ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
ASSEMBLY, No. 5936
with committee amendments
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: JANUARY 8, 2026
The Assembly Appropriations Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 5936.
Public Notice and Hearing of Charter School Applications and Renewals
The bill requires three public notices of an application to establish or renew a charter school, as applicable, to be published in a newspaper having a substantial circulation in the county or counties where the charter school is to be located and in accordance with current law’s requirements for issuing or publishing a public notice. Each public notice is required to include instructions for the public to submit comments on the application to the Commissioner of Education within 30 days of the date of the first notice.
The bill requires the commissioner to post notice of the filing on the Department of Education’s Internet website where it is to remain until the commissioner makes a final determination on the application.
Charter School Applications and Consolidation
The bill adds new requirements to current law regarding the application for the establishment of a charter school. Pursuant to the bill, the application would require the submission of a financial plan for the charter school, which is to include the anticipated administrative costs of the charter school, and a demonstration of need and an explanation of how the need is not currently being met by existing public schools or charter schools in the school district.
Under the bill, prior to approving a charter school application and granting a charter, the commissioner is required to review: (1) the application material submitted by the proposed charter school; (2) the proposed charter school’s anticipated financial impact on the school district in which the charter school is to be located; and (3) any other information the commissioner deems necessary. The commissioner is directed to give equal consideration to this information when determining whether to grant or deny an application to establish a charter school.
The bill permits any two charter schools within the same public school district or within contiguous public school districts that demonstrate a need to consolidate to petition the commissioner to consolidate into one school pursuant to a process that would be determined by the commissioner. Under current law, 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 under certain circumstances.
Physical Location Requirements for Charter Schools
Under the bill, a charter school is required to be physically located, and provide all instruction, in the State. The bill directs the commissioner to deny a charter school application that proposes to operate a charter school, or provide instruction, in a physical location outside of the State and to deny a charter school application that proposes to operate or provide instruction primarily online.
The bill clarifies that its provisions are not to be construed to limit a charter school’s ability to utilize technological tools as an aid to in-person instruction, or virtual or remote instruction as permitted under current law or regulation.
Charter School Reporting
Current law requires each charter school to submit an annual report to the local board of education, the county superintendent of schools, and the commissioner. This bill requires the annual report to be made available on the charter school’s Internet website and be presented to the public at a regularly scheduled board of trustees meeting.
This bill requires the commissioner to report on the state of charter schools in New Jersey every five years based on measures contained in the Performance Framework developed by the commissioner to evaluate the academic, financial, and organizational performance of charter schools.
The bill requires a charter school to maintain an Internet website that includes certain listed information in an effort to provide increased public access to the operations and activities of the charter school.
The bill also requires the Department of Education to
maintain, and include certain listed information on, a webpage on its Internet
website for charter school transparency.
Charter School Renewals and Revocations
Pursuant to current law, a charter granted by the commissioner is granted for a four-year period and may be renewed for a five-year period.
The bill permits the commissioner to grant a renewal for a five or 10 year period at the discretion of the commissioner. Under the bill, a charter school, which has been deemed high-performing based on measures contained in the Performance Framework developed by the commissioner, may be renewed for a period of 10 years, provided that the charter school has not been placed on probationary status within the previous five years. The commissioner is permitted to revert a charter school approved for a 10-year renewal period to a five-year renewal period if the charter school is placed on probationary status during the first five years of the 10-year renewal period. Under the bill, the commissioner may review any charter school that has been granted a renewal at any time during the renewal period.
Pursuant to the bill, the commissioner may place a charter school on probationary status for any reason as determined by the commissioner based on the individual circumstances of the charter school or if, on two occasions during a single school year, the charter school:
(1) has not fulfilled any condition imposed by the commissioner in connection with granting the charter;
(2) violates any provision of its charter;
(3) violates any of the financial operations requirements established for the charter schools by the State board;
(4) fails to make reasonable and appropriate efforts to serve a cross section of the community’s school age population;
(5) engages in a practice and pattern of discrimination in violation of federal or State law; or
(6) violates any federal or State law.
The bill requires a charter school to notify each employee and parent or guardian of each enrolled student as to the charter school’s probationary status upon notification by the commissioner that the charter school has been placed on probationary status.
The bill also permits the commissioner to revoke a school’s charter if the school has not fulfilled any condition imposed by the commissioner in connection with the granting of the charter, if the school has violated any provision of its charter, if the commissioner determines the charter school has committed or engaged in any of the six above listed criteria while the school is on probationary status, or for any reason determined by the commissioner based on the individual circumstances of a charter school, except that in the case of violations that are administrative or technical in nature, the commissioner would afford the school an opportunity to correct the deficiencies prior to initiating revocation proceedings.
