N.J. Admin. Code § 6A:11-1.2
The following words and terms, as used in this chapter, shall have the following meaning, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
"Administrator" means an employee of a charter school who:
"Annual review" means the yearly assessment by the Commissioner as to whether the charter school is meeting the goals of its charter.
"Application" means the New Jersey Charter School Application, which includes, but is not limited to, a description of the areas listed in 18A:36A-5 and 6A:11-2.1(b).
"Approval" means an endorsement by the Commissioner following the review of an eligible application by the Department and contingent upon the receipt of necessary documentation in accordance with 6A:11-2.1(f).
"Board of trustees" means the public agents authorized by the State Board of Education to supervise and control a charter school.
"Certification" means the endorsement of a person who is employed by a district board of education or a charter school board of trustees to perform duties that are regulated by N.J.A.C. 6A:9 and 6A:23A-22, and 18A:26-2.
"Charter agreement" means a written agreement between a charter school and the Commissioner that sets forth criteria the charter school shall be expected to satisfy, including, but not limited to, measureable performance goals and indicators in the charter school's Performance Framework.
"Charter school" means a public school operated under a charter granted by the Commissioner that is independent of the district board of education and managed by a board of trustees.
"Construction" means the building of a wholly new school facility.
"Contiguous district boards of education" means school districts that comprise a region of residence that all share a common border.
"Demonstrable experience" means a record of success in engendering student growth and improving the academic performance of at-risk, English language learner, and special education students; and evidence of financial stability.
"District of residence" means the school district in which a charter school facility is physically located; if a charter school is approved with a region of residence comprised of contiguous school districts, that region is the charter school's district of residence.
"Educator evaluation system" means a system by which a charter school measures the effectiveness of an educator through a measurement of student learning growth and educator practice.
"Eligible applicant" means teaching staff members from anywhere in the State, parents of children attending the schools of the district of residence, a combination of teaching staff members and parents, or an institution of higher education or a private entity located within the State in conjunction with teaching staff members and parents of children attending the schools of the district of residence.
"Expansion" means an addition to an existing school facility characterized by an increase in the school facility's gross square footage.
"Expedited action" means to allow an applicant to apply early and receive an early decision regarding the status of the application for a charter. It also permits an approved applicant to open a charter school on an expedited timeline. The application must be submitted by October 15 to receive a decision in advance of the standard schedule and no later than February 15.
"Expedited renewal" means the granting on an accelerated basis of a charter's continuation for a five-year period by the Commissioner, which is reserved for high-performing charter schools with no major fiscal or compliance issues that meet the standards set forth in N.J.A.C. 6A:11-2.3.
"Failing school district" means a school district identified by the Department as a "district in need of improvement" in the 2010-2011 school year pursuant to the provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Pub. L. 107-110, as identified in the chapter Appendix, incorporated herein by reference, or that has been identified as a "Priority" or "Focus" school (see 6A:33-1.2 ).
"Final granting of a charter" means the written notification in which the Commissioner makes the charter effective as a result of all required documentation being submitted by the charter school and approved by the Department in accordance with 6A:11-2.1(f), (h), and (i).
"GAAP" means the generally accepted accounting principles established by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board as prescribed by the State Board of Education pursuant to 18A:4-14 and 6A:23A-16.1.
"High-performing charter school" means a charter school that earns a Tier Rank 1, which is the highest possible rank, based on the metrics set forth in the Academic Performance Framework.
"High-performing nonpublic school" means a nonpublic school that ranked in the 66th percentile or higher on a norm-referenced achievement test in the school year prior to the school year in which a conversion application is submitted pursuant to 6A:11-2.7.
"In-depth interview" means the performance assessment of the founders of a charter school during the application and approval process for a charter.
"Initial recruitment period" means the period during which there are the first outreach efforts by a charter school to a cross section of the community for the application, random selection process (if applicable) and enrollment of students for the next school year.
"Lead person" means the person who performs the organizational tasks necessary for the operation of a charter school. Where a group of individuals shares the organizational tasks, the person designated as responsible for completion of the tasks required by the rules is the lead person.
"Monitoring" means an on-site review at a charter school to corroborate and augment the annual reports and to verify compliance with statutes, regulations and the terms of the charter.
