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  • National Overview
  • Select Your State
  • About The Index

PARENT POWER!

  • National Overview
  • Select Your State
  • About The Index
Menu
  • National Overview
  • Select Your State
  • About The Index

PARENT POWER!

  • National Overview
  • Select Your State
  • About The Index
Menu
  • National Overview
  • Select Your State
  • About The Index

New Jersey

U.S.
Rank

#41
Overall PPI Score:
61.2%
PPI Grade Key:
← Back to New Jersey state overview
A
B
C
D
F
  • Opportunity
  • Innovation
  • Policy Environment

Charter Schools

Score:

72%

Grade:

C

Rank:

#29

A continued and relentless assault on charter school growth by the Murphy Administration has education advocates and charter school leaders fuming. Petitions to start and to expand charter schools – which must endure a heavy handed state education departments cumbersome and establishment focussed Department of Education, are being regularly denied for no reason other than teachers unions and district demands, costing New Jersey two spots in the national rankings and dropping their score from a C to a D for the first time in history.

Fast Facts:

Law passed: 1995

Most recently amended: 2021

Number of charter schools: 87

Number of charter students: 57,486

Cap on the number of schools allowed:? No

Virtual charters allowed? No

Charter Law Analysis:

AUTHORIZERS: The commissioner of education (who represents the state department of education) is the sole authorizer. Charter school applicants may submit applications to the local school board and the commissioner. If the local district is under state intervention, applications may be submitted to the state district superintendent for consideration but the only the state education commissioner can approve. Denied applications may be appealed to the appellate division of the state superior court. NJ is the only state in the country whose appeals go to a court.

GROWTH:  While New Jersey does not cap the number of charter schools in the state, the state education department operates a defacto cap on new approvals and growth. 

OPERATIONS: Instead of granting charters blanket waivers from operational rules to provide maximum freedom, charter school operators must request freedom from specific regulations in their charter applications. That puts the burden on schools to wade through a morass of state rules. Teacher and principal certifications cannot be waived however there are alternative routes available in the state.

EQUITY: 90% of the per-pupil program budget or 90% of the “thorough and efficient funding” amount is supposed to go directly to the charter school for their students, along with state and federal categorical funds. The total funding that charter schools receive is often much less than districts because they do not receive “adjustment aid” from the state. Also, districts can charge charters up to ten percent of per pupil funding to cover administrative fees. New Jersey’s law does not provide any facilities funding.

Learn More:

New Jersey Charter School Law

New Jersey Public Charter Schools Association

Choice Programs (Scholarships, Vouchers, Tax Credits, etc.)

Score:

50%

Grade:

F

Rank:

#46

There are no choice programs in this state.

Fast Facts:
Choice Laws & Analysis:
Learn More:

2019 ALEC Report Card on American Education

Teacher Quality

Score:

76%

Grade:

C

Rank:

#10

Strong teacher preparation programs and requirements for content knowledge for elementary, middle, and secondary teacher candidates.

TRAINING AND RECRUITMENT:                 81%
General Teacher Preparation 88%
Elementary Teacher Preparation 73%
Secondary Teacher Preparation 85%
Special Education Teacher Preparation 68%
Alternate Routes 93%  

STAFFING AND SUPPORT: 80%
Hiring 87%
Retaining Effective Teachers 73%

TEACHER EVALUATION: 86%

TEACHER COMPENSATION: 58%

Learn More:

National Council for Teacher Quality State Teacher Policy Database

Charter Schools

Score:

72%

Grade:

C

Rank:

#29

A continued and relentless assault on charter school growth by the Murphy Administration has education advocates and charter school leaders fuming. Petitions to start and to expand charter schools – which must endure a heavy handed state education departments cumbersome and establishment focussed Department of Education, are being regularly denied for no reason other than teachers unions and district demands, costing New Jersey two spots in the national rankings and dropping their score from a C to a D for the first time in history.

Fast Facts:

Law passed: 1995

Most recently amended: 2021

Number of charter schools: 87

Number of charter students: 57,486

Cap on the number of schools allowed:? No

Virtual charters allowed? No

Charter Law Analysis:

AUTHORIZERS: The commissioner of education (who represents the state department of education) is the sole authorizer. Charter school applicants may submit applications to the local school board and the commissioner. If the local district is under state intervention, applications may be submitted to the state district superintendent for consideration but the only the state education commissioner can approve. Denied applications may be appealed to the appellate division of the state superior court. NJ is the only state in the country whose appeals go to a court.

