PARAMUS, N.J. — Paramus parents are accusing the school district of unfairly targeting families who send their children to yeshivas and other nonpublic schools after dozens of students lost eligibility for transportation reimbursements ahead of the new school year, The Jewish Link reported.

The decision is expected to affect about 100 students, including many attending Jewish day schools, after the Paramus Board of Education began applying New Jersey's state distance requirements for "aid in lieu of transportation." Families who no longer qualify will lose an annual reimbursement of $1,177 per student.

Parents say the change comes as they already pay full private school tuition while continuing to fund the public school system through their property taxes.

Among the schools affected are Yavneh Academy, Ben Porat Yosef, The Frisch School and Yeshivat Noam, according to information obtained through an OPRA request filed by Paramus resident Joseph Rosenfeld.

At a June 8 Board of Education meeting, Rosenfeld argued the issue is not about providing school buses.

"These families were never asking for a bus. They were already driving their own children to school every single day," Rosenfeld said. "All they were receiving was a modest reimbursement—funded by state aid and the property taxes these same families pay to this district."

He added that families who choose nonpublic schools "support a public school system they do not use" while drawing "zero per pupil expenditure from this district."

Parents also raised concerns that many of the affected routes include heavily traveled roads such as Forest Avenue, Century Road and Route 17 overpasses, which they say are unsafe for children to walk.

"I would not consider letting my kids... walk," Paramus parent Ariana Hotz told the board, citing heavy traffic and the lack of sidewalks near Ben Porat Yosef.

Another parent, Dmitry Milman, urged the district to consider more than mileage alone.

"The routes need to account for safety," Milman said.

School officials say the district is following state law.

Board attorney Vic LaPira told the board that New Jersey only requires transportation aid for nonpublic school students who meet the state's distance thresholds and that hazardous walking routes do not create a legal obligation to provide transportation or reimbursement.

Board President Keri Greene said the district was "not removing anyone's rights" and was complying with state statute.

The controversy has also reached Borough Hall. During a June Borough Council meeting, Mayor Christopher DiPiazza told parents the borough continues working to improve pedestrian safety but acknowledged that transportation eligibility is governed by school district policy and state law.

With little expectation the decision will be reversed locally, parents say they are now looking to state lawmakers, arguing that New Jersey's decades-old transportation rules no longer reflect today's traffic conditions or the realities facing families whose children attend nonpublic schools.