"Nonpublic conversion charter school" means a charter school that has been authorized pursuant to 18A:36A-4.1.
"Non-resident district" means a school district outside the district of residence of the charter school.
"Non-resident student" means a student from a non-resident district attending a charter school.
"Norm-referenced achievement test" means any assessment that compares test takers' results to an average to distinguish between high and low performances. Examples include: the California Achievement Test (CAT), Metropolitan Achievement Test (MAT), Stanford Achievement Test (SAT), or the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS) or one of the tests within the CTBS.
"Performance Framework" means the accountability system that shall be used by the Department to evaluate the academic, financial, and organizational performance of each charter school. The Performance Framework shall be shared with all charter schools and posted on the Department's website. The academic component includes, but is not limited to, measures of: student growth; student achievement; high school graduation rate; leading indicators of school success, such as attendance; and all State and Federal accountability requirements. Measures of student growth, student achievement, graduation rate, and leading indicators are evaluated relative to: Statewide results, primary sending district results, and results of similar schools. Additionally, each charter school will be responsible for unique mission-specific goals included in their charter agreement. Criteria for the organizational component consist of, but are not limited to, compliance with statutory requirements in N.J.S.A. 18A:36A-1 et seq., and all applicable statutes in Title 18A, and regulatory requirements that ensure equitable access, pursuant to N.J.A.C. 6A:7, Managing for Equality and Equity in Education ; and safe and secure learning environments, pursuant to N.J.A.C. 6A:16, Programs to Support Student Services. Criteria for the financial component include, but are not limited to: the generally accepted accounting principles set forth in N.J.A.C. 6A:23A, Fiscal Accountability, Efficiency and Budgeting Procedures, and indicators of near- and long-term viability.
"Planning year" means a one-year period between a charter school's application approval and the final granting of its charter to prepare for the charter school's opening.
"Preparedness visit" means the on-site inspection by Department personnel that gauges readiness for school opening. The preparedness visit shall include a review of program, facility, and fiscal documentation and interviews with board of trustee members and staff members of the proposed charter school to assess organizational leadership and capacity.
"Qualified applicant" means an applicant determined by the Department to have submitted an application in the first phase of the application process that met the charter school application quality standards as set forth at 6A:11-2.1(b)3 ii.
"Qualified founder" means an individual who can establish a charter school pursuant to 18A:36A-4. A charter school may be established by teaching staff members, parents with children attending the schools of the district, or a combination of teaching staff members and parents.
"Region of residence" means contiguous school districts in which a charter school operates and is the charter school's district of residence.
"Rehabilitation" means as defined in N.J.A.C. 6A:26-1.2.
"Renewal" means the granting of the continuation of a charter for a five-year period by the Commissioner following a comprehensive review conducted by the Commissioner.
"Resident student" means a student who resides in the area served by the district board of education that is the same as the district of residence of the charter school.
"Revocation" means the withdrawal of a charter by the Commissioner from a charter school's board of trustees.
"Satellite campus" means a school facility operated by a charter school that is in addition to the facility identified in the charter school application or charter, if subsequently amended.
"School closure protocols" means procedures set forth at 6A:11-2.4(c) for the revocation, non-renewal, or surrender of a charter.
"School Ethics Act" means the statute 18A:12-21 et seq. designed to set standards to guide the conduct of school officials and ensure maintenance of those standards to ensure and preserve public confidence in the integrity of elected and appointed school board members and school administrators.
"School official" means a member of the board of trustees or an administrator of a charter school.
"School year" means July 1 to June 30 of any given academic year.
"Streamline tenure" means the tenure process for all charter school teaching staff members, janitors, and secretaries who are either newly employed in a charter school or employed in a charter school while on leave from a district board of education.
"Structured interview" means the performance assessment of the accomplishments of a charter school for renewal of the charter.
"Waiting list" means the document identifying the names of grade-eligible students with applications to a charter school pending acceptance for the subsequent school year, based upon the order of random selection from a lottery following a recruitment period.
"Weighted lottery" means a random selection process that provides additional weight or increased chances to individual students who are identified as part of a specified set of educationally disadvantaged students but does not reserve or set aside seats for individual students or sets of students.
N.J. Admin. Code § 6A:11-1.2