Newark Board of Education is a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade in the city of Newark in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The state took over the district in 1995—the third takeover statewide—and returned control in 2018, after 22 years.Yi, Karen. "Newark finally gets control of schools -- What we learned about N.J.'s state takeovers", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, February 1, 2018, updated April 2, 2019. Accessed March 26, 2022. "Chris Cerf departed the district Thursday as the last state-appointed superintendent. The exit marks the end of 22 years of state rule: Control of Newark schools has finally returned to the city.... New Jersey was the first state to takeover a school district when it assumed authority of Jersey City schools in 1989. Paterson would follow in 1991; Newark in 1995. Camden schools were taken over in 2013."Strunsky, Steve. "22 years of state control over Newark schools: A Timeline", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, September 17, 2017, updated May 15, 2019. Accessed March 27, 2022. The district is one of 31 former Abbott districts statewide that were established pursuant to the decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court in Abbott v. BurkeWhat We Do: History, New Jersey Schools Development Authority. Accessed March 1, 2022. "In 1998, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled in the Abbott v. Burke case that the State must provide 100 percent funding for all school renovation and construction projects in special-needs school districts. According to the Court, aging, unsafe and overcrowded buildings prevented children from receiving the "thorough and efficient" education required under the New Jersey Constitution.... Full funding for approved projects was authorized for the 31 special-needs districts, known as 'Abbott Districts'." which are now referred to as "SDA Districts" based on the requirement for the state to cover all costs for school building and renovation projects in these districts under the supervision of the New Jersey Schools Development Authority.What We Do, New Jersey Schools Development Authority. Accessed March 1, 2022.SDA Districts, New Jersey Schools Development Authority. Accessed March 1, 2022.
As of the 2020–21 school year, the district, comprising 63 schools, had an enrollment of 40,423 students and 2,886.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 14.0:1.District information for Newark Public School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 15, 2022.
The total school enrollment in Newark city was 75,000 in 2003. Pre-primary school enrollment was 12,000 and elementary or high school enrollment was 46,000 children. College enrollment was 16,000. As of 2003, 64% of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 11% had a bachelor's degree or higher. Among people 16 to 19 years old, 10 percent were dropouts; they were not enrolled in school and had not graduated from high school.
History In 1948 schools were racially integrated. There were black teachers, all of whom classified by the district as "permanent substitutes", teaching all grade levels. - CITED: p. 86.
The district is one of three districts in New Jersey (along with Jersey City Public Schools and Paterson Public Schools) that has historically been under "state intervention", which authorizes the state Commissioner of Education to intervene in governance of a local public school district (and to intervene in the areas of instruction and program, operations, personnel, and fiscal management). Chris Cerf was the state appointed superintendent of Newark. Cerf said he would resign on February 1, 2018, the day local control was returned to the district.Yi, Karen. "Newark to pick own schools chief for first time in 22 years", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, December 26, 2017. Accessed December 27, 2017. "The state-appointed superintendent for Newark schools will step down in February, paving the way for the district to select its own leader for the first time in 22 years. Superintendent Christopher Cerf announced last week he would resign on Feb. 1 -- the same day the state's takeover of Newark schools will officially end."
Roger León, a life-long Newark resident and educator, was elected by the local school board to replace Cerf by a unanimous 9-0 vote and took office July 1, 2018.
In a referendum held as part of the November 2018 general election, voters chose by a 3-1 margin to have the district function as Type II district, in which the board of education is elected by the residents of the city.Yi, Karen. "We want to elect school board members, not have the mayor do it, voters say", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, November 7, 2018, updated January 29, 2019. Accessed April 7, 2020. "The state ended its takeover of the Newark and Paterson school districts this year, leaving residents to decide the key question of how they want their schools to be run: by an elected school board or one appointed by the mayor.... With 90 percent of precincts reporting in Newark, 75 percent of 19,600 voters selected a Type II, or elected school board, compared to 25 percent who voted for a Type I school board appointed by the mayor."Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the Newark Board of Education, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2023. Accessed April 2, 2024. "The District provides a full range of educational services appropriate to grade levels Pre-Kindergarten through 12. These include general, vocational, as well as special education services to students with disabilities and English language learners." See "Roster of Officials" on page 22.
