Liu vs. good schools: A state senator takes aim at New York’s best charter-school authorizer
Many of New York City’s best charter schools — which is to say, many of its very best public schools — were approved by the SUNY Charter Schools Institute. Achievement First, Harlem Village Academy, Icahn Charter Schools, KIPP schools, Success Academies: Those and many more began with applications to the body known to be the state’s premier authorizer of independently run public schools. Now, a bill by state Sen. John Liu would neuter SUNY and give the Board of Regents, where teachers union influence looms large, ultimate power on charter approval. That would be a kick in the teeth to families desperate for high-quality alternatives to district-run public schools.
In stark contrast to other states where charters are handed willy-nilly, New York has long been a national model of how to produce and oversee high-quality charter schools, because applications here are rigorously vetted and then schools are held accountable for results. SUNY’s involvement is a big reason why; its analysis shows that at the schools it has approved, 59% of students in grades 3 to 8 were proficient in English in the most recent year available, and 67% in math. At Regents-authorized schools, the equivalent rates were 42% and 42%.
Nor is this just about creating new schools, a process that’s already stymied by the state’s irresponsible refusal to raise the cap on the number of charters. Charter schools regularly go back to their authorizers to get clearance on alterations — say, adding a few grades to an existing plan.
Put that all in the hands only of the Regents as Liu would have it, and countless schools that are now doing right by their students — overwhelmingly Black and Hispanic students poorly served by the existing system — would suffer death by a thousand cuts.
Mayor Adams and Schools Chancellor David Banks say K-12 public education has for years failed Black and Brown kids by the thousands. They should be calling state Sen. Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Gov. Hochul to kill this bill.
