Steve Sanders, who served in the New York State Assembly for 28 years and was chairman of the Education Committee from 1995 to 2005, was once at best neutral on charters, but he's now working with Education Reform Now to lobby in favor of lifting the cap. Here are excerpts from an article he published:

More than a decade ago, when I was chairman of the Assembly's Education Committee, we authorized the creation of charter schools in New York State. Back then we attached strong strings to charters and set a hard cap on their growth. At the time I felt it was appropriate to treat charter schools as an experiment because they were untested.

Today, I believe the jury has returned and the verdict is clear: Charter schools, and the energy and innovation that accompanies them, have overwhelmingly been a great success. As a result, the Assembly should act without delay and join the Senate by lifting the once-prudent cap we put on the number of these schools. It should do so without adding other measures which might unreasonably or unnecessarily endanger the charter school movement.

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