How many charter schools are there in New York State?

Are there caps on the growth of charter schools in this state?

New York law contains a cap of 460 start-up charters. Currently, there are no charters that can be granted for schools to be located in New York City; there are 98 charters that can be issued outside of New York City. There are also an unlimited number of conversion charters that can be granted both in and outside the city, though no district school has used this conversion process in more than a decade.

Subcomponents

1A

No numeric or geographic limits are placed on the number of charter public schools or students.

1B

If caps exist, there is room for growth.

Are a variety of charter schools allowed?

New York law allows new start-ups and public school conversions.

Subcomponents

2B

Public school conversions.

Are non-district authorizers available to which charter applicants may directly apply?

Under New York law, applicants can apply directly to two state-wide authorizers: SUNY Board of Trustees or the State Board of Regents, although only the State Board of Regents can officially issue a charter. By law, if SUNY approves an application and reasserts approval if the State Board of Regents rejects it, then the State Board of Regents must issue the charter for that school. Prior to 2010, district boards of education were also able to authorize charter schools, but now district boards of education are only able to approve conversions of schools from district schools to charter schools, with final approval given to the State Board of Regents.

Subcomponents

3A

The state allows an applicant anywhere in the state to apply directly to a non-district authorizer(s).

Is an authorizer and overall program accountability system required?

New York law requires the State Board of Regents to submit an annual report to the governor, senate president, and speaker with the following information: number, distribution, brief description of new charters, assessment of current and projected programmatic and fiscal impact of charters on delivery of services by districts, data on academic progress of charter students compared to other public and non-public school students, list of authorizer actions on renewal and revocation, best practices employed by charter schools, and any other information the Regents deem necessary. It does not require a similar report from the State University of New York and local school board authorizers.The ability of the State Board of Regents and the State University of New York to continue authorizing can be removed by the New York legislature and governor (the entities that gave them that authority).
The law does not provide for a registration process for local school boards to affirm their interest in chartering to the state, does not provide a regular review process by the state for local school district authorizers, and does not provide the state the authority to sanction local school district authorizers. Local school district boards have not been permitted to authorize new start-up charters since 2010.

Subcomponents

4A

Registration process for school boards to affirm their interest in authorizing.

4B

Application process for other eligible authorizing entities (except a state charter schools commission).

4C

Authorizer submission of annual report.

4D

The ability for the state to conduct a review of an authorizer’s performance.

4E

The ability for the state to sanction an authorizer for poor performance, including suspending an authorizer’s authority to approve new schools.

4F

Periodic formal evaluation of overall state charter school program and outcomes.

Is there adequate authorizer funding?

New York law does not include any of the model law’s provisions for adequate authorizer funding. SUNY’s authorizing activities are funded through an appropriation in the New York State Budget each year. The State Education Department and local school district boards fund their authorizing work from their general budgets.

Subcomponents

5A

A uniform statewide formula that guarantees annual authorizer funding that is not subject to annual legislative appropriations.

5B

Requirement to publicly report detailed authorizer expenditures.

5C

Separate contract for any services purchased from an authorizer by a school.

5D

Prohibition on authorizers requiring schools to purchase services from them.

Are there transparent charter application, review, and decisionmaking processes?

New York law contains application elements for all schools and additional application elements specific to conversion schools.
Statute requires authorizers to issue a request for proposals for any new applications, including specific requirements and criteria.

The law requires public hearings and full disclosure for new charter applications, renewal applications, and material revisions, but no specific requirement exists for in-person interviews.

As public entities, New York authorizers must make approval or denial decisions at a public meeting subject to the state Open Meetings Law. The law requires that a denial of an application for a charter by an authorizer must be in writing and state the reasons for the denial.

Subcomponents

6A

Application elements for all schools.

6B

Additional application elements specific to conversion schools.

6C

Additional application elements specific to using educational service providers.

6D

Additional application elements specific to replications.

6E

Requirement for thorough evaluation of each application, including an in-person interview and a public meeting.

6F

Application approval criteria.

6G

All charter approval or denial decisions made in a public meeting with authorizers stating reasons for denials in writing.

Are performance-based charter contracts required?

