Lawmakers, SOS NJ Want Charter Reform Bills Posted

SOS NJ says Thursday press conference will highlight bi-partisan support for charter school reforms.

Lawmakers and members of the Education Law Center will join parents from across the state today in Trenton to call on the Senate Education Committee to post charter school reform bills for a vote by the Senate. Describing the current charter school law as “broken,” Save Our Schools NJ parents along with State Senators Shirley Turner, Barbara Buono and Linda Greenstein, the primary sponsors of S 2243, and by Assemblywoman Mila Jasey, and Assemblyman Patrick Diegnan Jr., who sponsored bills in the Assembly, will hold a press conference immediately following a the Senate committee hearing. “New Jersey's broken charter school law is unique in allowing the State to force local communities to pay for unlimited numbers of new charter schools, …

• Photos (1)

Charter Schools Denied in Essex Suburbs

The state Department of Education approves four out of 55 applications statewide.

After months of protests, contentious meetings and accusations of conflicts of interest, the state Department of Education today rejected two charter schools proposed for Millburn and other successful suburban school districts. Two of those charter schools, which were planned for Livingston and Maplewood, proposed Mandarin Chinese immersion education. To pay for those schools, suburban school districts including Millburn would have had to allocate cash to cover 90 percent of tuition for any district student who chose to attend – a cost that sparked bitter sentiments that these specialty schools would drain public funds from well-functioning school districts. Proponents countered that language-immersion education would better prepare pupils…

•  5 Comments
• Photos (10)

Charter Schools: It's Decision Time

Will 'boutique' schools be approved? Department of Education to release new class of charters on Friday.

Millburn and nearby districts will learn on Friday the decision on two charter schools that would teach bilingual immersion, the state Department of Education said. Sen. Richard Codey has called this new class of approvals “a watershed moment” in education as charter schools try to move into suburbs with high-performing school districts. The state Department of Education has before it 55 applications for new charters, including the two Mandarin-immersion schools that would recruit students from Millburn and neighboring districts. The decisions have been cloaked in secrecy. “They’ve been closed mouth about it, at least around me,” said Assemblywoman Mila Jasey (D-27th District) on Thursday. Jasey has been leading efforts in Trenton to …

•  8 Comments
• Photos (9)

Laura Griffin

4:16 pm on Friday, September 30, 2011

We've got a story coming shortly. Check back soon!   more ›

Senate Passes Charter Bill, But Advocates and Critics Want More Changes

Parochial school conversion measure passes, although reception remains in doubt.

NJ Spotlight: Tiny Charter School Office Digs Into Mountain of Applications

Gov. Christie's push for more charters puts the pressure on education department's undersized office.

Politics may continue to roil around the future of charter schools in New Jersey, but the state Department of Education's tiny charter school office already has plenty to keep it busy. The office -- currently staffed by a half-dozen people but expanding soon to more than twice that -- now has before it 55 applications for new charters in New Jersey. It has two months to decide who on that list is worthy of a final charter. It’s a daunting task, with anonymous outside reviewers again being brought in to give the applications first and second reads, before the staff makes recommendations to acting Education Commissioner Chris Cerf. On top of that are 23 charter schools already approved and slated to open this fall, the biggest class of new …

• Photos (1)

NJ's First Mandarin Charter School Confirms it Won't Open This September

Princeton International Academy Charter School requests a second one-year extension.

The leaders of the Princeton International Academy Charter School have requested a one-year planning extension from the New Jersey Department of Education. This is the school’s second planning extension request in two years. Rajan Rankumar signed the letter to Acting Commissioner of Education Christopher Cerf on behalf of PIACS Board Chair Bonnie Liao. The letter, dated June 30, says the school will be unable to meet the state’s June 30 deadline to complete its documentation. School officials are not only working towards getting a certificate of occupancy for a site at 12 Perrine Road in South Brunswick, but also updating curriculum, hiring staff, completing background checks and updating budgets and enrollment documentation. There has …

•  37 Comments
• Photos (1)

Assembly Speeds Two More Charter Bills Through Committee

NJ Spotlight: Even if bills pass Assembly, Senate has made it clear it will take a much slower approach

The Assembly yesterday moved two legislative proposals to change how New Jersey’s charter schools are approved and reviewed, but the Senate looks like it won’t be moving so fast. With little discussion, the Assembly’s Budget Committee easily approved two charter school bills yesterday: one would allow parochial schools to convert to charters, the other would expand the number of authorizing agencies. Both will go to the full Assembly for vote on Wednesday, along with two others that would reform other aspects of the state’s charter school process. The most controversial would require a local vote of approval for any new charter school, a proposal that Gov. Chris Christie is almost certain to veto. Yet even if all are approved by the …

•  3 Comments
• Photos (1)

KLF

1:58 pm on Tuesday, June 28, 2011

The money is coming from the Millburn Township Public Schools, which will be required to write a check to charters every year. Money will flow OUT of the school disctrict and INTO the charters, which can be formed IN OUR TOWN, even if only one or two individual residents support the charters.   more ›

NJ Spotlight: Package of Four Controversial Charter Bills To Come Before Assembly

The most contentious proposal would give local voters the right to OK any charters in their community.

Charter school policy will get one last look this week before the legislature heads off for summer, with the Assembly expected to take up a package of proposals that could change how the schools are approved and monitored. Whether the Senate will consider the measures as quickly -- let alone approve any or all of them -- is far less certain. The Assembly budget committee is expected to hear two controversial bills today. One would allow certain parochial and private schools to be converted into publicly funded charters. The other bill would expand the number of outside organizations that could review, approve and oversee charters. Now, just the state Department of Education (DOE) has that role, called an authorizer. In addition, two …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)

NJ Spotlight on Charter Schools: Assembly Bill 3356

Proposed measure would tighten many of the accountability requirements for charter schools, including rules governing enrollment.

Editor's Note: Senator Richard Codey and Assemblywoman Mila Jasey plan to attend a rally tonight sponsored by Save Our Schools. The group plans three simultaneous rallies to press for passage of charter school reform. This bill, according to NJ Spotlight, has the best chance of passing. Fine Print: Assembly Bill 3356 Primary sponsors: Assemblyman Albert Coutinho and Assemblywoman Mila Jasey, both Democrats from Essex County. Summary: The bill would strengthen many of the accountability requirements for charter schools, including new rules for student enrollment and selection and for the review and revocation of charters. What it means: After all of this spring’s talk in Trenton about the pros and cons of charter schools, this Assembly bill…

•  12 Comments
• Photos (1)

Anti-Charter Schools Group Sends Views to State

Group met Tuesday's deadline for voicing opinions before a decision is made on charters in area.

Millburn Parents Against Charter Schools joined both the school district and the mayor in sending letters to Commissioner of Education Christopher Cerf opposing charter schools in high performing districts like Millburn. The group came together after two Mandarin immersion charter schools -- Hanyu International Academy Charter School and Hua Mei Charter School -- filed applications with the NJ Department of Education for charter approval in this area. Millburn’s Superintendent of Schools Jim Crisfield, on behalf of the Board of Education, sent a letter in opposition on Friday and Mayor Sandy Haimoff sent a letter opposing charters earlier this month. Tuesday was the deadline for input from those in the districts that would be affected. …

•  33 Comments
• Photos (1)

KLF

11:21 pm on Wednesday, June 1, 2011

So, under current state law, an acupuncturist from out of town can use our tax dollars to create a school that advances her own agenda.   more ›