GROWTH:  While New Jersey does not cap the number of charter schools in the state, the state education department operates a defacto cap on new approvals and growth. 

OPERATIONS: Instead of granting charters blanket waivers from operational rules to provide maximum freedom, charter school operators must request freedom from specific regulations in their charter applications. That puts the burden on schools to wade through a morass of state rules. Teacher and principal certifications cannot be waived however there are alternative routes available in the state.

EQUITY: 90% of the per-pupil program budget or 90% of the “thorough and efficient funding” amount is supposed to go directly to the charter school for their students, along with state and federal categorical funds. The total funding that charter schools receive is often much less than districts because they do not receive “adjustment aid” from the state. Also, districts can charge charters up to ten percent of per pupil funding to cover administrative fees. New Jersey’s law does not provide any facilities funding.

Learn More:

New Jersey Charter School Law

New Jersey Public Charter Schools Association

Choice Programs (Scholarships, Vouchers, Tax Credits, etc.)

Score:

50%

Grade:

F

Rank:

#46

There are no choice programs in this state.

Fast Facts:
Choice Laws & Analysis:
Learn More:

2019 ALEC Report Card on American Education

Teacher Quality

Score:

76%

Grade:

C

Rank:

#10

Strong teacher preparation programs and requirements for content knowledge for elementary, middle, and secondary teacher candidates.

TRAINING AND RECRUITMENT:                 81%
General Teacher Preparation 88%
Elementary Teacher Preparation 73%
Secondary Teacher Preparation 85%
Special Education Teacher Preparation 68%
Alternate Routes 93%  

STAFFING AND SUPPORT: 80%
Hiring 87%
Retaining Effective Teachers 73%

TEACHER EVALUATION: 86%

TEACHER COMPENSATION: 58%

Learn More:

National Council for Teacher Quality State Teacher Policy Database

Digital & Personalized Learning

Digital Learning:

Score:

62%

Grade:

D

Rank:

#48

In an effort to expand school districts’ capacity for digital learning, New Jersey DOE partnered with NJ School Board Association and Sustainable Jersey to launch the Digital Schools Program, which will replace the Future Ready Schools-NJ initiative that successfully certified 259 schools in 76 districts in the state as “Future Ready.”

The state has Technology Standards for students by grade level. The New Jersey DOE website has resources on educational technology planning, digital tools, and information on state organizations for educators to join. 

New Jersey has five school districts that are members of the Digital Promise League of Innovative Schools, providing over 45,000 students digital learning exposure. The League of Innovative Schools is a network of school leaders in 114 districts in 34 states that aim to enhance and scale digital learning opportunities for students across the nation. 

The COVID-19 pandemic put a spotlight on the inequities in New Jersey: more than 200,000 students were left without internet access, and approx. 100,000 students still did not have a device a month after schools were closed.

Bandwidth: “99.9% of students in New Jersey can access the Internet at speeds of 100 kbps per student, and many students are connected at higher speeds. But there is still work to be done. 1,278 students still need more bandwidth for digital learning.”

Personalized Learning:

New Jersey does not have any policies or programs that promote personalized learning.

Learn More:

Digital Schools Program

League of Innovative Schools

COVID-19 Response

Governor Murphy announced school closures on March 16th. The districts immediately began to transfer to remote learning, with 90% of schools already having emergency protocols in place. New Jersey was one of the first states to provide guidance to school districts on closing school buildings but continuing instruction.

The state first instructed districts that they may offer remote learning, but were not required to do so. Although they initially offered very little guidance for schools and teachers in developing plans, they later developed a website with resources.

They also launched an initiative in April for lessons taught by NJ teachers that aired live on public television. In July, New Jersey became the first state to offer upcoming high school juniors and seniors the option to defer graduation for a year in order to take additional classes or participate in extracurricular activities they missed.

New Jersey learned and improved communications and resources as the pandemic progressed, ultimately resulting in students there able to continue learning.

Going into the fall, Governor Murphy stated he would be issuing an executive order to require districts to offer both on ground and online instruction, unless they could demonstrate there was a reason to go remote only.

