TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey's Education Department has decided to close two charter schools after the current school year and is still considering the fate of a third.

The Education Department announced Thursday evening that it has renewed the charters for 13 of the schools, which are publicly funded but operate outside the regular school system. A handful of schools were denied permission to expand, though.

The state told Jersey's City's Liberty Academy and Winslow's Institute for Excellence that they will not have their charters renewed. A decision is still pending for Camden's Freedom Academy.

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