New Jersey Charter Schools Fact Sheet

A charter school is a public school operated under a charter granted by the Commissioner of Education and is independent of the local school district’s board of education. It is managed by a board of trustees.

The state’s charter school law was passed to give parents choices for their children's education. The law is intended to:

• Improve student learning and achievement;
• Increase the availability of choice to parents and students when selecting a learning environment;
• Encourage the use of different and innovative learning methods;
• Establish a new system of accountability for schools;
• Make the school the unit for educational improvement;
• Establish new professional opportunities for teachers.

Founders of a charter school can be teaching staff members, parents with children attending schools of the district or a combination of both, as well as institutions of higher education or a private entity located within the state in conjunction with teaching staff members and parents.

Charter schools cannot charge tuition.

A private or parochial school may not convert to a charter school.

A charter school is open to all students on a space-available basis with preference being given to students from the charter school’s district or region of residence .

All classroom teachers and professional support staff must hold appropriate New Jersey certification.

Application and Approval Process

The charter school application is revised each year and published in December. DOE provides a comprehensive training session in January for all interested founders. The training session provides background information on charter school law and administrative code, as well as training on how to write potentially approvable applications. The session covers both program and fiscal requirements of the application.
Charter school applications are due to DOE on March 31 each year. The Commissioner renders a final decision of approval or denial of applications on September 30. The charter school administrative code was amended to change the application approval date to September 30 from January 15, thus allowing a charter school a full planning year before opening.

In fall 2009, DOE created an early action timeline for charter school applications. The early action structure maintains the rigor of the charter school application process while allowing qualified applicants that receive final charter approval to open schools earlier than under the regular timeline. Under early action, charter school applications are due to DOE on October 15 of each year, with Commissioner decisions on the applications rendered by January 15.

More information on the regular and early action application timelines can be found on the charter school application page.
The approval process is rigorous to effectively evaluate potential applicants capacity to open and operate a public charter school. The process allows DOE personnel to thorougly evaluate critical areas such as curriculum and instruction, teacher certification and fiscal viability.

CURRENT STATISTICS

• As of January 2012, there are 80 approved charter schools currently operating in New Jersey.
• In January 2011, the Christie Administration approved 23 new charter schools. This marks the largest number of charter schools approved in an application cycle since the Charter School Program Act was signed into law in 1995.
• By September 2012, over 100 charter schools serving approximately 25,000 students will be operating in New Jersey.

Closed Charter Schools as of 2010-2011 School Year

DENIED CHARTER SCHOOLS:
Commissioner approved the application but did not grant a final charter

• Patrick Douglas Charter School - August 26, 1999
• Newark Prep Charter School - September 1, 2000
• Roberto Clemente Charter School - August 14, 2001
• Great Falls Charter School - August 23, 2004
• Jersey Shore Charter School - August 23, 2004

REVOKED CHARTER SCHOOLS:
Schools which were operational but had the charters revoked by the Commissioner

• REACH Charter School—April 18, 2000 effective immediately
• Simon Bolivar Charter School—September 1, 2000 effective immediately
• College Preparatory Academy Charter School—June 14, 2001 effective immediately
• Greenville Community Charter School—April 11, 2001 effective June 30, 2001
• Russell Academy Charter School—August 16, 2001 effective August 30, 2001
• CALLA—June 12, 2002 effective June 30, 2002
• Paterson Charter School for Urban Leadership—July 17, 2003 effective immediately
• Franklin Charter School—July 22, 2003 effective immediately
• Right Path Charter School—January 4, 2005 effective January 14, 2005
• Benchmark Academy Charter High School-November 6, 2006 effective November 10, 2006
• Mercer Arts Charter School December 17, 2007, effective December 27, 2007

SURRENDERED CHARTER SCHOOLS:
Either approved charter applications or operational schools which voluntarily surrendered their charter

• Galloway Kindergarten Charter School - September 1, 2000
• DELTA Community Charter School - February 26, 2001
• Ridge and Valley Unity Charter School - May 14, 2001
• Family Alliance - July 31, 2001
• Eugenio Maria de Hostos Charter School - August 15, 2001
• Alexander Hamilton Charter School - October 12, 2001
• Gilliard Charter School - November 1, 2001
• Martha Chaneyfield Palmer Science and Technology Charter School - April 10, 2002
• Green Willow Charter School - April 17, 2002
• Atlantic City International Charter School - July 5, 2002
• Bergen Hope Charter School - July 5, 2002
• Performance Learning Charter School - August 14, 2002
• Learning Center Charter School - June 30, 2003
• Granville Charter School - June 30, 2004
• Ecole de la Mer: French Immersion Charter School of New Jersey - May 24, 2005
• Pleasantville Charter School for Academic Excellence - June 30, 2005
• TLC-September 20, 2006
• Dr. Ellen G. Pressman Charter School - December 31, 2009
• Charter High School for Environmental and Civic Studies (CHECS) 2010
• Trillium Charter School-June 6, 2010

CHARTERS NOT RENEWED:
Schools which were operational for the life of at least one charter and were not granted a renewal of the charter

• Samuel DeWitt Proctor Academy Charter School - May 1, 2001 effective June 30, 2001
• Greater Trenton Area Academic & Technology Charter School - December 17, 2001 effective June 30, 2002
• Gateway Charter School-December 30, 2005 effective June 30, 2006
• CREATE Charter School - March 1, 2010 effective June 30, 2010

Updated: May 2011