After several years of heated debate, the New York State Legislature, at the urging of the new governor, Eliot Spitzer, doubled the number of public charter schools allowed in New York State, which he labeled a “signature accomplishment.”
The approval of the charter law by wide bipartisan margins signals a growing acceptance of public charter schools across the political spectrum, and throughout the state. When the original law was adopted in December 1998, charters were widely opposed by state legislators who frankly only supported the law because then-Governor George Pataki would not have approved a pay raise for them if they refused.
Yet, charter schools now inspire enthusiastic support from key Democrats like Governor Spitzer, Lt. Governor David Paterson, and Senate Democratic Leader Malcolm Smith. In recent years, the Republicans in the State Senate have gone from general hostility to supportive, led by Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, from upstate.
Whereas New York City Schools Chancellor Rudy Crew actively lobbied against the charter school law in 1998, the current schools chancellor, Joel Klein, is a very strong charter school advocate, believing that charters can leverage change in the broader public system, a view shared by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
The key political opponent to charters remains Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver of Manhattan. Even Silver is mindful, however, that several of his members have become charter supporters in recent years, especially those representing economically-disadvantaged minority districts where some of the worst district schools are located.
The depth and breadth of this political support is why school district officials, the teachers unions, and their political allies ultimately were not able to push through various measures meant to stop or seriously impair public charter schools. And, such support has enabled the charter movement to continue to have a statewide presence, rather than having it pigeon-holed to a single region or major city.
Among the measures rejected this past week during negotiations on the charter school bill were: a cap on additional charters in Albany and Buffalo, limits on enrollment growth, a 30 percent funding cut for elementary and middle-school charters, automatic unionization, an elimination of the ability of charters to contract for management assistance, and subjecting charter school facilities (which receive no state building aid) to prevailing-wage mandates and the state education department’s onerous building code and approval process.
At the same time, charter advocates were able to get language approved making clear that new charters could be approved over district opposition, even in high density districts like Albany and Buffalo, when a significant educational benefit can be shown for students likely to attend a proposed charter school. This was a major child-centered victory.
To give Albany, Buffalo, and other districts time to adjust to the decisions of thousands of parents to move their children to public charter schools, the state legislature approved state-financed transition aid. This was a reasonable, and could allow for even more charter schools in smaller, needy districts where they are not now common.
What does this all mean? The New York Legislature’s approval of more charters and the rejection of numerous anti-charter proposals mean that charters are here to stay as a major part of the statewide educational landscape. Of course, the political opponents of charter schools will not give up their attempts to cripple this education reform movement in New York or elsewhere, so education reformers must remain vigilant, and charter schools must continue to improve academic outcomes for their students.
Thomas W. Carroll is President of the New York Foundation for Education Reform and Accountability, and Chairman of the Brighter Choice Charter School for Girls and Brighter Choice Charter School for Boys in Albany, New York. Peter Murphy is the Policy Director of the New York Charter Schools Association, the statewide membership and advocacy organization for charter schools, based in Albany.