On July 16, 2012, the New Jersey Department of Education approved 9 charter schools to open in September, bringing the total number of charter schools in New Jersey to 86. In addition, the Department continues to improve oversight and accountability for charter schools by instituting new Performance Frameworks that will set clear expectations for charter school performance and will serve as the basis for school evaluation, monitoring, and intervention. Another 13 schools were granted a planning year during which those schools will continue to develop the academic and operational components of the school, which are crucial to ensuring that it will be successful when it opens the following year. Another 10 schools were not granted a planning year and will not receive a final charter because they failed to demonstrate sufficient progress towards readiness.
The list of schools and their final status is as follows:
| Charter Schools Granted Final Approval | |
| Name | District |
| City Invincible Charter School | Camden |
| Knowledge A to Z Charter School | Camden |
| Thomas Edison Energy Charter School | Franklin Township |
| Beloved Charter School | Jersey City |
| Merit Preparatory of Newark Charter School | Newark |
| Newark Prep | Newark |
| Paulo Freire Charter School | Newark |
| 100 Legacy | Newark Irvington |
| Benjamin Banneker | Willingboro |
| Charter Schools Granted a Planning Year | |
| Name | District |
| Atlantic City Community Charter School | Atlantic City |
| Charter School for Global Leadership | Camden |
| Camden Community Charter School | Camden |
| Hope Community Charter School | Camden City |
| Excellence Charter School | Camden City |
| New Jersey Virtual Charter School | Camden Perth Amboy Neptune Paterson |
| Arete Charter School | East Orang Orange |
| Jersey City Global Charter School | Jersey City |
| Forest Hill Charter School | Newark |
| NJ Virtual Academy Charter School | Newark |
| Trenton Scholars Charter School | Trenton |
| Merit Prepartory of Trenton Charter School | Trenton City |
| Compass Academy Charter School | Vineland |
| Charter Schools Denied Final Approval | |
| Name | District |
| Regis Academy Charter School | Cherry Hill |
| DREAM Prep Academy | Jersey City |
| Promise CS for Excellence | Linden |
| Lillie Mae Jenkins Charter School | Newark |
| New Day Charter HS | Newark |
| Spirit Prep | Newark |
| Bright Horizons | Penns Grove |
| Princeton International Academy Charter School | S. Brunswick |
| Shalom Academy Charter School | Teaneck |
| Willingboro Academy Charter School | Willingboro |
