Legislation for New York charter schools passed in December 1998, allowing for 100 charters to be authorized throughout the state. In the fall of 1999, the Sisulu-Walker Charter School of Harlem was the first charter school to open in New York; its charter was renewed in 2006 and the school recently celebrated its 10th anniversary.
Charter schools in NYC receive support from Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Joel Klein. In 2002, the Senate approved legislation for mayoral control over the city’s schools, giving Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein the opportunity to reform the school system. Six years later, the Senate overwhelmingly renewed mayoral control in a feat of 47 to 8 votes. With Mayor Bloomberg’s re-election into office, he has pledged to keep charter schools at the forefront of his education goals by:
- Reforming laws that hold back charter school growth
- Establishing 100 more charter schools
- Providing parents with more information about charter schools
- Helping fund charter facilities
Since 1999, the charter school movement has gained a lot of traction and the number of charters issued annually increased quickly. By the fall of 2006, there were 58 charter schools in New York City and the limit on the total number of charters for the state was reached. Fortunately, in March 2007, the cap was extended to allow an additional 100 charters to be authorized state-wide. Already, the number of charters remaining is dwindling and the issue of expanding the cap on charters has reemerged.
There are currently 99 charters in New York City serving over 30,000 students, and the movement continues to grow stronger. With 40,000 families city-wide waiting to get into charter schools, one cannot deny the fact that charter schools provide meaningful options for public school parents.
(2008-09). School counts refer to issued charters, not campuses.
