New York State’s Race to the Top application was delivered to USDOE officials in Washington today, fresh off the Legislature’s passage of a cap lift bill that makes a host of amendments to the state Charter Schools Law.†With a few days of holiday rest and reflection between Friday’s frenzy and today, I still think it’s a pretty good deal.
We lost a few battles–including over the performance-blind ban on for-profit managers–but the final result is a net positive. Schools will generally maintain their autonomy, SUNY held on to its well-deserved authorizing power, and the 114 new schools that can open in NYC is a pretty significant expansion. It will certainly help meet the growing demand of families and should help all New York public schools win much-needed federal aid.
Check back here over the next few days for more detailed analyses of the bill and its effect on schools.
If you haven’t seen them, here are the RTTT application and the cap lift bill.
