Gov. Kathy Hochul will propose changes that would potentially let dozens of new charter schools open in New York City as part of the state budget she will unveil on Wednesday, The Post has learned.
“I believe every student deserves a quality education, and we are proposing to give New York families more options and opportunities to succeed,” Hochul said in a statement.
Her proposal will keep a statewide cap of 460 charters in place but eliminate regional caps to make 85 more slots available for new charter schools anywhere in the state — including New York City.
There is currently a cap of 275 charters for New York City.
Hochul is also pushing changes that will allow another 11 additional charters in New York City by creating a process for reallocating slots currently held by so-called “zombie” schools that have closed since the state Legislature and then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo approved changes to state charter rules in 2015. Those are counted among the Big Apple’s 275 charters.
Any changes in charter rules via the state budget, due April 1, must be approved by the Democratic-controlled state Senate and Assembly.
Some charter supporters expressed worry ahead of her Wednesday budget speech that Hochul might fall short of honoring a campaign promise to support more charters for New York City.
“She’s going to have to stand her ground sooner or later,” Assemblyman Michael Fitzpatrick (R-Suffolk), a charter supporter, told The Post Tuesday. “People are waiting to see, pardon my French, but does she have the cajones to push back against the left?”
It remains unclear how many new charters might want to open in New York City considering how many potential applicants have been deterred for years by the existing cap, according to James Merriam of the New York City Charter School Center.
“It’s really difficult work that requires months and years of planning. If you’re going to be successful,” he added. “It ain’t a mushroom field.”
But the teachers union, which carries great sway over the progressive Democratic lawmakers who lead Albany, as well as their activist allies are expected to resist the idea of allowing any more charters in New York, which they argue divert resources away from traditional public schools.
“This idea that everyone is just welcoming to charters and they can have their ways – It’s not true,” Jasmine Gripper, executive director of the left-leaning advocacy group Alliance for a Quality Education. “Parents are invested in their public schools and they want to see them thrive. And having a competing system that finding resources from the traditional system isn’t really helpful.”
The proposal is a sign that Hochul will continue pivoting toward the political center as she continues efforts to overhaul controversial criminal justice reforms amid rising crime alongside the stalled push to get the state Senate to approve the nomination of Hector LaSalle as head of New York’s highest court.
“I would put it as the next test,” Assembly GOP Minority Leader Will Barclay (D-Fulton) said earlier this month of Hochul address rising crime.
Hochul will also detail how she wants Albany Democrats to change a key part of bail reform that requires judges to release criminal defendants under the “least restrictive conditions” ahead of their trials – a standard bail reform critics say has handcuffed the judiciary while allowing repeat offenders to commit additional crimes.
“She needs meaningful bail reform,” former three-term Gov. George Pataki recently told The Post about Hochul proving that she, rather than progressive legislators, is in charge of the political agenda in Albany following an confirmation hearing earlier this month when lefty senators, in an unprecedented move, voted down Hochul’s LaSalle nomination.
She said in her Jan. 10 State of the State address that the “least restrictive” idea would apply to “serious” offenses without elaborating.
State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins suggested Tuesday that there still might not be enough data on the effects of controversial reforms first passed in 2019 to justify making changes this year.
“There is some data, but there’s not a lot of data,” she said following a 10-hour legislative hearing on Monday devoted to crime data. “In terms of broader public safety, we absolutely want to continue to have the conversation.”
Some moderate Democrats and Republicans have expressed support for Hochul’s public safety proposals while criticizing a controversial housing plan Hochul says is necessary in order to address a dire shortage of affordable housing across the state.
Suburbanites are particularly aghast at her plan to require that municipalities meet state mandates on the construction of new housing as part of her plan to construct 800,000 new homes over the next decade while requiring denser development near transit hubs.
“While we all understand the need for increasing the availability of housing, especially affordable housing, we cannot support a one-size fits all approach to local zoning,” reads a recent letter to Hochul from GOP members of Congress from New York. “By forcing unit quotes onto municipalities and by providing little to no investment for critical infrastructure upgrades, you will create chaos.”
Hochul also faces fire from the political center and right over a proposal to ban gas hook-ups in new, smaller buildings beginning in 2025 and their larger counterparts three years later.
New Yorkers have expressed dread over the idea of effectively banning gas stoves in future buildings, with restaurants expressing concern over potentially pricy renovations to keep their preferred heat going in the future.
“This proposal would not apply to existing gas stoves in existing buildings like these restaurants, and would mark the beginning of a process to determine appropriate regulations to best protect our planet, our health, and our economy,” Hochul spokeswoman Hazel Crampton-Hays said earlier this month.
Many of the details of her proposed budget will only become publicly known once Hochul begins delivering her budget speech around midday Tuesday, but at least one charter supporter is giving Hochul high marks even before she takes the stage.
“That’s wonderful news. It’s a wonderful start,” Tinelle Ramjattan, a Jamaica Queens parent who wants to enroll her son, Benjamin, 3, in a charter school, said. “The governor is listening. She’s trying to give us a shot.”