Under New York law, successful applicants must enter into a formal charter agreement with their authorizer. The law provides that such contacts must explicitly include the elements identified in the section of the New York Charter Schools Act relating to applications, including the roles and responsibilities of the school and of the authorizer, student achievement goals, and methods to determine if students have attained the skills and knowledge specified in those goals.
Statute requires that the contracts for any schools approved detail specific academic performance expectations.

New York law provides that the initial term may not exceed five operating years.

Subcomponents

7A

Being created as a separate document from the application and executed by the governing board of the charter school and the authorizer.

7B

Defining the roles, powers, and responsibilities for the school and its authorizer.

7C

Defining academic, financial, and operational performance expectations by which the school will be judged based on a performance framework.

7D

Providing an initial term of five operating years.

Are there comprehensive charter school monitoring and data collection processes?

New York law requires charter schools to submit annual reports and audits to both their authorizer and the State Board of Regents and to make them publicly available by posting them on their website, though such reports are clearly subject to the state’s Freedom of Information Law and would be required to be produced upon request. Such reports include academic data, fiscal data, progress toward goals, graduation rates, dropouts, and other variables as outlined in statute.
New York law requires authorizers to provide oversight sufficient to ensure that the charter school is in compliance with all applicable laws and charter provisions, which include performance benchmarks. The state education department and the authorizer have joint oversight authority.

The law allows authorizers to put a school on probation and issue a remedial plan. If the conditions of the plan aren't met, the authorizer may revoke the charter.

Subcomponents

8A

Required annual school performance reports.

8B

Financial accountability for charter schools (e.g., generally accepted accounting principles, independent annual audit reported to authorizer).

8C

Authorizer authority to conduct oversight activities.

8D

Authorizer notification to its schools of perceived problems, with opportunities to remedy such problems.

8E

Authorizer authority to take appropriate corrective actions or exercise sanctions short of revocation.

8F

Authorizer may not request duplicative data submission from its charter schools and may not use performance framework to create cumbersome reporting requirements.

Are there clear processes for renewal, nonrenewal, and revocation decisions?

New York law requires schools seeking renewal to apply for it.
The law provides that renewal applications must include a report on progress towards the school’s educational objectives, financial statement, annual reports, and indications of parent and student satisfaction.

For renewal, the law references the same criteria that applies to the approval of initial charter applications – an applicant must meet applicable legal requirements, demonstrate the ability to operate in an educationally and fiscally sound manner, and show it is likely to improve student learning and achievement and further the purposes of the law. The law also requires a school to show the efforts it has undertaken to enroll and retain comparable numbers of at-risk students (that is, students that are free and reduced price lunch eligible, receiving special education services, or classified as English Language Learners) as are enrolled and retained in district schools.

New York law provides that the renewal term may not exceed five years.

New York law provides that revocation or termination may be based on insufficient student achievement, serious violations of law, material and substantial violations of the charter, violations of civil service laws relating to employee rights, or repeated failure to meet targets for the enrollment and retention of at-risk students (though, on the last one, good faith efforts by a school can insulate it from action being taken against it).

New York law requires authorizers to provide schools facing closure with a notice of intent to revoke the charter, an opportunity to be heard, and time to correct the problems identified.

Since authorizers are subject to the state open meetings law, they are therefore required to make all renewal and closure decisions within a public meeting. Statute states that charter denials must include reasons in writing.

New York law requires applicants to establish viable processes for closure and dissolution, including orderly student and record transitions, and property and asset disposition.
The law does not require authorizers to issue school performance renewal reports to schools whose charter will expire the following year and does not require authorizers to issue renewal application guidance that provides an opportunity for schools to augment their performance record and discuss improvements and future plans. In practice, authorizers issue renewal application guidance.
Generally, the law has been interpreted to not allow changing authorizers, with one exception: if a school is merging multiple schools from more than one authorizer under one governance structure, it will be consolidated to just one authorizer.

Subcomponents

9A

Authorizer must issue school performance renewal reports to schools whose charter will expire the following year.

9B

Schools seeking renewal must apply for it.

9C

Authorizers must issue renewal application guidance that provides an opportunity for schools to augment their performance record and discuss improvements and future plans.

9D

Ability to have a differentiated process for renewal of high-performing charter schools.

