This only applies to schools that are not at capacity. Are there a lot of schools in better districts that are not at capacity?

I think this bill is complete BS. If you want your children to go to school in a better district, then you should move to that district. It would just be a suck on another town's resources, totally unfair. And how about working to improve the schools in your district, instead of making other towns responsible for your kids?

I guess this means that some motivated students will be able to get a better education and extract themselves from the harmful / inadequate schools they were stuck in. What a concept!

I guess there will be an increase of students using personal or public transportation like never before which only means more traffic for us to contend with.

http://www.nj.com/news/local/index.ss ... schools_want_parents.html

www.state.nj.us/education/finance/transportation/faq.htm

It will be interesting to see what happens to the students that are already illegaly attending out of their disticts. It is similar to when Jersey City wanted to make illegal apartments legal. This is probably why Christie signed this bill. The population overload is spilling into other neighboring towns along with all of these apartment buildings being built in Hudson county. I guess New Jersey is a state without borders. The above links have articles addressing busing, and school crossing guards.

I guess Bayonne will have an influx of Jersey City students.

Gov. Christie signs bill allowing N.J. residents to send children to public schools in other towns

Tuesday, September 14, 2010, 6:08 PM
Jessica Calefati/The Star-Ledger

TRENTON ? Parents dissatisfied with the quality of their local public schools can now send their children to classrooms beyond district boundaries ? in some cases at taxpayer expense.

Sponsored by Assembly Democrats Mila Jasey, Joan Voss and Paul Moriarty, a new law allows up to 10 percent of a district?s students to attend any other public school in the state whose enrollment is not at capacity. If more than 10 percent of a district?s students seek enrollment in new schools, it?s unclear what criteria that district would use to select which students are allowed to leave.

The bill also requires home districts to provide and pay for students? transportation to new schools up to 20 miles away, a significant financial responsibility the bill?s sponsors did not negate.

"No doubt, some students who find themselves stifled at their current school would prosper in a neighboring school district," said Voss (D-Bergen). "But we also need to be fair and mindful of the necessity to balance the needs of students with costs ultimately borne by taxpayers."
Gov. Chris Christie signed the bill (A-355) into law Friday evening.

Though it?s unclear how many students and districts will participate in the program, it could become a costly burden for districts still stinging from the $820 million cut to education spending made by Christie this spring.

The governor?s office could not be reached for comment on the new law.

Executive Director of the Garden State Schools Coalition Lynne Strickland said she supports inter-district public school choice, but the cost of transportation would concern her if a large number of students opt into the program.

She added the number of participating students could be less than some anticipate.

"It?s a big move for families to make, to send their child away from their neighborhood," Strickland said, "There will likely be hotspots where the program is utilized more."
The New Jersey Education Association and the New Jersey School Boards Association also supported the new law. But spokesmen for both organizations said they do not support a similar bill proposing vouchers for public school students to attend private schools.

"We draw the line at public funds going to non-public schools," said School Boards Association spokesman Frank Belluscio.

Schools seeking students from other districts will apply to Acting Commissioner of Education Rochelle Hendricks, detailing services they offer and the fiscal impact of being a choice district.

It?s unclear who would bear the cost if a student sought admission to a school more than 20 miles from his or her home district.

Students wishing to transfer to approved districts with available space will also have to apply to do so. Though schools cannot discriminate against student applicants, schools in high demand will hold lotteries to determine which students to accept.

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PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

? N.J. Senate approves interdistrict school choice program
? Gov. Christie to review proposed changes to N.J. school-choice bill
? N.J. school choice bill is expected to change in effort to gain legislative approval
? N.J. Senate committee approves school voucher bill during raucous hearing
? N.J. bill allowing students to attend out-of-district schools advances