Student Applicatin Prcess fr Chice Districts Interdistrict Public Schl Chice Prgram New Jersey State Department f Educatin P.O. Bx 500 Trentn, New Jersey 08625-0500 Email: pschice@de.state.nj.us STEP 1: Student Applicatin Submissin T initiate the student applicatin prcess, the parent/guardian btains and submits a Student Applicatin fr Enrllment t the chice district(s). Each district supplies its wn unique applicatin fr its chice prgram. A student applicatin template is available t assist in the applicatin develpment. All student applicatin frms must be made available n the chice district's website. The infrmatin prvided n the applicatin will determine a student's enrllment categry. Student applicants fall int ne f three categries: Tier 1 r Tier 2, r thse with special enrllment preference. T be eligible as Tier 1, a student must be enrlled in a NJ public schl in his r her resident schl district fr the entire year (2014-15) immediately preceding enrllment in a chice district, and must be verified as Tier 1 by their resident districts. Tier 1 students als include students in the fllwing circumstances: Charter schl students If a student mved during the year but attended the public schl f bth the ld and new resident districts If applying fr kindergarten, a student must be attending his r her resident district's public and free preschl r, if that district des nt ffer a public and free preschl, have a sibling currently attending the chice district. 1
Chice districts must first fill their available seats with Tier 1 students. If the number f Tier 1 applicatins exceeds the number f chice seats available, the chice district must hld a lttery t randmly select students. Tier 2 students include NJ residents wh have nt attended their resident public schl fr the entire year immediately prir t enrllment in the desired chice district and d nt therwise meet the requirements fr Tier 1. Chice districts are nt bligated t accept Tier 2 students. If a chice district accepts Tier 2 applicants, they may d s nly after all f the qualified Tier 1 applicants have been accepted. If the number f Tier 2 applicatins exceeds the number f chice seats available, the chice district must hld a lttery t select students. Chice districts shuld pst n their websites whether they accept Tier 2 applicatins. Chice districts may give enrllment preference in the applicatin prcess t students in the fllwing circumstances (the district must pst its enrllment plicies n its website): Students wh have siblings currently attending the chice district Chice students wh have cmpleted the terminal grade f the sending district (i.e., students wh attend a chice district with grades that terminate befre 12th grade and with a natural prgressin t anther chice district) Resident students f the chice district wh mve ut f the district and want t remain in the chice district the fllwing year. Fr mre infrmatin n plicies fr students wh mve, visit the website FAQs. The applicatin must be received by the chice district by December 1, 2014. See nte at bttm regarding late applicatins. Als by December 1, students wh are currently registered with their resident districts must cmplete the Ntice f Intent t Participate frm and submit it t their resident districts. By law, a resident district must be infrmed if a student intends t participate in the chice prgram. The resident district is nt required t respnd t the ntificatin. Students wh are nt Tier 1 d nt need t cmplete this step. 2
STEP 2: Applicatin Review Applicatin Review: The chice district must review all submitted applicatins Cnfirmatin f Enrllment t Verify Tier 1 Eligibility: The infrmatin requested n the applicatin will indicate whether r nt a student is t be cnsidered Tier 1. T cnfirm Tier 1 eligibility, the chice district must submit the applicant's infrmatin t his/her resident district, which then will verify whether r nt that student has attended public schl in the district during the current schl year. The chice district must cmplete a Cnfirmatin f Enrllment spreadsheet fr each resident district frm which it received student applicatins, listing each student's name, the schl currently attending, and the current grade level. The Cnfirmatin f Enrllment spreadsheets must be submitted t every resident district by December 5. The resident district will cnfirm whether r nt each student was cunted in the 2014 Octber ASSA and whether r nt the student cntinues t be enrlled in the district. This cnfirms Tier 1 eligibility. NOTE: If a student mved during the year but attended the public schl f bth the ld and new resident districts, bth districts must be cntacted t cnfirm enrllment during the respective time perids. These students are als cnsidered Tier 1. The chice district must determine which applicants will be accepted