New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration is moving forward with providing four charter schools space inside regular district buildings, just under a deadline imposed by a new law.
Among the four schools approved by the city’s department of education are two Success Academy charters, the network at the heart of a protracted, public battle between de Blasio and Success Academy founder Eva Moskowitz over co-locating charters in buildings with regular, district-run schools.
The law, which was the result of a budget deal and took effect in April, requires the city to either give charter schools space in district buildings, or provide them with money to rent in a private building. The city must also respond to requests for space within five months, and Sept. 11 is the five-month mark for the first batch of requests.
“We’re encouraged that the administration wants to work with public charter schools and make sure parents have great options for their children, regardless of zip code,” Moskowitz said in a statement sent out by a spokeswoman. “We look forward to getting more details.”
Mayor de Blasio has yet to release comprehensive guidelines for charter-district co-locations, although he hinted at what they might look like during a recent press conference at a charter school in East Harlem.
There’s no word yet on exactly what kind of space the four schools will get.
Success Academy Bronx 3 and Success Academy Bed-Stuy 1 are already sharing buildings with regular district schools and need space in order to add a grade to each school next year. Those additional grades may or may not be located in the same building.
Of the other two schools, Launch Expeditionary Learning School is also adding a grade, and Bronx Charter School for Better Learning II will be opening in the 2015-2016 school year.
Success Academy is a rapidly expanding charter school network in New York with 32 schools currently and applications to open 14 more.