GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

The state legislature failed to vote on a proposal to raise the state’s cap on charter schools today as the deadline for the federal Race to the Top competition came and went.

This meant that the state submitted its application for the federal grant program today with a nearly maxed-out cap of 200 charter schools still intact. The competition favors states without restrictions on the growth of charters.

There is much more to the content of the state’s application than the charter school dust-up. Charter school advocates and opponents argue over how much the failure to raise the cap will matter for New York’s bid for up to $700 million of the stimulus fund. Charter supporters point to statements from federal officials that suggest every point will matter in the competition, while others downplay the cap’s importance in the grand scheme of the competition.

Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch emphasized today that the application also includes an overhaul of teacher training, certification and the way school districts collect and track student data.

“I believe the application is eloquent and articulate and sets out a bold reform agenda,” she said. “I want to talk about what’s in this application. I want people to understand how broad it is.” (more…)

Gov. Paterson’s proposed school budget could actually hurt the state’s chance of winning federal Race to the Top funds, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan suggested today.

Duncan told reporters this afternoon that he was surprised to learn that Paterson’s proposed budget appropriated $750 million in Race to the Top funds even before the competitive fund’s application deadline today.

“This is going to be very, very competitive, so for anyone to assume they’re getting this — that’s a bit of a leap of faith, I would say,” Duncan said. “And obviously if this money is seen as simply something that is going to be plugging budget holes, that’s not something we’re going to be interested in.”

Duncan made the statement in a conference call where he explained President Obama’s intention to open the Race to the Top competition up to local school districts, instead of just states. (more…)

With just hours before the state’s Race to the Top application is due in Washington, legislators in Albany are scrambling to deal with the cap on charter schools, considered a make-or-break component of the application. Anna will be sending updates from Albany today.

6 p.m. Now the city stakeholders are weighing in. Here’s the response from Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who in recent days launched a strong public relations offensive against Sampson and Silver’s bill:

“Sadly, some 36,000 New York City students on waiting lists for charter schools – and thousands more who need and deserve better educational choices – were told today to wait longer, because help is not on the way. The Governor proposed a bill that would create options for those children and help the State win $700 million in federal money. It was the only bill that had the support of a majority of Senators, yet the Democratic leaders of the Senate and Assembly defeated it without even a vote – on the same day the Governor’s budget presented a $1 billion cut to school aid statewide. While others played Russian roulette with our children’s futures, great credit is due to Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos, the members of his conference, and Democratic Senator Craig Johnson – the sponsor of the Governor’s bill – who fought to make New York’s Race to the Top application as strong as possible. And while I rarely hesitate to speak my mind when I disagree with someone, I also try to give credit where it is due and want to thank Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. for his help on this important issue. Our children and their parents are owed a second chance from the Legislature. They deserve nothing less.”

And here’s the response from city teachers union president Michael Mulgrew. The UFT issued a report earlier this month on how charter schools serve the city’s neediest students, and many of its recommendations were echoed in the legislature’s bill.

“New York State had a chance to address the glaring inequities in charter school admissions, to increase the transparency of charter operations and to force profiteers out of the charter business,” Mulgrew said. “But charter advocates and their allies resisted these desperately needed reforms, to the point where the Legislature was unable to act.”

5:45 p.m. Senate Republicans are signaling they will use the legislature’s failure to act today as a weapon against Democrats who run for re-election.

“I am extremely disappointed that the Governor’s legislation to enhance New York’s opportunity to secure federal education funds was not brought up for a vote in the Senate,” Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos said in a statement. “I’m confident it would have passed and strengthened the state’s application for the Race to the Top program.”

“Once again, when an important deadline was upon us and action was needed on an important issue, the Democrats in both houses were unable to act,” he said. (more…)

Gov. Paterson’s proposed budget for next year includes cutting $1.1 billion in school funding — and spending $750 million in supplemental federal funds that the state doesn’t yet have.

Most of the cuts would come as a 5 percent reduction to districts’ per-pupil funding, according to budget documents Paterson’s office released this morning. Paterson is also proposing to halt plans for new pre-kindergarten programs and eliminate grants for school districts the state deems to be failing.

Paterson is counting on Race to the Top funds to balance the state’s budget. According to the budget summary, Paterson’s proposal includes a $750 million “in anticipation of a successful application for competitive funds” through Race to the Top. The state is actually eligible for about $700 million in Race to the Top funds, but winning them is hardly assured. (more…)

• The legislature has taken no action yet on two charter school bills — its own and the governor’s. (Times)
• But it appears to be set to reject the Obama administration’s favored school policies. (Wall Street Journal)
• At risk: The state’s eligibility to win $700 million in Race to the Top school aid. (Albany Times-Union)

THE WEEKEND’S BACKSTORY:

• First, Senate Democrats proposed a charter school compromise bill. (GothamSchools, Times, Post)
• Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver came out in favor of the Senate’s charter authorizer plan. (Post)
• Mayor Bloomberg called the legislature’s bill “a wolf in sheep’s clothing.” (Post, Daily News, Times)
• He also signed off on the state’s RttT application yesterday, despite the unresolved issues. (Daily News)
• Yesterday, Paterson introduced his own compromise bill, with Bloomberg’s backing. (GothamSchools)
• Paterson called a last-minute session to get legislators to boost the charter cap. (Daily News, NY1)
• UFT’s Michael Mulgrew: “Separate and unequal” charter schools are a tiny part of RttT. (Daily News)
• Charter school parent advocates say they oppose the legislature’s proposed changes. (Post)
• Regular old parents too say they are disappointed to hear about potential charter restrictions. (Post)
• Charter schools approved by the Regents, the legislature’s preferred authorizer, performed worst. (Post)
• DREAM Charter’s principal says the Assembly bill would prevent schools like his from opening. (Post)
• The Daily News lambasted top legislators for appearing willing to give up on landing more school aid.
• The Post says the education bill’s “poison bills” mark a win for the anti-charter UFT.
• And the Post asked why Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch hasn’t spoken up through all this.

