TRENTON, N.J. – The New Jersey Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee has advanced Senate Bill 3614 with amendments, clarifying which school districts are responsible for making per-pupil payments when students attend a renaissance school project under the state’s Urban Hope Act.
The legislation addresses an ambiguity in current law by specifying that the school district where a renaissance school project is located pays the required per-pupil amount only for students who live within that district. Students who live outside the district but enroll through the Urban Hope Act’s lottery process would instead have their home school district make the payment to the nonprofit entity operating the renaissance school.
Bill clarifies payment responsibilities
Under existing law, the host school district is required to make a per-pupil payment to the nonprofit partner operating a renaissance school project. The statute, however, does not explicitly state whether that requirement applies to every enrolled student or only those who reside within the district.
Senate Bill 3614 clarifies that responsibility. For students residing outside the renaissance school district who enroll through the Urban Hope Act’s lottery provisions, the district of residence would be responsible for making the per-pupil payment.
The bill also directs the New Jersey Department of Education to include renaissance school projects in the state’s Charter School Enrollment System to calculate and reconcile payments between school districts and renaissance schools.
In addition, the department would use its existing charter school procedures for resolving residency and payment disputes involving renaissance school projects.
Committee amendments narrow the provision
The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee adopted amendments clarifying that the payment requirement for nonresident districts applies only to students admitted through the Urban Hope Act’s lottery enrollment process.
The amendments also make technical revisions to the bill’s organization and statutory references.
According to the committee statement, as amended, Senate Bill 3614 is identical to Assembly Bill 4678 (1R), which was also reported by the committee the same day.
Fiscal impact
The Office of Legislative Services concluded the measure would increase costs for certain school districts that send students to renaissance school projects located in the Camden City School District.
Because the OLS does not have student-level residency data, it could not identify every affected district. However, it estimated that the combined additional cost to those non-renaissance school districts could total up to $600,000 each year.
The fiscal analysis also notes that, according to the most recent Renaissance School Project Annual Reports, renaissance school projects currently do not receive tuition payments for students who live outside Camden City. If enacted, the bill would generate additional revenue for those schools by requiring qualifying students’ home districts to make the per-pupil payments.
