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S3241
SENATE, No. 3241
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 2, 2026
Sponsored by:
Senator� SHIRLEY K. TURNER
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
SYNOPSIS
���� Requires voter approval at annual school election or
by board of school estimate prior to establishment of charter school.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
concerning the establishment of 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.����
(1)
� 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, in the school
year preceding 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
]
Except as
otherwise provided pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection, the
commissioner shall have final authority to grant or reject a charter
application.
����
(2)�� The commissioner
shall not approve an application for the establishment of a charter school
unless the establishment of the charter school has been approved by the voters
of the district at the annual school election in the case of a charter school
to be established in a Type II district, or the board of school estimate in the
case of a charter school to be established in a Type I district.
���� 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.
STATEMENT
���� This bill provides that
the Commissioner of
Education may not approve an application for the establishment of a charter
school unless the establishment of the charter school has been approved by the
voters of the district at the annual school election in the case of a charter school
to be established in a Type II district.� In the case of a charter school to be
established in a Type I district, the bill provides that the board of school
estimate must approve the establishment of the charter school.