Bill Text: NJ A2918 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Modifies timeframe during which charter school applications are submitted to and approved by DOE.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-05-14 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Education Committee [A2918 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2012-A2918-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman TROY SINGLETON
District 7 (Burlington)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Burzichelli
SYNOPSIS
Modifies timeframe during which charter school applications are submitted to and approved by DOE.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning applications for charter schools and amending P.L.1995, c.426.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 4 of P.L.1995, c.426 (C.18A:36A-4) is amended to read as follows:
4. a. A charter school may be established by teaching staff members, parents with children attending the schools of the district, or a combination of teaching staff members and parents. A charter school may also be established by an institution of higher education or a private entity located within the State in conjunction with teaching staff members and parents of children attending the schools of the district. If the charter school is established by a private entity, representatives of the private entity shall not constitute a majority of the trustees of the school, and the charter shall specify the extent to which the private entity shall be involved in the operation of the school. The name of the charter school shall not include the name or identification of the private entity, and the private entity shall not realize a net profit from its operation of a charter school.
b. A currently existing public school is eligible to become a charter school if the following criteria are met:
(1) At least 51% of the teaching staff in the school shall have signed a petition in support of the school becoming a charter school; and
(2) At least 51% of the parents or guardians of pupils attending that public school shall have signed a petition in support of the school becoming a charter school.
c. An application to establish a charter school shall be submitted to the commissioner and the local board of education or State district superintendent, in the case of a school district under full State intervention, no later than January 1 in the [school] year proceeding the school year in which the charter school will be established. Notice of the filing of the application shall be sent immediately by the commissioner to the members of the State Legislature, school superintendents, and mayors and governing bodies of all legislative districts, school districts, or municipalities in which there are students who will be eligible for enrollment in the charter school. The board of education or State district superintendent shall review the application and forward a recommendation to the commissioner within 60 days of receipt of the application. The commissioner shall have final authority to grant or reject a charter application. The commissioner shall notify a charter school applicant of the initial approval or rejection of the charter school application no later than September 1 after the submission of the charter school application. The commissioner shall provide for the final granting of a charter, no later than February 1, after:
(1) receiving and approving documentation, as required by the commissioner, that is not available at the time of the application's submission;
(2) assessing the student composition of the charter school and the potential effects that the loss of the students may have on the school district in which the potential charter school students reside; and
(3) conducting a preparedness visit to the prospective charter school.
d. The local board of education or a charter school applicant may appeal the decision of the commissioner to the Appellate Division of the Superior Court.
e. A charter school established during the 48 months following the effective date of this act, other than a currently existing public school which becomes a charter school pursuant to the provisions of subsection b. of section 4 of this act, shall not have an enrollment in excess of 500 students or greater than 25% of the student body of the school district in which the charter school is established, whichever is less.
Any two charter schools within the same public school district that are not operating the same grade levels may petition the commissioner to amend their charters and consolidate into one school. The commissioner may approve an amendment to consolidate, provided that the basis for consolidation is to accommodate the transfer of students who would otherwise be subject to the random selection process pursuant to section 8 of P.L.1995, c.426 (C.18A:36A-8).
(cf: P.L.2011, c.140, s.2)
2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first apply 12 months following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill modifies the timeframe in which the Commissioner of Education receives and approves applications for the establishment of charter schools. Under current State Board of Education regulations, applications are submitted and approved over two time periods. The department makes the charter school applications available no later than August 31 each year, and, under the standard application process, applicants must submit the application no later than the subsequent March 31. The commissioner provides the initial approval or rejection of an application by September 30, and the final charter is granted no later than July 15. Under the department's "fast track" approval process, an application that is submitted by October 15 will receive initial approval or rejection by January 15. The final granting of the charter through the fast track process also occurs no later than July 15.
The bill amends these timeframes to provide that all applications must be submitted to the commissioner no later than January 1. The commissioner would be required to provide the initial approval or rejection of the application by September 1, and the final granting of the charter by February 1. The proposed timeframe ensures that school districts, when developing their budgets, are not required to include in the budget a payment to a prospective charter school that may ultimately not be granted final approval.
The bill also provides that prior to the final granting of a charter, the commissioner must: 1) receive and approve documentation that was not available at the time of the application's submission, 2) assess the prospective charter school's student composition and the potential effects that the loss of students may have on the school district in which the potential charter school students reside, and 3) conduct a preparedness visit to the prospective charter school. These actions are currently required under State board regulations.
