Bill Phillips, President of the New York Charter School Association, adds his two cents:

 

I dislike a lot of things about this bill and the process of getting to this bill, but the good does outweigh the bad.  With SUNY held harmless, the potential to more than double charter growth in the absence of local/regional caps outweighs the restrictions.

 

In the short-term, it's back to the budget.  That's the thing that really impacts the existing schools.  Intermediate-term is creating workarounds on some of the newly-minted restrictions.

Here's Peter's comments in the WSJ: Peter Murphy, policy director for the New York Charter Schools Association, said banning for-profit charter expansion was a setback for the charter movement and a "bitter pill to swallow" but said, overall, the legislation was a "monumental step forward."

Just tuck away one thing for me.  The legislature – this time the Assembly – yet again blocked a provision that would better able us to serve special needs students.  The provision in the Senate bill that granted charters access to BOCES and the ability to create special education collaboratives was pulled by the Assembly.   It's a disgusting routine – criticize charters for lower sped numbers, question their willingness to serve needy kids, pull legislative initiatives that give them the tools to do the job, and repeat the process.  Btw, the next legislator who gets so offended by this sham, that he or she is willing to do something about it, will be the first legislator willing to take that course.