For Charter School Bills -- an Easy Time in Committee, a Harder Time in the Senate

Four bills that would revamp how charter schools are reviewed and approved in New Jersey won easy passage Monday in a key Assembly committee.

Yet the prospect of most of those bills ever becoming law – especially the one that would require local approval of all new charters -- is far from assured, as even their supporters admit.

The chief obstacle: Gov. Chris Christie, who has made it abundantly clear that he will block any bill that slows down the spread of charter schools. But even Democratic votes, in particular the Senate and its leadership, remain open questions.

The measures were heard together before the Democratic-led Assembly education committee, filling the Statehouse Annex committee room with a standing-room-only crowd. In each case, all eight Democrats voted in support. The four Republicans for the most part either abstained or voted yes.

Two of the bills would expand how the alternative schools are approved and monitored, with up to three higher-education institutions able to serve as authorizing agents, easing the load on the state education department, which is now the sole authorizer.

Another bill would allow private and parochial schools to be converted to charters.

And the most contentious bill would require local voter approval of any new charter school, making New Jersey just the second state in the country that would have that local veto. (New Hampshire is the first.)

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NJ Spotlight, an issue-driven news website that provides critical insight to New Jersey’s communities and businesses. It is non-partisan, independent, policy-centered and community-minded.

John Mooney is the founding editor, education writer. He has covered education in New Jersey for 15 years as a reporter for The Newark Star-Ledger and The Bergen Record and recently as a contributing writer for The New York Times. He has won numerous state and national awards, including honors from the Education Writers Association and the American Society of News Editors. John also has spoken at conferences and other events regarding school issues facing New Jersey and the role of education journalism. He lives in Montclair.