New York’s “Cap” on Charter Schools
Charter schools in New York State are approaching the legal “cap” on charter schools that limits the number of charters authorized statewide to 200. (Converted public schools don’t count against this cap, but closed charter schools do.) By February 2010 there are likely to be only 18 charters remaining in the entire state—with an estimated 40 active planning teams hoping to use them.
Because planning a new charter school takes a huge investment of time, energy, and money over a 12-24 month period, prospective charter school founders are being deterred today. Why should they plan for New York if they might not have a chance to receive a charter? With parents clamoring for scarce charter school seats and successful school networks opting to create charter schools elsewhere, it’s time to lift the cap.For more information on the charter school cap issue, download the Center’s new policy paper, Class Ceiling: Lifting the Cap on New York’s Charter Schools .