Bill Lets Ailing N.J. Parochial Schools Turn into Charter Schools

Some New Jersey parochial schools facing closure because of declining enrollment may be allowed to convert into a public charter school, under a bill that passed the Senate yesterday.

The schools could not teach religion or display religious symbols, and if their name has a religious reference, it would have to be changed, according to the bill. The state would oversee the schools.

One of numerous charter school bills proposed by the Legislature, a bill allowing nonpublic schools in failing school districts to convert to charters won passage in the full Senate yesterday. An identical bill was approved earlier by the Assembly.