and rejected and if a lttery is necessary. If an applicatin is rejected (see the assciated statute fr circumstances allwing fr rejectin), the district must infrm the parent/guardian by December 19 with a Ntice f Rejectin that includes a reasn fr the rejectin. If by December 1 the Tier 1 applicatins number n mre than the seats available, the chice district must send a Ntice f Cnditinal Acceptance t each eligible applicant. The Ntice f Cnditinal Acceptance shuld include a Ntice f Intent t Enrll Frm fr the parent/guardian t cmplete. The chice district must deliver the Ntice f Cnditinal Acceptance t the parent/guardian by December 19. If by December 1 the eligible applicatins number mre than the seats available, the chice district must cnduct a public lttery fr thse grades r prgrams in which the number f applicatins exceeds the number f available seats. The results f the lttery will determine which students will be accepted as chice students fr the fllwing schl year and which students will be placed n the waiting list. 3
Lttery (if applicable): The parent r guardian f each child wh has submitted an applicatin must be infrmed f the date and time that the lttery will take place. Each participant in the lttery must be assigned a number reflecting the student's place n the list f accepted students r n the waiting list. Upn cmpletin f the lttery, the chice district must send t the parent r guardian f each student wh has been accepted fr enrllment int the district the Ntice f Cnditinal Acceptance and a Ntice f Intent t Enrll Frm. These must be received by the parent r guardian by December 19. Upn cmpletin f the lttery, the chice district als must ntify the parent/guardian f each student placed n the waiting list as a result f the lttery. This ntice must include infrmatin abut the student's psitin n the waiting list and must be received by the parent r guardian by December 19. Here are a few examples f the different types f ltteries that districts may chse t use: Grup lttery: Applicatins fr all grade levels are cmbined int ne grup lttery. Students' names/numbers are drawn randmly and seats are filled accrding t the grade-levels f the applicants and the seat availability in the grades. A waitlist is created fr all applicants whse names/numbers are drawn after the seats have been filled. Tiered r grade-level lttery: One r mre grade levels are given pririty in the lttery prcess. Fr each grade-level that is given pririty by the district, a separate lttery is held. In ther wrds, all applicants fr the same pririty grade-level are pled and names are randmly drawn. Once available seats fr the pririty grade are filled and a waitlist is created, anther lttery fr the next pririty grade level is held. Once all pririty grade level ltteries have been held and waitlists are created, the remaining applicatins fr the nn-pririty grades levels can be gruped int a grup lttery. STEP 3: Ntice f Intent t Enrll Accepted students must cmplete the Ntice f Intent t Enrll Frm and return it t the chice district by January 6, 2015. 4
Each resident district must be infrmed if any f their resident students are participating in the chice prgram. If they are nt already registered in the resident district, students shuld register with their district prir t January 16, 2015. The chice district must send a cpy f each student's Ntice f Intent t Enrll t the respective resident district by January 16 t serve as ntificatin. STEP 4: Enrllment Data Submissin t NJDOE T receive the crrect amunt f chice aid funding fr chice students, the chice district must infrm the Department f Educatin f its chice enrllment fr 2015-16. Submit the enrllment data t the Department f Educatin by January 23, 2015. This enrllment is final and cannt be adjusted after this deadline. If accepted students decline the ffer t enrll in a chice prgram (by nt sending in the Ntice f Intent t Enrll Frm by Jan. 6) and the district selects students frm a wait list, this prcess must be cmpleted by January 23 in rder that an accurate final enrllment cunt can be submitted. 5
STEP 5: Transprtatin Requests Transprtatin Requests The resident district is respnsible fr the transprtatin f all eligible chice students. Visit the transprtatin prcedures fr mre infrmatin. The chice district must send the resident district Transprtatin Requests fr thse students. If the student is currently in the terminal grade f their resident district, the request fr transprtatin is sent t the receiving schl with which the resident district has a send/receive agreement because it will be respnsible fr the student's transprtatin (as this is the schl the student wuld have attended if he/she did nt attend the chice schl). The requests must be received by March 15. THIS COMPLETES THE STUDENT APPLICATION PROCESS 6