NJCSA Public School Conversion Guidelines

Public School Conversion Guidelines

The New Jersey Charter Schools Association is committed to helping charter school founders create high quality public schools for New Jersey’s children. Towards that end we assist founding groups with training, technical assistance, and moral support.

There are several new school development scenarios we support:

Development of new, independent schools.
Replication or expansion of successful schools already in operation.
Development of new, CMO-run schools.
Conversion of independent schools into charter schools.
Conversion of operating public schools into charter schools.

Each scenario has its own regulatorybasis and places particular demands on the founding group.

Regulatory Basis for Conversion of an Existing Public School

Public school conversions have been possible since the Charter School Act was signed into law in 1996, but, as of June 2014, no district public school has ever converted. Below are the citations that address public school conversion (emphasis added).

18A:36A-4. Establishment of charter school

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.

18A:36A-14. Authority of board of trustees; employees

a. The board of trustees of a charter school shall have the authority to decide matters related to the operations of the school including budgeting, curriculum, and operating procedures, subject to the school's charter. The board shall provide for appropriate insurance against any loss or damage to its property or any liability resulting from the use of its property or from the acts or omissions of its officers and employees.

b. In the case of a currently existing public school which becomes a charter school pursuant to the provisions of subsection b. of section 4 of this act, all school employees of the charter school shall be deemed to be members of the bargaining unit defined in the applicable agreement and shall be represented by the same majority representative organization as the employees covered by that agreement. In the case of other charter schools, the board of trustees of a charter school shall have the authority to employ, discharge and contract with necessary teachers and nonlicensed employees subject to the school's charter. The board of trustees may choose whether or not to offer the terms of any collective bargaining agreement already established by the school district for its employees, but the board shall adopt any health and safety provisions of the agreement. The charter school and its employees shall be subject to the provisions of the "New Jersey Employer-Employee Relations Act," P.L.1941, c.100 (C.34:13A-1 et seq.). A charter school shall not set a teacher salary lower than the minimum teacher salary specified pursuant to section 7 of P.L.1985, c.321 (C.18A:29-5.6) nor higher than the highest step in the salary guide in the collective bargaining agreement which is in effect in the district in which the charter school is located.

Note: There do not appear to be any regulations (N.J.A.C. 6A-11) specific to public school conversion.

NJCSA Public School Conversion Guidelines

Process Overview

This overview assumes that founders can generate adequate support for the conversion process. Although this is presented in a reasonable sequence, this is not strictly a sequential process—task order can be shifted and items can be completed in parallel as needed.

Identify core founding group within school[MB1] and ensure adequate capacity both for application development and subsequent independent charter school operations.
Assess informally the initial level of support within the school among administrators, teacherstaff, other staff, and parents.
Assess the district’s initial level of support for conversion.
Collect key facts about the conversion process, including the application process, impacts on employment contracts and benefits, charter school teacher tenure and evaluation regulations, the student enrollment process, estimated budgets and cash flow, authority of charter school board, and charter school operations[MB2].
Collect student performance data that demonstrates successful leadership and instructional capacity in the existing public school.
Conduct community meetings with all stakeholders to present and discuss charter schools, the charter authorization process, and the implications for the future of the school.
Conduct a non-binding survey to assess the level of support among stakeholders.
Develop a mission and vision for the proposed school, and communicate this among stakeholders.
Develop and implement a communications plan, including an information packet that answers fundamental questions about the chartering process and the implications for teachers and families.
Calculate the number of signatures that constitutes 51% of teaching staff and 51% of parents/families.
Circulate petitions among teaching staff and parents and tabulate results.
Develop charter application and submit Phase I application.
Submit Phase II application.
Develop implementation plan, including re-negotiation of collective bargaining agreement, development of staff and parent handbooks, adoption of policies and curriculum, staffing plan, etc.

Assess the Initial Level of Support within the School

The founding group must be aware of the baseline level of support for charter school conversion to form a sensible plan and to address areas of concern and resistance. A low level of initial support does not preclude a successful conversion; many teachers and parents are misinformed about charter schools and have formed opinions based on inaccurate information. The initial assessment of support should indicate to the extent to which educating stakeholders about charter schools will be necessary.

Private conversations, small meetings, and anonymous surveys may be useful. The key is to allow for the honest expression of feelings among staff and families; this may require a level of privacy.

Assess the District’s Level of Support

The school district’s support is not essential, but could be helpful. Gaining information about the district’s attitude towards conversion through informal channels allows district personnel to speak freely about their positions.

Ultimately, the district will have the opportunity to express an official opinion—to support, oppose, or remain neutral—within the application process.

Collect Key Facts about the Conversion Process.

You can anticipate many of the questions stakeholders will have about the conversion process, and about charter schools in general, and collect the necessary information to address them.

The New Jersey Department of Education maintains a charter school home page ( and staffs the Charter School Office.

The New Jersey Charter Schools Association ( the non-profit membership organization of New Jersey’s charter schools, provides school startup support and services and offers unparalleled information about charter schools in New Jersey. The Association works with both new and established schools to provide advocacy, direct services, and data analysis.

The National Charter School Resource Center ( provides valuable information from a national perspective.

The application process is fully described at As of this writing, no district school has converted to a charter, so some facts are subject to interpretation by the authorizer in the course of implementing the law for the first time.

Application Process

Public schools may apply for conversion at either the October (expedited) or March deadlines.

The Commissioner of Educational has ultimate authority to approve or reject a charter application.

Local boards of education may provide feedback to the Commissioner on a charter school application and may choose to support or oppose the application, but they do not have the authority to approve or reject an application.