Under the bill, the commissioner is required to consider the most recent compensation study submitted by the charter school and the charter school’s administrative costs over the past three years when reviewing an application to renew a charter school and as part of a charter school’s annual review.
Charter School Budget Transparency
The bill requires the budget adopted by a charter school for the school year to be posted for public inspection on the charter school’s Internet website and be made available, within the limit of funds appropriated or otherwise made available for these purposes, in print in a “user-friendly” format using plain language. Under the bill, the plain language budget summary would be submitted to the department and made publicly available on the department’s website. Under current law, school districts are required to post this information. This bill supplements the charter school law to generally require charter schools to disclose and post the same budgetary information as required under current law for school districts, with certain additional information pertaining to the salary, and in certain circumstances the contract, of the lead person and the school business administrator of the charter school.
Under the bill, the board of trustees of a charter school is also required to hold a public hearing on the budget, the amounts of money necessary for the ensuing school year, and the various items and purposes for which the funds will be used.
Additional Requirements with Respect to Charter School Boards of Trustees and Board Membership
The bill clarifies that the provisions of the “Conscientious Employee Protection Act” apply to charter schools and charter school employees.
This bill requires an individual appointed to a board of trustees of a charter school to possess legal, fiscal, educational, community, or board leadership or governance experience.
The bill requires the board of trustees of a charter school to submit a compensation study concerning the lead person of the school to the commissioner at various intervals. The board of trustees may utilize a compensation study completed in any of the immediately preceding three years to comply with this submission requirement.
The bill imposes on charter schools certain public notice requirements in relation to modifications to certain administrator contracts, which requirements are similar to those under current law on school districts. Specifically, the bill prohibits the board of trustees of a charter school from renegotiating, extending, amending, or otherwise altering the terms of a contract with a lead person, school business administrator, charter management organization, or education management organization unless certain notice is provided at least 30 days prior to the scheduled action by the board. The bill stipulates that the board is to hold a public hearing and may not take any action on the matter until the hearing has been held.
The bill prohibits the board of trustees of a charter school, or any employee acting on behalf of the board, from requiring or requesting an employee to enter into a non-disclosure agreement or restrictive covenant as a condition of employment or with respect to severance pay as provided in an employment contract. The bill, however, is not to be construed to prohibit a board of trustees from entering into a non-disparagement agreement with an employee.
Under current law, the board of trustees of a charter school is required to comply with the “Senator Byron M. Baer Open Public Meetings Act.” In accordance with these provisions, the bill requires the board of trustees of a charter school to post a copy of all meeting notices, including a calendar of all meeting dates, and the minutes of each meeting on the charter school’s website. The bill also requires the board of trustees of a charter school to hold all meetings in a physical building in the school district in which the charter school is located, with certain limited exceptions.
The bill requires the training provided to charter school board of trustees members by the New Jersey School Boards Association to: (1) be prepared in consultation with representatives and stakeholders from the New Jersey charter school community, which may include, but not be limited to, the New Jersey Public Charter Schools Association or its successor; (2) include information on best practices for charter school governance and oversight, school leader evaluations, and charter school compensation for leadership; and (3) include guidelines for conducting a compensation study.
This bill requires a charter school board of trustees member to maintain their principal residence in the State. The bill also requires a minimum of 33 percent of the members of the board of trustees of a charter school to maintain their principal residence or primary place of employment in the district or region in which the charter school is located, provided that at least one member of the board of trustees maintains their principal residence in the district or region in which the charter school is located.
Provisions Related to Charter Management Organizations and Education Management Organizations.
Under the bill, a charter management organization is defined as a nonprofit organization that operates or manages one or more charter schools linked by centralized support and operations. An education management organization is defined as a for-profit organization that operates or manages one or more charter schools linked by centralized support and operations.
The bill prohibits, with limited exception, the board of trustees of a charter school from contracting with a for-profit entity to provide any operation or management services, but permits contracting with a charter management organization. Under the bill, a for-profit education management organization that holds a contract to operate or manage a charter school on the effective date of the bill is not subject to this prohibition on contracting with a for-profit entity.
