4. a. 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. A charter school may also be established by 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. If the charter school is established by a private entity, representatives of the private entity shall not constitute a majority of the trustees of the school, and the charter shall specify the extent to which the private entity shall be involved in the operation of the school. The name of the charter school shall not include the name or identification of the private entity, and the private entity shall not realize a net profit from its operation of a charter school.
b. A currently existing public school is eligible to become a charter school if the following criteria are met:
(1) At least 51 percent of the teaching staff in the school shall have signed a petition in support of the school becoming a charter school; and
(2) At least 51 percent of the parents or guardians of pupils attending that public school shall have signed a petition in support of the school becoming a charter school.
c. An application to establish a charter school shall be submitted to the commissioner and the local board of education or State district superintendent, in the case of a school district under full State intervention, in the school year preceding the school year in which the charter school will be established. Notice of the filing of the application shall be sent immediately by the commissioner to: the members of the State Legislature; school superintendents; and mayors and governing bodies of all legislative districts, school districts, or municipalities in which there are students who will be eligible for enrollment in the charter school. The commissioner shall post the notice of the filing, along with instructions and a link for the public to submit comments concerning the application, on the department’s Internet website where the notice shall remain until the commissioner makes a final decision on the application. Any other agency or governing body that receives notice of the filing pursuant to this subsection may post the notice on the agency’s or governing body’s Internet website.
The commissioner shall cause notice of the filing to be published in the county or counties where the charter school is to be located on three occasions. The notices shall be published in accordance with R.S.35:1-2.2 or any other requirements for issuing or publishing a public notice.
Each notice provided to the public, a school district, and a municipality pursuant to this section shall include instructions for the public to submit comments on the application to the commissioner within 30 days of the date of the first notice.
The board of education or State district superintendent shall review the application and forward a recommendation to the commissioner within 60 days of receipt of the application. The commissioner shall have final authority to grant or reject a charter application.
d. The local board of education or a charter school applicant may appeal the decision of the commissioner to the Appellate Division of the Superior Court.
e. A charter school established during the 48 months following the effective date of P.L.1995, c.426 (C.18A:36A-1 et seq.), other than a currently existing public school which becomes a charter school pursuant to the provisions of subsection b. of this section, shall not have an enrollment in excess of 500 students or greater than 25 percent of the student body of the school district in which the charter school is established, whichever is less.
Any two charter schools within the same public school district or within contiguous public school districts that demonstrate a need to consolidate may petition the commissioner to amend their charters and consolidate into one school pursuant to a process that shall be determined by the commissioner.