Fast Facts

4th Grade Math Proficiency:

40%

8th Grade Math Proficiency:

34%

12th Grade Math Proficiency:

24% (nat'l average)

4th Grade Reading Proficiency:

38%

8th Grade Reading Proficiency:

42%

12th Grade Reading Proficiency:

37% (nat'l average)

Graduation Rate:

91%

Average SAT Score:

1079/1600

Average ACT Score:

24.6/36

Public School Enrollment:

1,372,381

Percent Enrolled in Charter Schools:

4%

Average Student Funding:

$20,670.00
Digital & Personalized Learning
Digital Learning:

Score:

62%

Grade:

D

Rank:

#48

In an effort to expand school districts’ capacity for digital learning, New Jersey DOE partnered with NJ School Board Association and Sustainable Jersey to launch the Digital Schools Program, which will replace the Future Ready Schools-NJ initiative that successfully certified 259 schools in 76 districts in the state as “Future Ready.”

The state has Technology Standards for students by grade level. The New Jersey DOE website has resources on educational technology planning, digital tools, and information on state organizations for educators to join. 

New Jersey has five school districts that are members of the Digital Promise League of Innovative Schools, providing over 45,000 students digital learning exposure. The League of Innovative Schools is a network of school leaders in 114 districts in 34 states that aim to enhance and scale digital learning opportunities for students across the nation. 

The COVID-19 pandemic put a spotlight on the inequities in New Jersey: more than 200,000 students were left without internet access, and approx. 100,000 students still did not have a device a month after schools were closed.

Bandwidth: “99.9% of students in New Jersey can access the Internet at speeds of 100 kbps per student, and many students are connected at higher speeds. But there is still work to be done. 1,278 students still need more bandwidth for digital learning.”

Personalized Learning:

New Jersey does not have any policies or programs that promote personalized learning.

Learn More:

Digital Schools Program

League of Innovative Schools

COVID-19 Response

Governor Murphy announced school closures on March 16th. The districts immediately began to transfer to remote learning, with 90% of schools already having emergency protocols in place. New Jersey was one of the first states to provide guidance to school districts on closing school buildings but continuing instruction.

The state first instructed districts that they may offer remote learning, but were not required to do so. Although they initially offered very little guidance for schools and teachers in developing plans, they later developed a website with resources.

They also launched an initiative in April for lessons taught by NJ teachers that aired live on public television. In July, New Jersey became the first state to offer upcoming high school juniors and seniors the option to defer graduation for a year in order to take additional classes or participate in extracurricular activities they missed.

New Jersey learned and improved communications and resources as the pandemic progressed, ultimately resulting in students there able to continue learning.

Going into the fall, Governor Murphy stated he would be issuing an executive order to require districts to offer both on ground and online instruction, unless they could demonstrate there was a reason to go remote only.

Fast Facts

4th Grade Math Proficiency:

40%

8th Grade Math Proficiency:

34%

12th Grade Math Proficiency:

24% (nat’l average)

4th Grade Reading Proficiency:

38%

8th Grade Reading Proficiency:

42%

12th Grade Reading Proficiency:

37% (nat’l average)

Graduation Rate:

91%

Average SAT Score:

1079/1600

Average ACT Score:

24.6/36

Public School Enrollment:

1,372,381

Percent Enrolled in Charter Schools:

4%

Average Student Funding:

$20,670.00

Leadership

Your governor:

Phil Murphy (D)

First term began in 2018 (two-term limit)

While Governor Phil Murphy does not endorse most of what qualifies as parent power,  he does not acquiesce to the humans in the way some New Jersey leaders have in the past. New Jersey charter schools have actually grown very slightly under the Murphy administration,  and his leadership on reopening schools this fall is worthy of Praise as he demanded that schools offer options to students.

State Legislature:

Like the governor’s mansion, the state legislature is also controlled by the Democratic Party. Expanding education opportunities for families with this state legislature will be a challenge. There have been great strides made in urban areas like Camden and there’s a state commitment to technology enhance learning but overall this is just a status quo mindset.

Constitutional Issues

New Jersey’s constitution does not contain a Blaine Amendment. Several state cases over the years have underscored the constitutionality of public funds supporting private decisions. The state’s famous Abbott case on education equity also allows pre-school funds to flow to private schools by the parents’ choices.

