or $3,400 for married couples filing jointly, to an approved Scholarship Granting Organization dollar for dollar. - If every eligible New Jersey taxpayer participated, the total could exceed $5 billion a year for New Jersey students. - No money comes from local school budgets, property taxes or any state program. - The fund will begin serving New Jersey students only after the state opts in to the federal program. - Governor Sherrill has until Dec. 31, 2026 to decide. - If New Jersey does not opt in, residents can still claim the credit, but their gifts would support students in other states. - Thirty-two other states have opted into the program, including New York. - New Jersey state tests in 2025 showed only 41% of students met expectations in math and 53% in English language arts. - Reading scores in New Jersey remain below pre-pandemic levels. - On the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress, 62% of New Jersey fourth graders scored below proficient in reading. - New Jersey's lowest-performing fourth-grade readers posted their lowest scores in 20 years.

Between the lines: - The initiative pairs a tax-credit fundraising mechanism with a local-tutoring pitch aimed at keeping donor dollars inside New Jersey. - NJPI is framing the program as both a student-support strategy and a teacher-pay opportunity. - The announcement is also a push for state participation before the federal deadline closes the door on in-state use of the credit. - ACE Scholarships is positioning itself as the administrator that will handle gift processing, receipts and scholarship awards.

What's next: - NJPI plans to launch community portals so donors can give to their own town or school district. - The initiative's first teacher ambassador is Rhiannon Mindas, a New Jersey public school teacher. - Teachers across the state are expected to join her in helping families, donors and other teachers participate. - Donors can learn more and commit through NJPI's secure portal managed by ACE Scholarships at njpublicschoolsgo.com.

The bottom line: - New Jersey now has a proposed, privately funded tutoring pipeline that could channel federal tax credits into paid teacher-led support for public school students — but only if the state opts in by the end of 2026.