NJ’s School-Choice Program Might Be Too Popular for Its Own Good

With a new wave of applications due next week, New Jersey’s interdistrict school-choice program continues to grow in popularity – maybe too much.

The state has added another 27 districts that will be permitted to accept students from other communities next year, bringing the total to 136 districts overall or roughly a quarter of all districts statewide.

This year, nearly 5,000 students were taking advantage of the program, a huge expansion from the tiny pilot program that existed in the state for much of the last decade.

The number of students attending school in other districts is sure to grow, with student applications to attend choice districts next year due on Monday.

At the same time, the program has also gotten expensive, and the Christie administration for the first time is trying to rein in enrollment – or at least the enrollment it will pay for.

As an incentive for districts to join, the state has paid upfront the per-pupil costs for students enrolled in the program, more than $10,000 for each child this year. That amounts to close to $50 million in the state budget this year.