There is a case pending before the NJ Supreme Court, In re Renewal Application of TEAM Academy Charter School, that seeks to overturn an expansion of charter schools in Newark in 2016 by the state education commissioner. 

Learn More:

Institute for Justice: New Jersey School Choice and State Constitution

Transparency

School and district report cards are highlighted on New Jersey’s DOE homepage. Report cards have a useful function that allows users to choose between a detailed school report and a summary report. Data is comprehensive and complete, including information on demographics, academic achievement, college and career readiness, postsecondary, school climate, staff, and per-pupil expenditures. One downside is it requires digging through multiple tabs to find what you’re searching for.

Educational options are easily found under the Programs tab of the DOE homepage, further increasing transparency by giving parents access to information they need to make decisions.

School board elections are during the general election cycle, which gives parents more power in their decision making because of higher voter turnout.

Leadership
Your governor:

Phil Murphy (D)

First term began in 2018 (two-term limit)

While Governor Phil Murphy does not endorse most of what qualifies as parent power,  he does not acquiesce to the humans in the way some New Jersey leaders have in the past. New Jersey charter schools have actually grown very slightly under the Murphy administration,  and his leadership on reopening schools this fall is worthy of Praise as he demanded that schools offer options to students.

State Legislature:

Like the governor’s mansion, the state legislature is also controlled by the Democratic Party. Expanding education opportunities for families with this state legislature will be a challenge. There have been great strides made in urban areas like Camden and there’s a state commitment to technology enhance learning but overall this is just a status quo mindset.

Constitutional Issues

New Jersey’s constitution does not contain a Blaine Amendment. Several state cases over the years have underscored the constitutionality of public funds supporting private decisions. The state’s famous Abbott case on education equity also allows pre-school funds to flow to private schools by the parents’ choices.

There is a case pending before the NJ Supreme Court, In re Renewal Application of TEAM Academy Charter School, that seeks to overturn an expansion of charter schools in Newark in 2016 by the state education commissioner. 

Learn More:

Institute for Justice: New Jersey School Choice and State Constitution

Transparency

School and district report cards are highlighted on New Jersey’s DOE homepage. Report cards have a useful function that allows users to choose between a detailed school report and a summary report. Data is comprehensive and complete, including information on demographics, academic achievement, college and career readiness, postsecondary, school climate, staff, and per-pupil expenditures. One downside is it requires digging through multiple tabs to find what you’re searching for.

Educational options are easily found under the Programs tab of the DOE homepage, further increasing transparency by giving parents access to information they need to make decisions.

School board elections are during the general election cycle, which gives parents more power in their decision making because of higher voter turnout.

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Charter Schools

Charter schools are public schools, open by choice, free from most rules and regulations that hamper traditional public schools and held accountable for results.

Since 1991, when charter schools were first established in Minnesota, the principle has remained the same — increased operational autonomy in exchange for increased accountability for outcomes. This freedom to innovate allows academically excellent charter schools to flourish.

As of 2020, there were more than 7,300 charter schools across the country with more than 3.3 million students, with demand higher everywhere they are located. Forty-six states, including Washington, D.C. have charter school laws. West Virginia enacted the most recent law in 2019. All charter laws are not created equal, however, and in fact, many are so flawed that they allow for only minimal opportunity for parents. PPI draws from CER’s newest Charter School Law Rankings and Scorecard, produced in the summer of 2020. For the US as a whole, the glass is more empty than full when it comes to meaningful charter choices.

Since 1996, CER has researched, analyzed, and ranked charter school laws, taking the content of each law into consideration as well as how it impacts charter schools on the ground. This Parent Power Index looks at four main areas of each state’s law:

If it allows for multiple authorizers, and if applicants have the ability to appeal a denial; whether it allows for growth, particularly with no caps on number of schools or enrollment; if schools and teachers have freedom to innovate; and if there is equitable funding of schools, including for facilities and transportation.

Charter schools are the most analyzed public school reform in decades. Since 1996, CER has studied their impact, their environment, and their practice and made recommendations for how to improve each law. The Parent Power Index charter score is based on whether the law allows for freedom and flexibility that can ensure parents, teachers and the general public are able to build vibrant, successful charter schools without undue interference from flawed state regulators, with equitable funding and parents in the driver’s seat. More about how this works can be found in CER publications, most notably Charting a New Course and The Future of School.