9E

Authorizers must use clear criteria for renewal and nonrenewal/revocation.

9F

Authorizers must ground renewal decisions based on evidence regarding the school’s performance over the term of the charter contract in accordance with the performance framework set forth in the charter contract.

9G

Requirement that authorizers close chronically low-performing charter schools unless exceptional circumstances exist.

9H

Authorizers must have the authority to vary length of charter renewal contract terms based on performance or other issues.

9I

Authorizers must provide charter schools with timely notification of potential revocation or nonrenewal (including reasons) and reasonable time to respond.

9J

Authorizers must provide charter schools with due process for nonrenewal and revocation decisions (e.g., public hearing, submission of evidence).

9K

All charter renewal, nonrenewal, and revocation decisions must be made in a public meeting, with authorizers stating reasons for nonrenewals and revocations in writing.

9L

Authorizers must have school closure protocols to ensure timely parent notification, orderly student and record transitions, and property and asset disposition.

9M

Any transfer of charter contracts from one authorizer to another are only allowed if they are approved by the state.

Is there transparency regarding educational service providers?

For any school that was or will be approved under the first 200 charters created by statute, New York law allows all types of educational service providers to operate all or parts of charter schools. But for any schools approved using one of the subsequent 260 charters available, the law does not allow for-profit entities to apply for a charter or to manage any schools.
New York law requires applicants seeking to partner with for-profit providers to specify the extent of their participation in the management and operation of the school within the charter application, but does not require that performance record of any provider and an explanation of the provider’s capacity for growth be included and that the material terms of the contract be approved.

Statute states that the charter school board shall have final authority for policy and operational decisions of the schools and may only delegate decision-making authority to officers and employees of the school in accordance with the provisions of the charter.

Statute requires strict conflict of interest provisions, including a prohibition on hiring for-profit entities in which board members or employees have a substantial interest. It also requires that a code of conduct policy be included in charter applications and that the proposed founding board members submit disclosure documents and handle conflicts in accordance with the approved code.

The law requires criminal background checks for all staff working in a charter school, including those from ESPs.

Subcomponents

10A

All types of educational service providers (both for-profit and nonprofit) are allowed to operate all or parts of schools.

10B

The charter application requires (1) performance data for all current and past schools operated by the ESP, and (2) explanation and evidence of the ESP’s capacity for successful growth while maintaining quality in existing schools.

10C

A performance contract is required between the independent charter school board and the ESP, with such contract approved by the school’s authorizer.

10D

School governing boards operate as entities completely independent of any ESP, individuals compensated by an ESP are prohibited from serving as voting members on such boards, and existing and potential conflicts of interest between the two entities are required to be disclosed and explained in the charter application.

10E

Provides that charter school governing boards must have access to ESP records necessary to oversee the ESP contract.

10F

An ESP must annually provide information to its charter school governing board on how that ESP spends public funding it receives when the ESP is performing a public function under applicable state law.

10G

Requires that similar criminal history record checks and fingerprinting requirements applicable to other public schools shall also be mandatory for on-site employees of ESPs who regularly come into contact with students.

Are the schools fiscally and legally autonomous with independent charter school boards?

New York law provides that charter schools are education corporations and deems them independent and autonomous public schools and political subdivisions having boundaries coterminous with the school districts or communities in which they are located.
The law provides that charter boards of trustees are autonomous and that the powers of charter boards of trustees include the full set of rights of trustees under the not-for-profit corporation law of the state.

Subcomponents

11A

Fiscally autonomous schools (e.g., schools have clear statutory authority to receive and disburse funds; incur debt; and pledge, assign, or encumber assets as collateral).

11B

Legally autonomous schools (e.g., schools have clear statutory authority to enter into contracts and leases, sue and be sued in their own names, and acquire real property).

11C

Independent school governing boards created specifically to govern their charter schools.

Are there clear student enrollment and lottery procedures?

New York law requires that charter school admissions be open to students statewide and that the state department of education develop a uniform student enrollment application. It provides that a charter school may not discriminate on the basis of intellectual ability, measures of achievement or aptitude, athletic ability, disability, race, creed, gender, national origin, religion, or ancestry. New York law requires charter schools to provide enrollment preferences to pupils returning to the charter school in the second or any subsequent year of operation, pupils residing in the school district in which the charter school is located, and siblings of pupils already enrolled in the charter school. Students from conversions are treated as returning students with preferences as well. In New York City, the district preference applies to the community school district in which the school is located.

