New Jersey hashing out stand-alone virtual schools

The state has given two charter schools initial approval to open in the fall but a final determination about on whether they will open won't be made until July, according to the state.

No full-time cyber schools are currently operating in New Jersey, but that could change before the end of the year.

The state has given two cyber schools initial approval to open in the fall but a final determination on whether they will open won’t be made until July, New Jersey Department of Education spokeswoman Barbara K. Morgan wrote in an email.

Wednesday, the New Jersey School Boards Association testified before the state Board of Education urging the state to halt the approval of virtual charter schools until guidelines are in place. The association includes 587 local school boards and 68 charter school associate members.

New Jersey’s 1995 charter school law does not address cyber schools at all, the association’s director of governmental relations, Mike Vrancik, said in a statement.

 "Applying the 1995 law to the establishment of cyber-charters could have a negative impact on the host district's finances and the programs it is able to provide to students enrolled in its traditional schools," he said.

The current charter law does not properly address the new concept of virtual charter schools, the association said. Vrancik argues cyber charters attract students from wide swaths and their costs are completely different from brick-and-mortar charter schools.

Vrancik offered ideas culled from a May 2012 study by a committee of school board and charter school trustees:

• The same ethics and accountability standards should be applied to charter schools and traditional public school districts.

• Make the charter school’s financial impact on the community clear by adjusting the school funding formula and the charter application.

• Give priority to charter school applications in districts with continually under-performing schools.

The association now wants local schools boards to approve charter schools and give charters the right to appeal to the state education department, which is how
Pennsylvania handles brick-and-mortar charter school applications. If there is no local school board approval process, the applications should be put to voter approval, according to the statement.

Currently, the state authorizes charter schools.

“That’s different than the process in effect in most states,” Vrancik said.  “According to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, 31 of the 35 states with charter schools give local school districts a significant role in deciding their applications.”

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