The district had been classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "A", the lowest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J.District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 1, 2024.
Administration Core members of the district's administration are:Office of the Superintendent, Newark Public Schools. Accessed September 11, 2025.New Jersey School Directory for Essex County, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024. Roger León, district superintendent of schools Valerie Wilson, school business administrator
Board of education The district's board of education, comprised of nine members, sets policy and oversees the fiscal and educational operation of the district through its administration. As a Type II school district, the board's trustees are elected directly by voters to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with three seats up for election each year held as part of the April school election. The board appoints a superintendent to oversee the district's day-to-day operations and a business administrator to supervise the business functions of the district.New Jersey Boards of Education by District Election Types - 2018 School Election, New Jersey Department of Education, updated February 16, 2018. Accessed January 26, 2020. Of the nearly 600 school districts statewide, Newark is one of 12 districts with school elections in April, in which voters also decide on passage of the annual school budget.Sportelli, Albina. "Your guide to North Jersey spring school board elections", The Record, April 14, 2023. Accessed March 15, 2024. "Of New Jersey's almost 600 school districts, only 12 have elections in April, the rest have opted to hold theirs in November.... Schools that have kept elections in the spring, or switched back after moving them to November, are: Cliffside Park, Fairview, Passaic, Totowa, Fredon, Montague, Irvington, Newark, North Bergen, Weehawken, West New York and New Brunswick."
Members of the board of education are Hasani K. Council (President), Allison K. James-Frison (Co-Vice President), Vereliz Santana (Co-Vice President), Kanileah Anderson, David I. Daughety, Josephine C. Garcia, Louis Maisonave Jr., Melissa Reed and Helena VinhasBoard of Education, Newark Public Schools. Accessed September 11, 2025.
The Newark City Council voted in January 2024 to lower the minimum voting age in school board elections to 16, effective April 2024.Tully, Tracey. "In Newark, 16-Year-Olds Win the Right to Vote in School Board Races", The New York Times, January 10, 2024. Accessed September 11, 2025. "Residents as young as 16 have been granted the right to vote in school board elections in Newark, New Jersey’s largest city, beginning in April, after the City Council unanimously approved an ordinance Wednesday lowering the voting age. If implemented, the measure would make Newark the largest community in the United States to expand voting rights to younger residents since 1971, when the 26th Amendment lowered the voting age to 18 nationwide."
State intervention The district was one of three districts in New Jersey historically under "state intervention", which authorizes the commissioner of education to intervene in governance of a local public school district (and to intervene in the areas of instruction and program, operations, personnel, and fiscal management) if the commissioner has determined that a school district failed or was unable to take corrective actions necessary to establish a thorough and efficient system of education.
State intervention has been criticized as undemocratic and racist. Some also have suggested that children were significantly harmed during state control. State intervention in Newark has not produced significant gains after more than two decades of state control. When viewed through the lens of student growth percentiles, which is a contested measure of growth, NPS may be higher. However, NPS may have had equally high growth before state intervention, so no comparisons are possible.
Chris Cerf and others paid by the state of New Jersey have suggested state control has been good for Newark. However, no measures of the quality of NPS's broad offerings before, during, or after state intervention have been identified. No measures of progress are available for earth science, physics, biology, chemistry, health, citizenship, world history, US history, literature, sociology, anthropology, ethnic studies, New Jersey history, gender studies, media studies, Africana studies, economics, politics, astronomy, geology, philosophy, archaeology, or performing arts. No measures of students' physical wellbeing, social wellbeing, or emotional wellbeing are available before, during, or after state control. No measures of parental wellbeing have been identified.
Local control was returned as of February 1, 2018.
Performance The Newark Public Schools is the largest school system in New Jersey. The city's public schools had been among the lowest-performing in the state, even after the state government took over management of the city's schools from 1995-2018, which was done under the presumption that improvement would follow.