Charter Schools in New York
Read this tip to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Urban Charter Schools and other Charter Schools topics.
As of 2009, there were 115 New York charter schools representing almost 35,000 students. There are three authorizers of charters in the state: The Board of Trustees of the State University of New York, the New York State Board of Regents and local boards of education in which the charter schools are located.
State law stipulates the following for charter schools:
- Charter schools are public schools
- They cannot teach religion
- They cannot charge tuition
- They cannot base admissions decisions on ability
- Charter schools are non-profit organizations
- They are governed by their own board of trustees
- Charter schools must comply with laws regarding health, safety, civil rights and special education (the Open Meetings Law and the Freedom of Information Act specifically apply to charter schools)
- They must comply with the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act
- They must administer all the same state tests as district schools
- They must meet all the state’s performance requirements.