Student Application Process for Resident Districts

Student Application Process in Detail for Resident 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 to kindergarten, the Tier 2 student does not 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 you as their resident district. 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 the choice district determine if the student is a Tier 1 or Tier 2 applicant. The form includes a blank Confirmation of Student Enrollment/Eligibility that you must complete and return to the parent/guardian so it can be attached to the student application.

In the case where a student is currently in the terminal grade level of his/her resident district, the Notice of Intent to Participate needs to be submitted to the school/district that the student's is currently attending. The receiving school district that the student would attend (according to the district's send-receive agreement or constituent relationship) only needs to be informed of transportation requests since they will be responsible for the student's transportation,.

If a resident student currently attends a charter school within your 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.

You are required to complete and return the Confirmation of Student Enrollment/Eligibility to the parent/guardian by 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 your district and will help the choice district determine whether the student is eligible as a Tier 1 or Tier 2 applicant.

• If he/she was counted in your district's October 2012 Application for State School Aid, the student is considered Tier 1, assuming he/she continues to be enrolled in your district. If he/she was counted in your district's ASSA but no longer attends your school district, please note this on the form. If a student moved to your district after the October ASSA and previously had been attending a public school in another district, he/she is still considered a Tier 1 applicant.
• If the student is not currently enrolled in your school district (because, for example, he/she attends a private school, a charter school, a choice school, or is homeschooled), you still must complete the confirmation form and return it to the parent/guardian, noting that the student is a resident but is not enrolled in your school district.

**NOTE: Unless your district has a board resolution approved by the Commissioner to limit the number of your students that may participate in the choice program, you may not prohibit students from applying to the choice program.  

NOTE: Please provide a dated receipt for the delivery of the Notice of Intent to Participate Form. If you fail to return the signed Confirmation of Student Enrollment/Eligibility to the parent/guardian, the application should be submitted with the dated delivery receipt.

Transportation

The resident district is responsible for the transportation of all eligible choice students. For transportation information, visit the Choice School Transportation Procedures. Choice districts must send you Transportation Requests for all of the students that will be requiring transportation from your district.

If the student is currently in the terminal grade of your district, the request for transportation should be sent to the receiving school with which you have a send/receive agreement as they will be responsible for the student's transportation. The requests must be received by March 15.  Read the transportation procedures for next steps.

THIS COMPLETES THE PROCESS FOR RESIDENT DISTRICTS.
TO LEARN ABOUT THE PROCESSES FOR PARENTS AND CHOICE DISTRICTS, CONTINUE READING.

What the parent/guardian is doing and when:

The parent/guardian next submits the Student Application for Enrollment in a Choice District. The choice district is responsible for providing its own application form and posting it on its school choice webpage. If it has adopted policies for enrollment preference, the application must offer the parent/guardian an opportunity to identify any circumstances that would make them eligible. The parent/guardian must attach a copy of the Confirmation of Student Enrollment/Eligibility that you sent to them (or a dated receipt for the delivery of the Notice of Intent to Participate Form to your district). 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.

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 7 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 by December 21. The Notice of Conditional Acceptance should include a Notice of Intent to EnrollForm for the parent or guardian to complete.
  • If by December 7 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 listed on the choice website):
  • 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 of a choice district that has a send-receive agreement or a constituent relationship with another choice district , the receiving choice district may give enrollment preference to the choice student.

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 the Notice of Conditional Acceptance to the parent or guardian of each student who has been accepted for enrollment into the district. The choice district 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, 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.

What the parent/guardian is doing and when:

Tier 1 students who have received a Notice of Conditional Acceptance and have decided to enroll in the choice district must complete the Notice of Intent to Enroll Form and return it to the choice district by January 4, 2013.

What the choice district is doing and when:

The choice districts who will be enrolling students must notify the resident districts of the names of the students that intend to enroll as choice students. A copy of the Notice of Intent to Enroll must be sent to the resident district and received by January 14.

What the choice district is doing and when:

Resident districts are responsible for the transportation of all eligible choice students. For transportation information, visit the Choice School Transportation Procedures. Choice districts must send you Transportation Requests for all of the students that will be requiring transportation from your district. If the student is currently in the terminal grade of your district, the request for transportation should be sent to the receiving school with which you have 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.

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 districts 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 the choice district must complete the Notice of Intent to Enroll Form and return it to the choice district by February 4.

What the choice district is doing and when:

If the choice district accepts Tier 2 students, you must also be notified that those students will be participating in the choice program. Enrollment notification for Tier 2 students must be received by February 11.

What the choice district is doing and when:

Choice districts must also send you Transportation Requests for all of the Tier 2 students that will be requiring transportation from your district. If the student is currently in the terminal grade of your district, the request for transportation is sent to the receiving school with which you have 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.