In addition, past rankings document how states have grown or confined charter schools and what best practices should be followed. Finally CER has provided a model charter school law for policymakers that is the standard bearer for advocates who believe that parents, not systems, should drive education.

Choice Programs

Educational choice is best defined as the availability of a multitude of public programs that provide parents with the ability to include private and religious entities – schools, tutoring, and other organizations – in their choices. Those programs are enacted at the state level, allowing in a wide variety of ways that the funds allocated for education in a state either follow the student to the institution the parent chooses or, as in the case of tax credits, public funds are redistributed to support the choices parents make, rather than automatically going to government based school districts.

These options are often referred to as scholarship programs, vouchers, tax credits, education accounts and more.

The existence of a higher degree of educational choice in a community or state, particularly for lower income students, has been found to be a significant factor in improving education and ensuring all students have access to the best school that meets their individual needs. Where once private options were only available to the more advantaged, most choice programs today ensure that those without resources have the power to shape their student’s education and invest in their future.

PPI 2020 assesses the extent to which every state gives families better and more abundant educational options through various mechanisms. Choice programs are analyzed and evaluated on their potential to reach all children across a state and for the degree to which they can actually support the full choice of parents, as opposed to only providing a modest amount of financial support. Programs where a significant population of parents can obtain scholarships or vouchers to send their children to the school of their choice score higher than those that have limitations based on geography, income, and student eligibility constraints.

To determine scores, PPI relies on well-established organizations which study, advance and support such programs. The scores were developed with this lens, and on information and ratings from EdChoice’s School Choice in America Dashboard, American Legislative Exchange Council’s Report Card on American Education: 23rd Edition, and American Federation for Children’s School Choice Interactive Map.

Teacher Quality

Teacher Quality is an equally important facet of ensuring greater educational opportunity. There is a direct correlation between quality teachers and student achievement, and teachers have the power to foster highly effective learning environments and leave a lasting impact on the future of their students. State teacher policies are critical in ensuring that students have the opportunity to receive the best education possible. Without schools full of well-prepared teachers who are held accountable either directly to the parent or to taxpayers for student achievement, opportunity can be meaningless. Most states vary widely in the criteria used to train, hire, retain, evaluate, reward and advance teachers, and local rules also influence that criteria greatly, as do teachers unions. PPI looked again to the expert analysis of the National Council of Teacher Quality, and from several aspects of their work PPI extrapolated final teacher quality scores. (NCTQ does not grade each state.)

Relying solely on the rich data collected from the National Council on Teacher Quality, states are measured by across a wide range of policy categories: Training and Recruitment, Staffing and Support, Evaluation, and Compensation. The score is by no means comprehensive about teacher quality across every community and state, but it is based on the extent to which states rigorously expect, manage and measure different aspects of teacher training, hiring, evaluation and compensation. States score higher when they have strong, data-driven, performance-based accountability systems that ensure teachers are rewarded, retained, and advanced based on their effectiveness. Likewise, states that establish rigorous teacher preparation programs and offer alternative licensing programs earn higher scores.

For more information about the Teacher Quality landscape, please see the National Council on Teacher Quality’s detailed analysis in their State Teacher Policy Database.

Innovation

States are measured on their increasing commitment to and practice of innovative approaches to education that include digital learning models and pathways, full or in part, encouraging personalized learning through focus on competency and mastery – even on a pilot level – or by allowing flexibility in schools and school districts that want to do it. Personalized learning models value mastery of material over traditional subject matter time tests, and competency over end of course grades. While these practices are best decided locally, closest to the student, states can motivate, incentivize, fund, discourage or encourage.

To determine scores, the PPI drew heavily from ExcelinEd’s 2019 State Progress Toward Next Generation Learning, Aurora Institute’s 2020 Future-Focused State Policy Actions to Transform K-12 Education, and KnowledgeWorks’ 2019 State Policy Framework for Personalized Learning.

