Facts about Charter Schools
New York’s first charter school opened in Harlem in 1999. Since then, a generation of students have been educated by NYC’s 285 charter schools located across approximately 420 campuses in the five boroughs. Today, more than 15% of the city’s public school students attend a charter school.
285
Charter schools across approximately 420 campuses in NYC
150,500
Estimated students enrolled in NYC charter schools
(based on NYSED enrollment data)
15.2%
of NYC public school students
attend charter schools
(estimated based on public enrollment data)
CHARTER SCHOOL STUDENT DEMOGRAPHICS (2024-25)1
1 Source: NYSED 2024-25 preliminary school enrollment data
2 Source: NYSTEACHS.org 2023-24
NYC’S CHARTER SECTOR SERVES MORE STUDENTS THAN NY’S BIG 4 DISTRICTS COMBINED (2024-25)3
3 Source: NYSED 2024-25 preliminary school enrollment data
Charter School Specialized Programs:
51 schools have programs for students with autism or have more than 25% of students with IEPs for Special Education.
9 schools have dual language programs.
33 schools are offering pre-K.
9 schools serve high school students at risk of dropping out.
7 schools serve single-sex student populations.
Charter School Management Structures:
86 independent schools 59 replicators1 93 affiliated with non-profit Charter Management Organizations (CM0s) 43 affiliated with small CMOs (CMOs with 5 or less schools) 4 affiliated with for-profit Educational Management Organizations (EM0s)2
1 Not affiliated with a CMO
2 State law prohibits EMOs from operating new charters
Facilities:
43% charter schools are in buildings owned or leased by the NYC DOE.
57% charter schools are in private (non-DOE) space.
Collective Bargaining Agreements:
20 NYC charter schools (7%) have collective bargaining agreements with the United Federation of Teachers.
NYC Charter Schools by Authorizer:
61 Board of Regents
37 NYC DOE.
189 SUNY
Charter Years of Operation:
0-5 Years 25
6-10 Years 72
11-15 Years 75
16-20 Years 68
21+ Years 45
12,200
(approx.) classroom teachers are working in the NYC charter school sector for the 2025-26 school year
70%
of charter school teachers are educators of color (compared to
40% of district school teachers)1
56%
of charter school teachers hold a Master’s Degree or Doctorate
1 Based on 2022-23 NYSED classroom teacher demographic data.
all the facts
The Charter Center compiles and maintains data on New York City charter schools and provides sector-wide analysis and downloads.