New York law allows a charter school to have a preference for students deemed “at risk of academic failure” (which a charter school can define as English language learners and students with disabilities) and students of a single gender.
New York law requires charter schools to meet or exceed enrollment and retention targets for students with disabilities, English language learners, and students eligible for Free- or Reduced-Price Lunch as prescribed by the Board of Regents or the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York, as applicable.
New York law also provides that preference may be provided to children of employees of the charter school or charter management organization, provided that such children of employees may constitute no more than fifteen percent of the charter school's total enrollment.
New York law requires that charter schools conduct a lottery if applications exceed available seats and that the state department of education regulate these lottery processes.

Subcomponents

12A

Open enrollment to any student in the state.

12B

Anti-discrimination provisions regarding admissions.

12C

Required enrollment preferences for previously enrolled students within conversions and for prior-year students within charter schools.

Is there automatic exemption from many state and district laws and regulations?

New York law provides that a charter school must meet the same health and safety, civil rights, and student assessment requirements applicable to other public schools, except as otherwise specifically provided in the state's charter school law. It provides that a charter school is exempt from all other state and local laws, rules, regulations, or policies governing public or private schools, boards of education, and school districts, and political subdivisions, including those relating to school personnel and students, except as specifically provided in the school's charter or in the state's charter school law. Also, nothing in the state's charter school law affects the requirements of compulsory education established in state law.New York law states that up to five teachers or 30% of a school’s teaching staff (whichever is less) plus five teachers of mathematics, science, computer science, technology, or career and technical education plus five additional teachers may be uncertified.

Subcomponents

13A

Exemptions from all laws, except those covering health, safety, civil rights, student accountability, employee criminal history checks, open meetings, freedom of information, and generally accepted accounting principles.

13B

Exemption from state teacher certification requirements.

Is there an automatic collective bargaining exemption?

New York requires collective bargaining for public school teachers on a wide range of issues, including wages, insurance and fringe benefits, hours, lesson preparation periods, terms and conditions of employment, leave, evaluation processes and instruments, and grievance procedures. Collective bargaining may also address class load or size, as well as transfers and reassignments. Four items are expressly excluded from bargaining: pension and retirement benefits, management rights, layoffs, and dismissal.New York state law exempts most public charter schools from existing collective bargaining agreements. However, the law requires that conversion public charter schools are part of district collective bargaining agreements, but it allows such agreements to be modified. The law also provides that if enrollment at a new charter school exceeds 250 students within the first two years of operation, all employees of the school will be considered members of the same union or employee organization that represents like-employees in the school district. Such schools may still apply for one of a limited number of waivers under the law.
Prior to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Janus v. AFSCME, New York allowed mandatory agency fees. The Supreme Court decision renders that state law unconstitutional. In anticipation of the ruling, New York passed a new law in spring 2018 that increased unions’ access to employees and gave unions flexibility to deny services to employees who opt out of union membership (e.g., union representation in grievance proceedings).
In New York, unions’ status as an exclusive representative can be established by the employees’ authorization of dues deductions or other evidence. An election may be held if necessary.New York law exempts most public charter schools from existing collective bargaining agreements. However, the law requires that conversion schools are part of district collective bargaining agreements, but it allows such agreements to be modified. The law also provides that if enrollment at a new charter school exceeds 250 students within the first two years of operation, all employees of the school will be considered members of the same union or employee organization that represents like-employees in the school district. Such schools may still apply for one of a limited number of waivers under the law.

Subcomponents

14A

Charter schools authorized by nonlocal board authorizers are exempt from participation in any outside collective bargaining agreements.

14B

Charter schools authorized by local boards are exempt from participation in any district collective bargaining agreements.

Are multischool charter contracts and/or multicharter contract boards allowed?

New York law allows each school to be issued a charter as counted toward the cap with individual performance goals, but these can be under a larger charter agreement that involves the same board governance structure for more than one school.
New York law allows an education corporation to operate more than one school or house any grade at more than one site, provided that a charter is issued for each additional school or site with each charter issued and overseen in accordance with all requirements.

