Student Application Process for Parents and Students

Student Application Process in Detail for Parents and Guardians

Before you begin the application process, you need to determine if your student is eligible as a Tier 1 or Tier 2 student:

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 not satisfy the requirements for Tier 1 above. NOTE: not all choice districts accept applications from Tier 2 students. Contact the desired choice districts to find out if they will accept applications from Tier 2 students. 

Note: Choice districts may grant preference to 1. students with siblings in the district, 2. students from send-receive or limited purpose regional districts, or 3. resident students of the choice district who moved during the school year, as stated in the districts' choice acceptance policies.

• STEP 1: Complete the Notice of Intent to Participate and send it to your resident district
• STEP 2: Complete the Student Application and send it to your choice district
• STEP 3: Complete the Notice of Intent to Enroll and send it to your choice district (See different processes for Tier 1 and Tier 2 below)

To begin the student application process, you must first complete a Notice of Intent to Participate Form and deliver the form to your resident district. This form serves as a notification to your resident district of your intention to attend a choice school district for the 2013-2014 school year. The form includes a blank Confirmation of Student Enrollment/Eligibility that the resident district should complete and return to you and that you will attach to your student application.

If the 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 you obtain and keep a signed and dated receipt for the delivery of the Notice of Intent to Participate Form.

What your resident district is doing and when:

The student's resident district is required to send you the Confirmation of Student Enrollment/Eligibility prior to 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 the choice district determine whether the student is eligible as a Tier 1 or Tier 2 applicant.  

NOTE: If the resident district fails to return the signed Confirmation of Student Enrollment/Eligibility to you, submit your application without it and include the dated receipt for the delivery of the Notice of Intent to Participate Form.

Obtain the Student Application for Enrollment in a Choice District. The applications are individualized by each district so contact the choice district directly to obtain their application. Complete the application and attach a copy of the Confirmation of Student Enrollment/Eligibility from the resident district or the dated receipt for the delivery of the Notice of Intent to Participate Form. The application must be received by the choice district by December 3. 

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

What the choice district is doing and when:

The choice district 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), the district 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 the choice district accepts 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 3 the Tier 1 applications number no more than the seats available, the choice district must send a Notice of Conditional Acceptance to each eligible applicant. The Notice of Conditional Acceptance should include a Notice of Intent to EnrollForm for the parent or guardian to complete. The choice district must deliver the Notice of Conditional Acceptance to you by December 21.
  • If by December 3 the eligible applications number more than the seats available, the Choice District 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 provided to families):
  • Your district may also grant acceptance preference to resident students of a choice district who moved during the school year.
  • Choice districts may adopt a policy to give preference to siblings of choice students already enrolled in the choice district
  • If a choice student has completed the terminal grade in a choice district that has a send-receive agreement or a constituent relationship, the receiving choice school district may give enrollment preference to the choice student from their sending district. The choice district must develop an acceptance policy that is equitable and defensible.

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, the choice district must send to the parent or guardian of each student who has been accepted for enrollment into the district: the Notice of Conditional Acceptance and a Notice of Intent to Enroll Form. These must be received by the parent or guardian by December 21.
• Upon completion of the lottery, the choice district 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.

If your Tier 1 student has received a Notice of Conditional Acceptance and you decide to enroll the student in the choice district, you must complete the Notice of Intent to Enroll Form and return it to the choice district by January 4, 2013.

NOTE: When making your decision, please be aware that transportation may not be provided for your student. Depending on the circumstances, the resident district may provide aid in lieu of transportation. (Visit the transportation procedures for more information.)

If you decide not to enroll your student, you should inform the choice district as a courtesy as there may be students on the waiting list.

THIS COMPLETES THE STUDENT APPLICATION PROCESS FOR TIER 1 STUDENTS.

What the choice district is doing and when:

If after exhausting the waiting list of Tier 1 applicants there are available seats remaining, the choice district 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 choice district must deliver the Notice of Conditional Acceptance to you by January 25.

If your Tier 2 student has received a Notice of Conditional Acceptance and you decide to enroll the student in that choice district, you must complete the Notice of Intent to Enroll Form and return it to the choice district by February 4.

NOTE: When making your decision, please be aware that transportation may not be provided for your student. Depending on the circumstances, the resident district may provide aid in lieu of transportation. (Visit the transportation procedures for more information.)

All choice students must be registered with their resident district at the time of enrollment in the choice district. If your student is not registered, please register him/her by February 11, 2013. Contact your resident district for registration instructions.

If you decide not to enroll the student, you should inform the choice district as a courtesy as there may be students on the waiting list.

THIS COMPLETES THE STUDENT APPLICATION PROCESS FOR TIER 2 STUDENTS.