Interdistrict Public School Choice Program

The Interdistrict Public School Choice Program is a program designed to expand educational choices for New Jersey students by providing them with the option of attending a school district outside their district of residence without cost to their parents and paid for by the state of New Jersey. Districts must apply to participate and must designate open seats by grade where they will accept non-resident students. Each year the New Jersey Department of Education selects the choice districts from those districts that have submitted an application. For 2014-15 there will be 136 participating districts.

As the program has grown in enrollment, so have its costs. What was a $9.8 million expense in 2010-11 grew into a $49 million expense by 2013-14. In the fall of 2013, facing a tight state budget, the Christie Administration capped enrollment growth at 5% for the next year. Advocates for Interdistrict Choice objected, with Mila Jasey calling the cap "ill-advised and short-sighted," but the cap has been allowed to stay in place.^[1]