Student Application Process for Choice Districts

Student Application Process in Detail for Choice Districts

NOTE: A Tier 1 student must be enrolled in a NJ public school in his or her resident school district for the entire year (2012-13) immediately preceding enrollment in a choice district. If applying for kindergarten, the student must be attending his or her resident district's preschool, or if no district preschool exists, he/she must have a sibling currently attending the choice district to be considered Tier 1.

Tier 2 students include NJ residents who have not attended their resident school for the entire year immediately prior to enrollment in the choice district. If applying for kindergarten, the Tier 2 student does meet the requirements for Tier 1.

What the parent/guardian is doing and when:

The parent or guardian begins the application process by submitting a Notice of Intent to Participate to the district in which the student currently lives. This form serves as a notification to the resident district of the student's intention to attend a choice school district for the 2013-2014 school year, and helps determine if the student is a tier 1 or tier 2 applicant. The form includes a blank Confirmation of Student Enrollment/Eligibility that the resident district should complete and return to the parent/guardian to be attached to the student application.

In the case where a student is currently in the terminal grade level of their resident district, the Notice of Intent to Participate needs to be submitted to the current resident district.

If the student currently attends a charter school within his/her resident district, the Notice of Intent to Participate should be submitted to the charter school.       

It is essential that the parent or guardian obtain and keep a signed and dated receipt for the delivery of the Notice of Intent to Participate Form.

What the resident district is doing and when:

The student's resident district is required to send the parent/guardian the Confirmation of Student Enrollment/Eligibilityby December 3. The Confirmation of Student Enrollment/Eligibility serves to verify that the student is or is not currently enrolled for the 2012-13 school year in a public school in the resident district and will help you determine whether the student is eligible as a Tier 1 or Tier 2 applicant.

If the student currently attends a charter school in his/her resident district, the charter school should complete the Confirmation of Student Enrollment/Eligibility.

NOTE: If the resident district fails to return the signed Confirmation of Student Enrollment/Eligibility to the parent/guardian, the application should be submitted without it and include the dated receipt for the delivery of the Notice of Intent to Participate Form.

What the parent/guardian is doing and when:

The parent/guardian next submits the Student Application for Enrollment in a Choice District. You are responsible for providing your own application form and posting it on your school choice webpage. Click here for the application template. If you have adopted policies for enrollment preference, the application must offer the parent/guardian an opportunity to identify any circumstances that would make them eligible. If the parent/guardian has received a Confirmation of Student Enrollment/Eligibilityfrom the resident district, a copy should be attached to the application.  The application must be received by the choice district by December 7. 

It is essential that the parent or guardian obtain and keep a signed and dated receipt for the delivery of the completed application.

You must review all completed applications and determine which will be accepted and rejected and if a lottery is necessary.

• If an application is rejected (see the associated statute for circumstances allowing for rejection), you must inform the parent or guardian by December 21 with a Notice of Rejection that includes a reason for the rejection.

• Tier 2 applicants must be sent notification with the following information by December 21:
  • Whether or not your district has a policy to accept Tier 2 students for admission.
  • An explanation of the process and dates by which Tier 2 students are accepted, if seats remain after Tier 1 students have been notified of their acceptance.
• For Tier 1 applicants:
  • If by December 7 the Tier 1 applications number no more than the seats available, you must send a Notice of Conditional Acceptance to each eligible applicant. The Notice of Conditional Acceptance should include a Notice of Intent to Enroll Form for the parent or guardian to complete. You must deliver the Notice of Conditional Acceptance to each accepted applicant by December 21.
  • If by December 7 the eligible applications number more than the seats available, you must conduct a lottery for those grades or programs in which the number of applications exceeds the number of available seats. The results of the lottery will determine which students will be accepted as choice students for the following school year and which students will be placed on the waiting list.
• Enrollment Preference Policies (all policies must be adopted by the board and listed on the choice website):
  • Your district may adopt a policy to give preference to siblings of choice students already enrolled in your district
  • If a Choice student has completed the terminal grade of a choice district with which you have a send-receive agreement or a constituent relationship, you may give enrollment preference to the choice student from your sending district. If you decide to give enrollment preference to choice students from your sending district, you must develop an acceptance policy that is equitable and defensible.
  • Your district may also grant acceptance preference to resident students of a choice district who moved during the school year.

HOW THE LOTTERY WORKS:

• The parent or guardian of each child who has submitted an application must be informed of the date and time that the lottery will take place.
• Each participant in the lottery must be assigned a number reflecting the student's place on the list of accepted students or on the waiting list.
• Upon completion of the lottery, you must send the Notice of Conditional Acceptance to the parent or guardian of each student who has been accepted for enrollment into the district. You must also send a Notice of Intent to Enroll Form for the parent or guardian to complete. The Notice of Conditional Acceptance must be received by the parent or guardian by December 21.
• Upon completion of the lottery, you also must notify the parent or guardian of each student placed on the waiting list as a result of the lottery. This notice must include information about the student's position on the waiting list and must be received by the parent or guardian by December 21.

NOTE: This initial lottery only includes Tier 1 applicants. A separate lottery must be held for Tier 2 applicants if there are still open seats remaining after the Tier 1 application process is completed and if the number of Tier 2 applications exceeds the number of remaining seats.

What the parent/guardian is doing and when:

Once you have received all of the Notices of Intent to Enroll from your Tier 1 applicants, you must inform the Department of Education of your choice enrollment data to receive the correct amount of choice aid funding for your choice students. Submit the enrollment data to the Department of Education by January 14. 

The resident districts from which your new choice students will be coming must also be notified that the students will be participating in the choice program in your district. Send enrollment notification to each resident district by January 14.

As the resident district is responsible for the transportation of all eligible choice students, you must send the resident district Transportation Requests for those students. If the student is currently in the terminal grade of their resident district, the request for transportation is sent to the receiving school with which the resident district has a send/receive agreement because they will be responsible for the student's transportation. The requests must be received by March 15. 

THIS COMPLETES THE STUDENT APPLICATION PROCESS FOR TIER 1 STUDENTS.

If after exhausting the waiting list of Tier 1 applicants there are available seats remaining, you may begin to notify Tier 2 applicants of their acceptance, in the order assigned by the lottery (if one was held), until all available seats have been filled.

The Notice of Conditional Acceptance should include a Notice of Intent to Enroll Form for the parent or guardian to complete. The Notice of Conditional Acceptance must be delivered to the parent or guardian by January 25.

What the parent/guardian is doing and when:
Tier 2 students who have received a Notice of Conditional Acceptance and decided to enroll in your Choice district must complete the Notice of Intent to Enroll Form and return it to you by February 4.

If your district accepts Tier 2 students, once you have received all of the Notices of Intent to Enroll from your Tier 2 applicants, you must inform the Department of Education of your additional choice enrollments. Submit the enrollment data to the Department of Education by February 11. 

The resident districts from which your new choice students will be coming must also be notified that the students will be participating in the choice program in your district. Send enrollment notification to each resident district by February 11.

Since the resident district is responsible for the transportation of eligible choice students, you must send the resident district Transportation Requests for those students. If the student is currently in the terminal grade of their resident district, the request for transportation is sent to the receiving school with which the resident district has a send/receive agreement because they will be responsible for the student's transportation. The transportation requests must be received by March 15. 

THIS COMPLETES THE STUDENT APPLICATION PROCESS FOR TIER 2 STUDENTS.