Under the bill, an executive of a charter management organization or education management organization that receives payment for operation or management services from a charter school, the source of which is State or local funds, is required to comply with the ownership disclosure requirements of N.J.S.A.52:25-24.2.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:
The committee amended the bill to:
· define charter school as a school established under the “Charter School Program Act of 1995,” and clarify that a charter school does not include a renaissance school project established under the “Urban Hope Act”;
· add a definition of “education management organization”;
· provide that the demonstration of need to be included in the charter school application includes information on how the need is not being met by existing charter schools in the district;
· add a provision permitting certain currently operating education management organizations that operate or manage a charter school on the effective date of the bill to continue providing those services to a charter school;
· clarify reference to the Performance Framework developed by the commissioner pursuant to regulations adopted under the New Jersey Administrative Code throughout the bill;
· remove a provision requiring the Commissioner of Education to provide a charter school with reasonable notice of the commissioner’s intent to review the school’s charter;
· permit the commissioner to grant certain charter school renewals for a period of 10 years;
· reinsert a provision of current law stating that the charter of a school placed on probationary status may be summarily revoked if the remedial plan implemented for the school is unsuccessful;
· remove a provision of the bill which required the board of trustees of a charter school placed on probationary status to provide the commissioner with certain student and staff information;
· insert a new provision requiring a charter school to notify each employee and parent or guardian of an enrolled student as to the charter school’s probationary status upon notification by the commissioner that the charter school has been placed on probationary status;
· permit the commissioner to revoke a school’s charter if the school has not fulfilled any condition imposed by the commissioner in connection with the granting of the charter, if the school has violated any provision of its charter, if the commissioner determines a school has committed or engaged in certain conduct while on probationary status, or for any reason determined by the commissioner based on the individual circumstances of a charter school, except that in the case of violations that are administrative or technical in nature, the commissioner is required to afford the school an opportunity to correct the deficiencies prior to initiating revocation proceedings;
· remove a provision requiring notice and opportunity for a hearing in accordance with certain State law prior to revoking a school’s charter for engaging in certain conduct while on probationary status;
· remove a provision requiring the commissioner to review a charter school applicant’s anticipated impact on the bond ratings of the school district;
· require the webpage for charter school transparency maintained on the Department of Education’s Internet website to include certain information concerning education management organizations and a disclaimer stating that the list of charter management organizations and education management organizations included on the webpage is not meant to be an endorsement or recommendation by the department of a charter management organization or education management organization;
· remove a provision that would have required the department’s webpage to include each Form 990 received by the department from the charter management organization;
· provide that the requirement for the commissioner to promulgate a “user-friendly,” plain language budget summary form is to be done within the limit of funds appropriated or otherwise made available for those purposes;
· permit the board of trustees of a charter school to provide certain required notice of a public hearing on the charter school’s proposed budget to a board of education via electronic mail;
· clarify that the board of trustees of a charter school is to post a copy of all meeting notices, including a calendar of all meeting dates, and the minutes of each meeting on the charter school’s website in accordance with the provisions of the “Open Public Meetings Act”;
· require a minimum of 33 percent of the members of the board of trustees of a charter school to maintain either their principal residence or primary place of employment in the district or region in which the charter school is located, provided that at least one member of the board of trustees maintains their principal residence in the district or region in which the charter school is located;
· require a member of the board of trustees of a charter school to maintain the member’s principal residence in the State;
· remove a section of the bill that made appointment to a charter school board of trustees subject to the approval of the commissioner;
· extend the provisions of the bill concerning the renegotiation, extension, amendment, or alteration of the terms of a contract between a board of trustees and a charter management organization to also apply to an education management organization and require notice under these provisions to be provided to the Department of Education and the public;
· remove a requirement that a charter management organization receiving payment for operating or managing a charter school, the source of which is State or local funds, comply with the open public records act and annually file with the department the most recent public inspection copy of its Internal Revenue Service Form 990, and in accordance with federal law, all schedules and supporting documentation required to be submitted in conjunction with that form;
· remove a provision of the bill stipulating that a charter management organization would be ineligible to provide services to charter schools in the State if the organization continues to be in violation of certain provisions of the bill after 90 days following the commissioner’s determination of the violations;
· remove a provision requiring certain executive level employees of a charter management organization to comply with certain provisions of the “School Ethics Act”;
· remove a provision requiring a board of education of a school district and a board of trustees of a charter school or renaissance school project to include certain prohibitions on employment in the boards’ nepotism policies; and
· require a charter management organization or education management organization that receives payment for operating or managing a charter school, the source of which is State or local funds, to comply with the ownership disclosure requirements under current law.
· require the training provided to charter school board of trustee members by the New Jersey School Boards Association to be prepared in consultation with representatives and stakeholders from the New Jersey charter school community, which may include the New Jersey Public Charter Schools Association or its successor;
· remove a provision requiring the Department of Education and the New Jersey Public Charter Schools Association to approve the New Jersey School Boards Association training for charter school board of trustee members;
· make technical corrections regarding internal citations and references to current law; and
· update the effective date.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This bill is not certified as requiring a fiscal note.