Dive Brief:
- An analysis of classroom space in New York City public schools by pro-charter group Families for Excellent Schools found charter school students are more likely to go to overcrowded schools than traditional public school students.
- The New York Daily News reports the analysis found more than half of all charter schools co-located with public schools are overcrowded, when only 16% of co-located traditional schools are the same.
- Families for Excellent Schools limited its analysis to co-located schools, of which there are 117, and the New York City Department of Education has said the report is misleading and innaccurate when it comes to school building utilization.
Dive Insight:
The question of charter school co-location is one that has roiled major cities across the country. Co-locating schools creates an opportunity to use empty space in public school buildings, which is why it makes sense that district schools in New York that have co-located charters are not, for the most part, overcrowded. But charter school opponents often do not want charters taking additional resources from other students, whether those resources, like classroom space, might otherwise be wasted. In New York, the city's Department of Education has to pay for charter school rent in non-district buildings if there is no public school space available.
On the West Coast, the Los Angeles Unified School District is creating a working group to make recommendations about improving transparency in co-location decisions. The proposal is meant to get parents and traditional school administrators involved in the process before a co-location is approved by the district, though critics expect it will make it easier for charters to get space in district buildings.