In first, Florida allocates money for Jewish school security

Funds for new program part of legislation crafted and supported by the Orthodox Union

Florida lawmakers passed a budget that allocates $645,000 to increase security at Jewish day schools.

The fiscal year 2018 budget approved on Monday night marked the first time that the state’s Legislature has allocated security funds to Jewish day schools, according to the Orthodox Union.

An OU program, Teach Florida, helped draft the legislation for the security grants and advocated for its passage, the OU said in a statement.

Teach Florida also advocated for expanding tax credit scholarships for nonpublic school students. The new budget will increase elementary school scholarships by nearly $500 per student and high school scholarships by more than $1,000 per student.

“Security is a public good, and we appreciate that Florida’s elected officials have stepped up to help safeguard our students,” Mimi Jankovits, executive director of Teach Florida, said in a statement.

Last month, New York state allocated $40 million in security funds for nonpublic schools in its fiscal year 2018 budget after lobbying from the OU’s Teach NYS.