Laws & Regulations

Charter schools can innovate because they have more flexibility and autonomy than traditional public schools. At the same time, they remain closely regulated entities that use public resources to serve the public. Charter schools were created by the New York Charter Schools Act of 1998 (since amended), as well as city and state laws and regulations, and federal education law.

This page offers information about the laws and regulations applicable to New York City charter schools, as well as policy and legal issues pertaining to charter school authorizing and oversight procedures. These resources are informational only.

New York State Education Department's quick links to charter school regulations under the New York State Charter Schools Act of 1998.

New York State’s law on charter schools has changed in important ways. In addition to raising the statewide cap on charter schools, the revised law has implications for charter school approvals, renewals, governance, programs, enrollment, facilities, and more.