Hochul’s plan to expand NYC charter schools cut back sharply in budget deal with state lawmakers: sources

A state budget deal would sharply dial back an expansion of charter schools in New York City floated by Gov. Hochul in her executive plan. Instead of 100-plus new charter schools that Hochul proposed in February, an agreement hammered out with state lawmakers would cut that number to 14 schools, sources said Thursday.

“We’re not going to tinker with the cap in New York City,” said State Sen. John Liu, who chairs the NYC education committee. “The cap was always meant to strike a balance between some charter choice and the need to keep public schools open.”

The terms of the deal allow for the state only to reissue charters that are no longer open, known as “zombie” charters,” to new operators.

It would not, as Hochul had also called for, lift a regional cap on local charter schools or allow roughly two dozen zombie charters elsewhere in the state to reopen in the city. Those steps would have opened the door to an estimated more than 100 new charter schools.

Under the scaled-back plan, the new schools, if authorized, would become the first new charters available to be issued downstate since 2019.

To push the deal over the finish line, sources said Hochul also agreed to pay rental assistance for the new charter schools — a cost that usually falls to the city. It was not immediately clear what the price tag would be or if the city’s Department of Education would be required to look for space in traditional public school buildings first.

Liu did not provide an estimated cost to the state but that it’s “more than I’d like,” while adding that the proposal should help incentivize the city not to co-locate charter and district schools.

A City Hall spokesperson told The News on Wednesday that Mayor Adams’ executive budget did not reflect mandated costs from Albany, given the state budget had yet to be finalized.

Proponents of charter schools celebrated the purported deal on Thursday.

“We secured an agreement that will create lasting change for more students,” said Crystal McQueen-Taylor, Executive Director of StudentsFirstNY, “and give generations of students the access they deserve to a great public education.”

The governor’s office did not immediately return a request for comment.