Publications - New York City Charter School Center

The Charter Center publishes original reports about the role of charter schools in New York’s public education system, and supports outside researchers studying the City’s charter sector.

05/01/17 / Published by New York City Charter School Center

New Provisions Passed In 2017-18 State Budget Legislation

New York State’s 2017-18 budget includes two significant legislative changes affecting charter schools in New York City regarding changes to the per pupil funding formula and an increase in rental assistance. The Charter Center has drafted a memo to help schools understand how this legislation impacts their work.

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05/01/17 / Published by New York City Charter School Center

Neighborhoods Primed for Charter School Growth: Report

Given the critical needs of many NYC students, particularly those in underserved communities, the Charter Center analyzed district school performance, charter demand, and Census data that identified four neighborhoods in the Bronx and Queens that would particularly benefit from the immediate growth of high quality charter schools.

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03/01/17 / Published by New York City Independent Budget Office

With State Formula for Charter School Funding Likely to Change, City Costs to Grow More Than Budgeted

The IBO released an updated report comparing public spending for charter schools to traditional district schools, and its analysis is clear: not only do NYC charter schools receive less in public spending than their district counterparts, but this funding disparity continues to grow. In the current school year (2016-17), the IBO reports that charter schools will again receive substantially less per pupil regardless of whether it operates in public or private space; the IBO estimates that charters are underfunded compared to traditional district schools by $1,145 to $4,863 per pupil.

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01/01/17 / Published by New York City Charter School Center

NYC Charter School Legal Brief: January 2017

In this quarterly legal update, the Charter Center’s Director of Legal Affairs looks at three cases that: examine changes to labor law governing charters; review authorizers’ non-renewal decisions; and, study a constitutional challenge to the funding system for New York’s charter schools.

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06/01/16 / Published by New York City Charter School Center

Over 44,000 Students On NYC Charter School Waitlists

In New York City, there are an estimated 68,000 applicants for nearly 23,600 available charter school seats – creating a citywide charter waiting list of an estimated 44,400 children. Demand for charter school seats remains strong with a 4% increase in applicants from the 2015-16 school year. In fact, for each charter school seat in Harlem and the South Bronx, there are nearly four applicants.

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04/01/16 / Published by New York City Charter School Center

ELL Legal FAQ

The Charter Center has developed an English Language Learner (ELL) Legal FAQ to address enrolling, identifying, and serving ELLs. This resource provides guidance to ensure that charter schools are providing instructional programs and parent communications for ELL families that are in compliance with federal laws.

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04/01/16 / Published by New York City Charter School Center

New Provisions Passed In 2016-17 State Budget Legislation

The Charter Center drafted a memo to help schools understand how the legislation impacts their work surrounding grant assistance funding and the simplification of the rental assistance program.

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02/01/16 / Published by New York City Independent Budget Office

New York State Student Achievement Test Results: New York City Public Schools No Longer Lag Rest of the State

New York City-based charter schools outperform schools throughout the state when test results are adjusted to control for demographic differences. After controlling for demographics, traditional public schools in New York City have a 13.1 percentage point advantage over the rest of the state on ELA and a 12.5 percentage point advantage on math proficiency. The gaps are larger for charter schools in the city: 18.8 percentage points on ELA and 30.1 percentage points on math.

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01/01/16 / Published by The Manhattan Institute

Issues 2016: Charter Schools Are Better at Retaining Hard-to-Educate Students

Students learning English are more likely to remain in their school if it is a charter than if it is a traditional public school: in New York City, among students classified as English-language learners, 82 percent who originally enrolled in charters for kindergarten remained in their schools four years later, compared with 70 percent of such students in traditional public schools.

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10/01/15 / Published by New York City Charter School Center

Charter School Enrollment & Trends

Student enrollment in New York City’s public charter schools has doubled over the last four years, ranking NYC’s charter sector second only to Los Angeles in terms of total charter enrollment. In key neighborhoods — including Harlem, the South Bronx, and Bedford-Stuyvesant — 1 in 3 students currently attends a charter school. In fact, 1 in 10 students citywide will be enrolled in a charter school by the 2016-17 school year. The Charter Center’s analysis of enrollment patterns and charter school expansion in NYC reveals robust growth that is difficult to ignore.