COVID-19 Response

When COVID-19 reached our shores in early 2020, states were forced to close their schools for in-person instruction. Whether and how to continue teaching and set expectations for continued learning outside of the classroom was a big debate. Many states and schools quickly pivoted to delivering education remotely, either through technology enabled tools or with low-tech paper packets and phone calls, or a combination of both. The response from schools and school districts varied widely, with some being willing to adapt and some actually discouraging both teaching and learning. CER tracked those responses (and continues to do so, given the fluidity of the situation). States that were encouraging, set expectations, and demanded that schools figure out whatever they could to keep moving students forward, tended to have more schools and districts that responded well and worked to deliver education regardless of challenges. Many states that had digital or virtual learning programs in place were able to make a more seamless shift. Innovative leaders at local and state levels rose to the occasion. But many states and localities dragged their feet and, in some cases, outright discouraged schooling to keep going, including forbidding teachers in some areas to be required to do any face to face teaching via technology.

States were evaluated based on reviewing their official notices and declarations, and by reviewing a broad array of surveys and data many groups have been maintaining. This score also factors in states’ prior commitments to expanding broadband and internet access and how they worked to provide devices to keep students learning and engaged.

What was, and is, a challenging and unprecedented time for schools, teachers, and parents was also an opportunity to look at states’ and schools’ abilities to adapt, be flexible, and innovate.

For more on Education Innovation, check out the CER ACTION Series:

  • Virtual Events & Videos
  • Key Data
  • Resources
  • Publications

Leadership

Improving education opportunity and innovation requires leaders who boldly and courageously push forward to create or expand successful programs that allow a wide variety of educational choice and individualized programs to thrive. Governors and state legislators are the most important entities in each state to pave the way, or deter, expanded parent power. Some leaders pay lip service to issues, while others wake up with a fire in their belly to ensure that they are doing what they can every day to push through conventional wisdom and demand 21st century schooling opportunities for all students.

Whether or not your governor is the bold, fire-in-the-belly kind, or a passive applauder of others’ efforts, is evaluated to help you push or prod or applaud. PPI looks at their positions AND actions on charter schools, choice programs, innovation, and commitment to increasing educational opportunities for all students at every level and summarizes it for you here. You have the power to elect leaders who prioritize parents and students!

Constitutional Issues

The ability for states to enact educational change can be significantly limited depending on certain provisions in state constitutions.

The most common clause that limits educational opportunity in most states are “Blaine Amendments” – named after 19th century Congressman James Blaine nearly 150 years ago. Historically, these provisions in 37 state constitutions were either interpreted to restrict educational choice programs that include private schools or have been a deterrent for many programs being considered, let alone enacted.

This issue received a great deal of press leading up to and following the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 30, 2020 decision in the case of Espinoza vs Montana Department of Revenue, a case that dealt with Montana’s Blaine Amendment. That landmark decision found that the U.S. Constitution “forbids states from excluding religious schools as options for families participating in educational choice programs, including through Blaine Amendments.”

As a result, most states have a new path to enact programs that provide options for families, including religious schools. Their individual versions of Blaine Amendments can either be nullified with attorney generals’ opinions, with legislation or with both. Additional restrictions on expanded opportunity are often dedicated by what is called a Compelled Support Clause where dated constitutional language restricts public funding to government entities.

We look at each state’s particular constitutional issues, utilizing a number of sources, CER attorney analysis and the Institute for Justice’s research as our guide. Additional information about Espinoza and Blaine Amendments can be found here.

In addition, if states have other constitutional barriers to more opportunity, they are evaluated in this area.

Transparency

Transparency is a key element of providing great opportunities for students. Every parent needs and deserves full transparency of school-level data to allow them to make informed decisions and drive changes in how their students are educated. School report cards empower parents in their decision making by giving them access to meaningful and quality education data about a particular school or district. Report cards often provide information on student performance, student growth, attendance, graduation rates, demographics, teacher quality, school environment, assessments, and more. States that have greater transparency and accountability provide the public with data that is current, readily available, and easy to understand.

States are measured based on the transparency and accessibility of data for the average person looking to learn about their child’s school. States have more gas in the tank when school report cards are easily accessible from their state DOE homepage; report cards are comprehensive, user-friendly, and easy to understand; and information about educational options are readily available. Additionally, states score higher when they hold School Board Elections during the General Election cycle, as opposed to off-times of the year when turnout is low, because this tends to afford parents more power in their decision-making.