The head of a board that doles out state charter-school licenses says Gov. Kathy Hochul and the legislature should lift the cap on the number of city charters next year so Big Apple students can succeed.
The charter licenses approved by lawmakers last year have already been doled out, which means no more of the schools can be approved in the Big Apple because of the cap.
“We should focus more on kids — not politics,” said Joseph Belluck, chairman of the State University of New York committee that reviews and licenses charter schools.
“Lifting the cap will help us provide more slots to kids who need it,” said Belluck, whose group, along with the state Education Department, distributes the licenses.
There are currently 282 charter schools serving nearly 150,000 students in the city. The charters make up about 15% of publicly funded Big Apple schools.
The alternative, privately managed, publicly funded schools are popular with parents for their rigor but fiercely opposed by the teachers’ union and traditional public-school educators, who say the charters provide unwanted competition, draining them of students.
Most charter schools have a longer school day and school year than traditional public schools, and studies show their students outperform their peers on standardized math and English exams.
The overwhelming majority of charter schools are also non-union, a point of contention in Big Labor New York.
“The cap should not only be lifted, but there should be no cap on opportunity,” insisted Eva Moskowitz, founder and CEO of Success Academy, which runs 56 charter schools, the largest charter network in the country.
“All parents deserve a choice about where their kids go to school,” Moskowitz said.
Lester Long, founder and CEO of the Classical Charter Schools Network, said, “New York City needs great schools so more students can get a great education.”
“Lifting the charter school cap is one prong in improving education in the city,” Long said.
A New York school-choice and education-reform group also said it’s time for Albany to do what it considers best for parents and kids.
“It’s long past time to treat students in charters fairly: they deserve equitable funding and access to rental assistance for their buildings” said Crystal McQueen-Taylor, executive director of StudentsFirstNY.
“The artificial cap on great schools has also passed its expiration date. Parents and advocates will continue to fight for what our children deserve,” the charter proponent said.
There is a cap of 460 charter schools statewide. But there is a subcap within that cap for New York City that restricts the opening of more charters.
Under the law, there are 84 charters left to be issued outside of the city, where there is less demand. If Albany just eliminated the regional cap, New York City would have access to those 84 charters, proponents say.
In 2023, Hochul proposed lifting the cap in the five boroughs but was rebuffed by resistant lawmakers. The compromise was to allow the reissuance of 14 so-called “zombie” licenses from shuttered schools.
Lawmakers on Sunday claimed there is no public appetite to lift the charter-school cap in the city.
“The charter cap was codified in order to strike the balance between offering some school choice and fulfilling the mandate to keep public schools open, and that balance is needed now more than ever,” said state Sen. John Liu (D-Queens), chairman of the panel on New York City Schools.
“It would be nonsensical to lift a statutory limit simply because it’s been reached,” he said.
State Assembly Education Committee Chairman Michael Benedetto (D-Bronx) said, “My chamber has always been resistant to charter schools. I don’t see a change happening right now.”
Hochul’s office said the governor will lay out her education agenda when she submits her executive budget plan early next year.
“Governor Hochul has made record investments in education, increasing school aid by $6.5 billion since taking office, and she will continue working with the Legislature to deliver high quality educational opportunities to New York students. The Governor will unveil her FY26 Budget this winter during the 2025 Legislative session,” a spokesperson for the governor said.