Politics on the Hudson

   Gov. David Paterson announced this afternoon he is calling lawmakers into a special session Monday—a state holiday—to pass legislation New York needs to increase its chances of securing up to $700 million in federal “Race to the Top” funding. The governor is not happy with a joint Senate/Assembly bill that is different than the one he proposed. States’ applications for the competitive grants have to be in Washington by Tuesday afternoon, so New York officials are racing against the clock. Tomorrow’s session is at 8 p.m.

   The most critical element the legislation has to include is increasing the cap of 200 charter schools, a limit the state has almost reached, but lawmakers and the governor disagree on what the new number should be and whether there should be changes to the administration and oversight of charters. Charter schools have been controversial in New York because per-pupil state funding follows students who leave traditional public schools for the publicly funded but privately run charter schools, which some believe hurts the traditional public-school system.

   The Legislature’s bill would raise the cap to 400. Paterson said Friday that the number should be increased to 460. He said federal Education Secretary Arne Duncan told him the total number allowed should be one-tenth of the number of schools, which would be 454 for New York. The governor recommended 460 to provide a cushion.

   “I believe the Leaders’ bill would harm the State’s chances of winning the funding. With the application to the federal Department of Education due by Tuesday, we are approaching the dealine to maximize our eligibility for as much as $700 million,” Paterson said in a statement.

   The bill would remove the State University of Trustees as an approving entity for new charter schools, although it would continue to have a role evaluating and recommending to the state Board of Regents charter schools to be approved. Under current law, SUNY’s Charter Schools Institute shares the responsibility for approving the schools with the Regents. Local boards of education can approve conversions of traditional public schools to charter schools, which are publicly funded but privately run. Under the Legislature’s bill, Regents would be the only approving agency. Local school boards would have to approve school conversions before Regents approved a charter school.

   The bill would expand accountability and access to information about charter schools by requiring that monthly meetings of charter-school boards be publicized. Charter schools, which have been criticized for not accepting enough special-education students, would have to demonstrate what measures they took to attract and retain high-need students before the charter could be renewed. That would include students at risk of educational failure, those who require special education, and English-language learners.

   Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, said in a statement that the legislation would “put an end to divisive fights over school space by giving traditional public school parents a voice in the process when they are asked to give up classrooms to accommdate a new or expanding charter school in their school building.”

   Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos criticized the Senate and Assembly Democrats’ bill, saying in a statement that it “will almost certainly fall short of what federal education officials have said is required for New York to be in the running for federal funds.” 

   The bill would ”severely weaken New York’s public educational opportunities and the state’s chances for up to $700 million in new federal education funds,” Bill Phillips, president of the state Charter Schools Association, said in a statement. It would “transform New York from an education reform leader in charter schools into a glaring national embarassment,” he said.

   Removing the ability of SUNY and the New York City chancellor to approve charters would be a “step backward” for New York, Greg Richmond, president and CEO of the National Association of Charter Schools, said in a statement. “As states across the country, from Massachusetts to Iowa to California, are strengthening their charter school laws, New York is about to make its law worse,” he said.

   The legislation does not include several elements the governor proposed in his bill, which include authorizing the state Dormitory Authority to finance capital funding for charters, providing a quicker process for state takeovers of poorly performing schools, and moving from July 1 to Jan. 15 the expiration of a ban on using student test scores for teacher-tenure evaluations.

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