Res. No. 86
Resolution calling upon the New York State Legislature to amend the State Education Law, in relation to charter schools, by limiting the number of charter schools that can be operated by a single organization to no more than 10% of the charters in the state and by requiring that no more than 10% of the organization's charters may be located in any one school district, or alternatively to pass legislation allowing New York City to enact local limits.
By Council Members Dickens, Brewer, Comrie, Dromm, Fidler, Jackson, Mealy, Palma, Recchia, Vann, Williams and Rodriguez
Whereas, The New York Charter Schools Act ("the Act") of 1998, also known as Article 56 of the State Education Law, authorized the creation of charter schools "that operate independently of existing schools and school districts;" and
Whereas, As stated in the Act, one of the primary objectives for creation of charter schools is to "provide parents and students with expanded choices in the types of educational opportunities that are available within the public school system;" and
Whereas, Charter schools are publicly financed through local, state and federal funds; and
Whereas, The authority for a charter school to operate and provide education services is through a contract or "charter" issued by the State Board of Regents; and
Whereas, Charters may be issued for a term of up to five years and, upon application, may be renewed for additional five-year periods; and
Whereas, The Act also states that an application to establish a charter school may be submitted by teachers, parents, school administrators, community residents or any combination thereof; and
Whereas, In addition, such application may be filed in conjunction with a college, university, museum, educational institution, not-for-profit corporation or corporate entity authorized to do business in New York State; and
Whereas, The Act further specifies that, for charter schools established in conjunction with a for-profit business or corporate entity, the charter shall specify the extent of the entity's participation in the management and operation of the school; and
Whereas, The Act is silent on the issue of how many charter schools can be established or operated by a single organization or entity; and
Whereas, Initially, the Act authorized the creation of no more than 100 charter schools statewide; and
Whereas, Subsequently, as part of budget legislation enacted on April 1, 2007, the Act was amended, increasing the cap on new charter schools allowed to open in the state from 100 to 200; and
Whereas, The amendment to the Act further provided that at least 50 of the new charters be reserved for New York City; and
Whereas, According to the New York State Education Department, there are currently 141 charter schools operating statewide during the 2009-2010 school year; and
Whereas, The New York City Department of Education (DOE) reports that, as of September 2009, there are 99 charter schools, approximately 6% of all public schools, operating in the City; and
Whereas, The vast majority of the state's charter schools, more than two-thirds, are located in New York City; and
Whereas, Some communities in the City have a high concentration of charter schools, such as Harlem which has 24, according to a recent New York Times article; and
Whereas, A number of operators have established multiple charter schools in New York City, including Achievement First, KIPP, Icahn and Success Charter Network among others; and
Whereas, According to news reports, several of these operators plan to further expand their chain of charter schools in the City, including the Success Charter Network which plans to expand from the present four Harlem Success Academies to 40 over the next decade; and
Whereas, Establishing limits on the number of charter schools that can be operated by a single organization will maximize choices and educational opportunities for students while preventing domination by one group's philosophy and methods in any community; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the New York State Legislature to amend the State Education Law, in relation to charter schools, by limiting the number of charter schools that can be operated by a single organization to no more than 10% of the charters in the state and by requiring that no more than 10% of the organization's charters may be located in any one school district, or alternatively to pass legislation allowing New York City to enact local limits.
LS# 63
Res. No. 2052-2009
JA
3/19/10
4:10 pm