IN OTHER NEWS:

• Race to the Top has caused conflict within states, districts, and local unions. (Times, Washington Post)
• President Obama will announce today that he plans to expand RttT next year. (Washington Post)
• A charter school mom says she wishes a charter would take her special-needs son, too. (Post)
• NY1 is going inside Paul Robeson High School, one of 20 schools proposed for closure.
• A South Bronx high school slated for closure has put together a fight song. (WNYC)
• Nearly all of the schools slated for closure have seen far more homeless students recently. (Daily News)
• State Sen. Malcolm Smith gave $100,000 in state funds to a charter school he founded. (Daily News)
• The Times says it’s hoping to see Randi Weingarten’s AFT “walk the walk” on reform in coming months.
• A new program teaches students vocabulary by having them listen to hip-hop music. (Daily News)
• The UFT announced that contract talks have reached an impasse. (GothamSchools, WNYC)
• Jay Mathews says local education reporting is alive and well. (Washington Post)
• D.C.’s charter school graduation rate dropped 5 points last year. (Washington Post)
• Some Chicago schools set for turnaround have been overhauled before. (Chicago Sun-Times)

Governor David Paterson is trying to hammer out a compromise with state legislators as lawmakers convene this evening to take up the question of whether and how to raise the state’s cap on charter schools.

Under a new bill introduced this evening, the governor is proposing to lift the charter cap to 460 — 10 percent of the state’s schools — and retain some of the changes to charter school governance and oversight proposed by legislative leaders. The bill would require charter schools to serve higher numbers of at-risk students and would increase state financial oversight of the schools.

But it strikes other provisions that many legislators strongly support, including consolidating the power to authorize charters under the Board of Regents, prohibiting for-profit companies from operating schools and making it more difficult for charter schools to be placed in district school buildings. (more…)

Arnold Duncan, meet Albany. Whaddya think?

This is the question Governor Paterson and state lawmakers are trying to figure out right now, 48 hours from the deadline for the federal Race to the Top competition.

They’re spending the final hours mulling whether to pass legislation that — depending on who you talk to — would either bolster the state’s chances of winning the race, and as much as $700 million, or would be a “wolf in sheep’s clothing,” imperiling New York’s odds, as Mayor Bloomberg said in a strongly worded statement this afternoon.

The legislation being circulated right now would double the charter school cap to allow 200 new schools in the state. It would also severely rewrite how the schools are opened and closed and in which neighborhoods they’re allowed, following many of the suggestions proposed by the teachers union last week. These include eliminating the city’s power to authorize charter schools, as well as that of the most respected authorizer, the State University of New York, which even authorized the UFT’s own charter school.

(Read the latest legislation here.) (more…)

We all know about strong and weak regulation. In this era of economic crisis we debate stronger regulations, and decry the weakening or loosening of financial industry regulations.

We all know what that means. Stronger regulation means some combination of more laws, more controls, closer scrutiny, stricter limits, etc.. Strong price controls would be strict, and weaker regulation of the airline industry has lowered prices dramatically.

And yet, many charter school proponents have twisted the language around 180 degrees. They think that having few charter schools is “weak,” and having multiple authorizers (each of whom might have its own criteria) is “strong.” They think that freedom from preexisting school regulations makes a “strong” charter school law, and many believe that imposing strict requirements on schools as a condition for them to remain open after their initial characterization period is “weak.” (more…)

• The city is lifting its school-bake-sale ban in order to raise money for Haiti.
• A Weingarten ally, the Detroit union boss, looks at risk of getting voted out.
• Photos from inside Pissed Off Teacher’s school show blinds that can’t be shut.
• Maybe the Obama administration should focus on charter school laws’ quality, not quantity.
• Rochester’s mayor wants control of the schools in that other New York city.
• Jay Mathews kind of wishes there were a GothamSchools in D.C.
• Should the NEA invoke MLK Jr. to celebrate an excise tax victory? It’s of two minds.
• Homework over the holidays was common, according to an Insideschools poll.
• A study finds poor yields from Head Start.
• How should teachers be evaluated? The New York Times wants teachers’ thoughts.
• A new book on why boys fail in school describes a spiked awards ceremony: only girls won.
• And we welcome the city’s charter center to the blogosphere.

A group of parents, students and teachers will be able to bring their protests nearly to Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s doorstep, a federal judge ruled today.

The ruling sets the stage for what is likely to be one of the largest demonstrations against the city’s plan to close 20 schools and allow the expansion of charter schools inside many city school buildings.

Two students at a school slated for closure were among a group that sued this week for the right to rally outside the mayor’s home. They argue that the city has ignored their protests outside of the Department of Education’s Tweed Courthouse headquarters and at individual schools and want to bring the issue to the mayor’s door. (more…)