8 New Charter Schools Will Open in NJ

The Christie administration has approved applications for eight new charter schools to open in September.

Three of the new schools will be located in Camden and two are in Newark, reflecting the administration's policy of expanding education options in troubled districts. The other three charters will be in Vineland, Trenton and Jersey City.

Seventy-five charter schools are operating in the current school year.

The Education Department in its announcement on Friday evening says 17 of 42 charter school applications advanced to the second stage of the approval process.

Charter school operators who made it past the third round survived an intensive in-person interview where they were asked about the academic and operational components of the proposed school. The review team also looked at the proposed charter's financial plan and budget.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)