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Schools

Online Charter School Hopes to Escape from Limbo

State delays go-ahead amid questions about legality, viability of virtual classrooms for kids.

The nation’s largest online education company, K12 Inc., is once again registering kids and offering jobs to teachers for the debut of New Jersey’s first virtual charter school – all without knowing if the school will even open.

The New Jersey Virtual Academy Charter School was one of two applications given preliminary approval by the state Department of Education two years ago. But it was forced into a delay last summer, when state Education Commissioner Chris Cerf wouldn’t grant the final charter amid ongoing questions – legal and otherwise – about the school’s merits and viability.

Almost a year later, answers to those questions remain hotly debated, including in the courts, and K12 Inc. is taking a wait-and-see approach to what Cerf will do this time while the company presses its case in the Legislature and elsewhere. The deadline for a decision by the state is July 15, and a visit is set for next month from department staff.

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A department spokeswoman Monday said that a decision has yet to be made about this or any other virtual school proposals.

“We’re still waiting for a decision,” said Lorna Bryant, interim director of the planned school. “In the meantime, we are doing everything we can to prepare for the visit in June.”

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