What happened in NYS was due in large part to Gov. Cuomo, who has been beyond courageous and heroic (with a nice quote from DFER's Joe Williams):

Cuomo hailed as education hero after charter save

By Carl Campanile

March 31, 2014 | 6:24am

http://nypost.com/2014/03/31/cuomo-hailed-as-education-hero-after-charter-save/ 

Gov. Cuomo's actions to protect charter schools have made him a darling of education reformers who back student choice.

The group Education Reform Now has named the governor its honorary chairman for its annual national retreat, which will be held at the Whiteface Lodge in Lake Placid from May 4 to 6.

"Gov. Cuomo has emerged as a key national leader for education reform. The speech he gave at the charter-school rally in Albany showed that he stood on the side of innovation and quality education," said Joe Williams, president of Education Reform Now.

The group's board of directors is filled with hedge- fund investors who support publicly funded, privately run charter schools, which are largely exempt from union rules.

Williams said Cuomo has agreed to attend and speak at the event.

Cuomo, who is running for re-election this fall, countered Mayor de Blasio's plans to limit charter schools. The new $139 billion state budget would require the city to allow charter schools to co-locate in public-school buildings.