Teachers and Staff

Collective bargaining units currently in place in district public schools remain intact at the converted charter school, and, at least initially, keep their representation (N.J.S.A. 18A:36A-14.b). Employees retain all their rights to re-organize or de-certify in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, but it is presumed that the new charter school board of trustees must reach a new collective bargaining agreement with the existing collective bargaining unit.The charter school and its employees remain subject to the provisions of the "New Jersey Employer-Employee Relations Act," P.L.1941, c.100 (C.34:13A-1 et seq.).

All charter school employees are public employees and must participate in the state pensions (TPAF for certificated employees and PERS for non-certificated). Schools may offer additional 403b retirement plans at their discretion.

Charter school employees are subject to the same mandated health benefits contributions as all public school employees. These contributions can (and should) be deducted pre-tax through the establishment of a 125 Plan.

Charter school teacher tenure and evaluation regulations differ from district school regulations. Charter schools are not subject to the TEACHNJ Act and have flexibility in adopting and implementing evaluation policies and procedures. The NJ DOE has published guidelines (see Appendix A) for charter school teacher evaluation programs and must approve any program proposed by the charter school. Charter schools must adopt teacher evaluation policies and procedures and submit them to the DOE for approval.

Charter school tenure is based on a five-year schedule as per Streamline Tenure Guidelines published by the Commissioner (see Appendix B for an FAQ on the new guidelines). Charter schools must adopt policies for the awarding of streamline tenure that align with these guidelines.

Tenured teachers in a converting district school will not retain their tenure in the new charter school. However, this area is not addressed in the statute or regulations. Both tenured and non-tenured teachers may request a leave of absence from the original school district for up to three years to work at the charter school, and will retain their status in the original school district (tenured or non-tenured) during that period.

Charter school teachers will be required to complete new criminal history checks with the new charter school as the school of record. The current regulations are silent about this matter, but application of the current regulations and practices would support this assumption.

Students

All students currently attending the converting district school keep their places in the new charter school. In addition, the charter school may give enrollment preference to their siblings for future enrollments. All other new students must be enrolled through a random lottery. No application criteria (other than residency and age) are allowable, and the charter school should not request any information, such as special needs status, ethnicity, lunch status, or academic performance, until a student has been admitted through the lottery.

Charter school students must complete the same state-mandated assessments as district schools, must meet all the state graduation requirements, and enjoy the same rights and privileges of all public school students in the state.

Finances

The charter school must develop an initial budget based on a non-weighted estimate of revenue from the state and the local levy. This means that the additional revenues resulting from serving at-risk students (as identified through lunch or ELL status) will not be available for the initial budget. These additional revenues should become applicable and available after the October 15 enrollment census.

The charter school will not receive its NCLB or IDEA grant allotments until after it is approved and authorized to open, and will not complete the applications until several months later. Thus, these funds may not be included in the initial budget presented with the application. This can cause severe challenges for planning and funding services for at-risk students. Although the school will ultimately receive its appropriate funding, it must manage the diminished initial cash flow.

Converting schools should receive their revenues as per the standard 12-month charter school aid budget (July to June); however, it is likely that early payments in July and August will not be received in a timely way. The school should plan for startup cashflow and capital through grants or loans.

The school will maintain its own business operations under the supervision of a certified School Business Administrator, although it may share services with other schools or utilize consultants. There are many considerations when starting up a charter school business office, and we highly recommend conferring with the Association or experienced charter school operators with specific New Jersey experience.

Board of Trustees

The charter school board of trustees has virtually the same rights and responsibilities of any public board of education (except that it cannot raise taxes!). It is a public entity and must adhere to the Open Public Meetings Act and the Open Public Records Act. All trustees must complete criminal history checks through the state’s Criminal History Unit, attend mandatory New Jersey School Boards Association training in their first year, complete Ethics Disclosures, and be sworn in. Charter school trustees are not volunteers—they are public officials. No employee of the school can be a voting member of the board, although school leaders and other staff are typically ex-officio, non-voting members.

The charter school board of trustees must adopt its own policies and procedures, establish its own contracts with employees and vendors, approve all hiring of staff, and conduct its own business. However, charter schools can (and do) enter into shared service agreements with other charter and district schools, as well as with regional educational service commissions or jointures.

Collect Student Performance Data

A strong applicant for conversion will have a demonstrated ability to achieve strong student outcomes. These outcomes speak to the instructional leadership and operational management of the school. Schools located in struggling school districts should emphasize their performance as compared to the district’s performance, as well as their student growth percentile (SGP).

Student performance data should include, first and foremost, state test results as available, but also other standardized assessments and any internal assessments that produce reliable data.

Other indicators of strong instructional leadership are the effective instructional practice of teachers that demonstrates high expectations; the full implementation of the teacher evaluation and supervision process; orderly transitions of students between classes and activities; an orderly physical environment that encourages student learning and self management; and a school culture of respect and courtesy, especially among staff.

Conduct Community Meetings with all Stakeholders

There are many myths in circulation about charter schools. Providing reliable, accurate information is often the first step in building support.

Charter schools are made stronger by the support of their communities. They have the opportunity to reject the bureaucratic approach of government institutions and implement a customer service approach. This begins with productive two-way communication.

Assess the Evolving Level of Support among Stakeholders.

If there is a question about the level of support among staff and families, an anonymous online or paper survey is relatively easy to implement. Such surveys allow you to track progress (or lack of progress) in attaining the 51% majorities you need.

Develop a Mission and Vision

Charter schools are mission-driven organizations. A strong mission is an essential part of the application and informs the setting of goals and objectives. The mission becomes the common focus for school employees, families, and students as the school makes the conversion to a charter school.