EdVANTAGE Blog

Speaking at Hunter College last week, Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch outlined thoughts on charter school policy that resemble positions taken by the Council.

For example, she called for more charter schools at the high school level and resisted calls to eliminate the state’s cap on the number of charter schools that may be authorized.

Gotham Schools, an independent internet-based news source, reported that “Tisch said that charter schools need to branch out to serve more struggling high school students, English language learners and special education students.”

The website added,

Tisch drew a line, however, at endorsing a removal of the state’s cap on charter schools, a provision Mayor Michael Bloomberg called for last month and that is among the Race to the Top draft requirements. Tisch echoed comments made by [State Education Commissioner David] Steiner on the day he was sworn in, saying that the cap has allowed charter schools to expand in the city and state in a thoughtful, measured pace.

In our August 31 letter to then Commissioner-Elect David Steiner we wrote,

A cap promotes quality and viability by forcing charter authorizers to be more focused on approving the most promising proposals and ensuring that the schools they do approve do succeed… We have also supported incentives to encourage the development of charter high schools. Currently most charter schools are elementary schools, but the need for alternative school models is more compelling at the secondary level.