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S3614 [1R] FISCAL ESTIMATE
LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE
[First Reprint]
SENATE, No. 3614
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
DATED: JUNE 11, 2026
SUMMARY
Synopsis:
Clarifies payments for non-resident students enrolled in
renaissance school projects.
Type of Impact:
Expenditure increase for certain school districts.�
Revenue gain for certain renaissance school projects.
Agencies Affected:
Local school districts; renaissance school projects.
Office of
Legislative Services Estimate
Fiscal Impact
Annual�
Non-Renaissance
School District Expenditure Increase
Up to $600,000
Renaissance School
Project Revenue Increase
Up to $600,000
�
The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) concludes that this bill
will lead to a cost increase for certain non-renaissance school districts that
are resident school districts for students attending a renaissance school
project in the Camden City School District. �While the OLS does not have access
to student-level information concerning the specific school districts in which
nonresident students of each renaissance school project reside, it estimates
that total costs borne by these school districts would be up to $600,000
annually.
�
According to the most recent information provided in the
Renaissance School Project Annual Reports, renaissance school projects do not
currently collect tuition revenue for students not residing in Camden City.�
The bill will lead to the renaissance school projects experiencing revenue
gains as non-renaissance school districts make payments pursuant to the
provisions of the bill.
BILL DESCRIPTION
����� This bill clarifies the provision of payments for
nonresident students who enroll at a renaissance school project. �
����� Under current law, the school district in which a
renaissance school project is located is required to pay to the nonprofit
entity partnering with the renaissance school project a per pupil amount. �However,
current law does not specify whether the amount is to be paid for all students
enrolled in the renaissance school project or only students resident in the
district. �
����� The bill clarifies that the school district in which a
renaissance school project is located is required to pay the per pupil amount
for each student who resides in the district. �For all students residing
outside of the renaissance school district who are enrolled in the renaissance
school project in accordance with the lottery enrollment provisions of the
Urban Hope Act, the student�s school district of residence would be required to
pay the per pupil amount to the nonprofit entity.
����� The bill also provides that the Department of
Education would include renaissance school projects in the Charter School
Enrollment System for the purpose of calculating and reconciling payments
between school districts and renaissance school projects. Finally, the bill
directs the department to employ any existing rules and procedures for settling
residency and payment disputes for charter schools in the settlement of such
disputes for renaissance school projects.�
FISCAL ANALYSIS
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
����� None received.
OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES
����� The OLS concludes that this bill will lead to an
annual cost increase of up to $600,000 for certain non-renaissance school
districts that are resident school districts for students attending a
renaissance school project.
����� While current State regulations permit a renaissance
school district accepting nonresident students to charge tuition for those
students, information included in the most recent Renaissance School Project
Annual Reports indicates that no tuition was collected for students who are not
residents of a renaissance school district in the 2024-2025 school year. �No
tuition revenue was expected to be collected from nonresident students in the
2025-2026 school year. �The reports also indicate that, in the 2024-2025 school
year, a total of 25 nonresident students attended two renaissance school
projects in Camden City. A third renaissance school project in Camden City did
not report nonresident enrollment.
����� Assuming that this bill would require non-renaissance
school districts to make payments to renaissance school projects that were not
previously being made for students attending those schools, the bill would lead
to increased costs for the non-renaissance districts. �According to the bill,
the payments would include 95 percent of the district�s per pupil expenditure,
which is defined in current law as the sum of equalization aid per pupil,
adjustment aid per pupil, and the general fund tax levy per pupil inflated by
the consumer price index. �While the OLS does not have access to student-level
information concerning the specific school districts in which nonresident
students of each renaissance school project reside, it estimates that the
average Statewide per pupil expenditure in the 2025-2026 school year is
approximately $22,600. In accordance with the provisions of the bill, 95
percent of this average amount is approximately $21,500. �If this average
amount is paid for each of the 25 nonresident students projected to attend
renaissance school projects in the 2025-2026 school year, then total local
school district costs would be at least $540,000. �Actual expenditures could be
more or less to the extent that the school districts in which the nonresident
students reside have a per pupil expenditure amount greater or less than the
Statewide average.
����� The OLS also notes that these average costs will be
driven slightly higher due to the bill�s requirement of the additional payment
of the security categorical aid attributable to nonresident students, a
percentage of the district's special education categorical aid, and 100 percent
of preschool education aid attributable to nonresident students.� Given this
along with the likelihood that the Statewide average per pupil expenditure
amount will increase in future years, the OLS adjusts its estimates upward to
$600,000 per year.
Section:
Education
Analyst:
Abigail Chambers
Senior Fiscal Analyst
Approved:
Thomas Koenig
Legislative Budget and Finance Officer
This legislative fiscal estimate has been produced by the
Office of Legislative Services due to the failure of the Executive Branch to
respond to our request for a fiscal note.
This fiscal estimate has been prepared pursuant to P.L.1980,
c.67 (C.52:13B-6 et seq.).