Subcomponents

15A

Oversee multiple schools linked under a single contract with independent fiscal and academic accountability for each school.

15B

Hold multiple charter contracts with independent fiscal and academic accountability for each school.

Is there eligibility and access to extracurricular and interscholastic activities?

New York law provides that school districts may offer extra-curricular activities to resident charter students.

Subcomponents

16A

Laws or regulations explicitly state that charter school students and employees are eligible to participate in all extracurricular and interscholastic activities available to noncharter public school students and employees.

16B

Laws or regulations explicitly allow charter school students in schools not providing extracurricular and interscholastic activities to have access to those activities at noncharter public schools.

Is there clear identification of special education responsibilities?

Under New York law, a charter school is a school within a school district LEA for special education purposes, with the school district LEA in which the student resides ultimately responsible for providing special education services as well as creating and evaluating the students’ progress on the individualized education program. The law provides charter schools with the choice of whether to provide services directly, hire a third party to provide them, or ask the district to provide them. The law requires districts to provide certain funding to the charter school where the school itself provides such services, but such funding is significantly less than what the district would otherwise provide if the student were enrolled in a district school.
There are provisions in the law and regulations that provide supplemental high cost aid for high-cost services for charter schools for students with low incidence, relatively severe disabilities.

Subcomponents

17A

Clarity regarding which entity is the local education agency (LEA) responsible for providing special education services.

17B

Clarity regarding the flow of federal, state, and local special education funds to the designated LEA.

17C

Clarity regarding funding for low-incident, high-cost services for charter schools (in the same amount and/or in a manner similar to other LEAs).

17D

Clarity that charter schools have access to all regional and state services and supports available to traditional districts.

Is there equitable operational funding and equal access to all state and federal categorical funding?

The law requires districts to pass a proportional share of their per-pupil spending on school operations based on a funding formula, as well as other federal and state aid, to charter schools enrolling students who reside in their geographic area. For 2017-18, the funding is the 2016-17 amount plus $500. Starting in 2018-19, a new formula takes effort.
The law requires pass through payments to charter schools in six substantially equal installments per year. In the event that a district fails to pass along adequate funding to a charter school on a timely basis, the law empowers the New York State Comptroller to deduct funds owed to the charter school from district budgets and direct them to the school. According to charter school advocates in New York, this process is weak in practice, with the state often slow in intercepting dollars from school districts and sending them to charter schools.

Under New York law, charter schools are treated like non-public schools for the purpose of transportation. The law requires charter schools to provide any supplemental transportation.
In a national study of charter school funding (University of Arkansas, Charter School Funding: Inequity Expands, 2014), New York charter schools were receiving on average $15,271 per pupil in public funds, while traditional public schools would have received $22,976 for those students. As a result, the state's charter schools were receiving $7,705 per pupil - or 33.5% - less than what the traditional public schools would have received for those students. This figure includes all sources of funding, and analysis reveals some continued inequities for operational funding and significant inequities for capital funding (see component #19 for information on capital issues).

Subcomponents

18A

Equitable operational funding statutorily driven.

18B

Equal access to all applicable categorical federal and state funding and clear guidance on the pass-through of such funds.

18C

Funding for transportation similar to school districts.

18D

Annual report offering district and charter school funding comparisons and including annual recommendations to the legislature for any needed equity enhancements.

Is there equitable access to capital funding and facilities?

New York law requires that the New York City School District provide charter schools that first commence instruction or that require additional space due to an expansion of grade level approved by their authorizer for the 2014-15 school year or thereafter and request co-location in a public school building one of two options:
* Offer at no cost to the charter school a co-location site in a public school building
* Offer the charter school space in a privately owned or other publicly owned facility at the expense of the school district and at no cost to the charter school. The space must be reasonable, appropriate and comparable and in the community school district to be served by the charter school and otherwise in reasonable proximity.

The law gives the charter school the option of appealing the school district’s offer or failure to offer a co-location site through binding arbitration, appeal to the state court, or via an expedited appeal to the state commissioner of education. If the appeal results in a determination in favor of the school district, the school district’s offer shall be final and the charter school may either accept such offer or locate in another site at the charter school’s expense.

