Charter Schools in New Jersey

Law:   Passed in 1996

Rank:   17th strongest of the nation's 40 charter laws

CER Grade:   B

Schools:   56

Students:   18,081

POLITICS:

POWER OF PERSISTENCE: After three long years of State Board denials, the Jersey Shore Charter School has been approved to open next fall. The Jersey Shore application was one of only two schools approved to open out of eight applicants; last year there were just two approvals out of eighteen applications. Think the State Board has an agenda? For more on approvals for 2003, go to: http://www.nj.gov/njded/news/0115chart.htm.
OUT OF SITE: Students at The Trenton Community Charter School returned to school last week after an unscheduled extended holiday break. The ceiling in one of the classrooms collapsed in late December, causing school administrators to close the facility and provide classes for their 3rd, 4th and 8th - graders at an alternate site. The rest of the student body was forced to stay home. Even though the school-district owned building was scheduled to be demolished in a state program this summer, apparently the state does not consider charter schools eligible for the money that was allocated to repair decrepit public school buildings. So the $8.6 million mandated by the state last year to improve public school facilities within the poorest districts in New Jersey discriminates against charter school kids, most of whom are minority and poor in NJ cities. So the 380 students at Trenton Community Charter School are currently being taught in two classrooms. And with no state facilities assistance, charter schools like Trenton Community are faced with the unenviable task of soliciting private funds to keep their public schools afloat and successful. CER Newswire January 7, 2003.
PUBLIC NUANCE: New Jersey’s Jim McGreevey took a beating from charter school proponents when, in his Education Summit this fall, he neglected to include charter schools in his remarks for how his vision of an education system will work. The press asked where charters fit in, and McGreevey remarked that his "focus should be on public schools and public education." Not surprisingly, the superintendents gave him a standing ovation. Read more in the CER December 2002 Monthly Letter.
ORDER IN THE COURT: On June 28, 2000, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that charter schools are constitutional. In its decision, the court acknowledged that the Commissioner of Education has been and should continue to be mindful of the potential racial and financial impact of charter schools on school districts, putting to rest concerns from the original challenge to the law. CER Newswire, June 30, 2000

AND FURTHERMORE In their ruling affirming charter schools' constitutionality, the justices wrote: "The choice to include charter schools among the array of public entities providing educational services to our pupils is a choice appropriately made by the legislature so long as the constitutional mandate to provide a thorough and efficient system of education in New Jersey is satisfied," wrote the justices. In the future, any board that wants to complain must demonstrate that a charter "jeopardizes" their ability to educate those who remain in the district’s schools. CER Monthly Letter, July 2000

DEVELOPMENTS:

Substantial Gains: New Jersey charter schools received a boost with the release of a report that looks at the movement -- the findings note substantial gains by students on statewide tests. More info here.

RESOURCES:

Profile of New Jersey Charter School Law .

Links to New Jersey Charter School Websites .

SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS:

New Jersey Charter Public Schools Association
10 Washington Place
Newark, NJ 07102

Contact: Sarah Tantillo, Executive Director
Tel: 973-642-0101
Fax: 973-642-5800
Email: njcpsa@aol.com

New Jersey Charter School Resource Center 303-309 Washington Street, 5th Floor Newark, NJ 07102	Contact: Heather Ngoma Tel: 973-621-6467 Fax: 973-621-6651
Website: www.cbsnj.org/csrc.htm
The Charter School Resource Center provides technical assistance to help charter schools start up and operate successfully. The Center also offers workshops, networking and advocacy of charter school and other innovations in public education.

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION:

New Jersey State Department of Education 225 West State Street, CN 500 Trenton, NJ 08625-0500	Contact: Ms. Dalia DeGeorgedes , Director of Innovative Programs Tel: 609-292-5850
Website: http://www.state.nj.us/njded/chartsch/