More Charter Schools Needed?

Joseph Belluck, the chairman of the State University of New York committee that reviews and licenses charter schools, has a message for Governor Kathy Hochul and the legislature. He wants them to lift the cap on the number of city charters next year. Why? Because there are currently no more licenses for new charters in New York City. There are 282 charter schools in the city, serving almost 150, 000 students. That's about 15% of all publicly funded schools. These schools are popular with parents for their rigorous programs, but they face opposition from teachers' unions. Charter schools often have longer school days and years and show better results on standardized tests. Eva Moskowitz, the founder of Success Academy, which runs 56 charter schools, agrees. She thinks there should be no cap on opportunity. Lester Long, from the Classical Charter Schools Network, also believes lifting the cap is important for improving education in the city. Crystal McQueen-Taylor, from StudentsFirstNY, thinks it's time for Albany to treat students in charters fairly. She wants equitable funding and access to rental assistance for their buildings. The cap on charter schools in New York City is seen by some as outdated. There's a statewide cap of 460 charter schools. Within that, there's a subcap for New York City. If the regional cap is eliminated, the city could access the remaining 84 charters. Last year, Hochul proposed lifting the cap but faced resistance from lawmakers. State Senator John Liu thinks the cap is needed to balance school choice and keep public schools open. Assembly Education Committee Chairman Michael Benedetto is also resistant to more charter schools. Hochul's office says the governor will outline her education agenda in the executive budget plan.