For a new charter school whose charter is granted or for an existing charter school whose expansion of grade level is approved by their authorizer, if the appeal results in a determination in favor of the charter school, the school district shall pay the charter school an amount attributable to the grade level expansion or the formation of the new charter school that is equal to the lesser of:

* the actual rental cost of an alternative privately owned site selected by the charter school or
* 30% of the product of the charter school’s basic tuition for the current school year and (i) for a new charter school that first commences instruction on or after July 1, 2014, the charter school’s current year enrollment; or (ii) for a charter school which expands its grade level, the positive difference of the charter school’s enrollment in the current school year minus the charter school’s enrollment in the school year prior to the first year of the expansion. This percentage equate to roughly $4,500 per pupil.
New York law provides a charter schools stimulus fund, which provides discretionary financial support to charter schools for start-up costs and for costs associated with the acquisition, renovation, and construction of school facilities. $2 million was made available for 2018-19 applicants in awards up to $200,000 each, with schools having received over $350,000 in previous awards not eligible.
Statute provides that the New York City Schools Chancellor must identify and publish which public school buildings are subject to location or co-location of charter schools. The law requires the Chancellor to develop a building usage plan that defines the allocation of classroom and administrative space between the charter and non-charter schools and the collaborative usage of shared resources and spaces. The law requires such allocations to result in an equitable and comparable use of public school buildings between charter and non-charter schools, including equity in any funding received for facility upgrades in excess of $5,000.

The law provides that a school district shall permit any charter school granted approval to co-locate, to use such services and facilities without cost.

New York law defines charter schools as public agents that are eligible to obtain tax-exempt financing through various local industrial development agencies.
Charter schools in New York City have access to tax-exempt financing through the Build NYC Resource Corporation to construct, renovate, or equip facilities.

Subcomponents

Facilities Funding

19A

A per-pupil facilities allowance that annually reflects actual average district capital costs.

19B

A state grant program, such as one specific for charter school facilities or equal access to existing state facilities programs available to non-charter public schools.

19C

The inclusion of charter schools in school district mill levy requests regarding facilities.

Access to Public Space

19D

Access to public space, such as: * A requirement for districts to provide district space or funding to charter schools if the majority of that schools’ students reside in that district. * Right of first refusal to purchase or lease at or below fair market value a closed, unused, or underused public school facility or property.

Access to Financing Tools

19E

19E. Access to financing tools, such as: * State loan program for charter school facilities. ^ Equal access to tax-exempt bonding authorities or allowing charter schools to have their own bonding authority. * Pledging the moral obligation of the state to help charter schools obtain more favorable bond financing terms. * The creation and funding of a state charter school debt reserve fund. * The inclusion of charter schools in school district bonding requests. * A mechanism to provide credit enhancement for charter school facilities.

Is there access to relevant employee retirement systems?

New York law provides charter schools with the option of participating in relevant employee retirement systems.

Subcomponents

20A

Charter schools have access to relevant state retirement systems available to other public schools.

20B

Charter schools have the option to participate (i.e., not required).

Are there provisions for full-time virtual charter schools?

New York law does not allow full-time virtual charter schools.

Subcomponents

21A

An authorizing structure whereby full-time virtual charter schools that serve students from more than one district may be approved only by an authorizer with statewide chartering jurisdiction and authority, full-time virtual charter schools that serve students from one school district may be authorized by that school district, and a cap is placed on the total amount of funding that an authorizer may withhold from a full-time virtual charter school.

21B

Legally permissible criteria and processes for enrollment based on the existence of supports needed for student success.

21C

Enrollment level provisions that establish maximum enrollment levels for each year of a charter contract, with any increases in enrollment from one year to the next based on whether the school meets its performance requirements.

21D

Accountability provisions that include virtual-specific goals regarding student enrollment, attendance, engagement, achievement, truancy, and attrition.

21E

Funding levels per student based on costs proposed and justified by the operators.

21F

Performance-based funding whereby full-time virtual charter schools are funded via a performance-based funding system based on meeting the accountability performance provisions.

How many charter schools are in NY?

What state has the most charter schools?

Does New York State have charter schools?

Who pays for charter schools in NY?