On Thursday, thousands of students, teachers and parents flooded the streets of Brooklyn to press the case for charter schools in New York City, home to the nation’s largest school system.
Less than 24 hours later, a pair of influential state lawmakers criticized the demonstration — which occurred during the school day — and called for an investigation into whether the demonstration violated the law.
The huge demonstration — and immediate backlash — could signal a resurgence of an intense political battle over charter schools, which were often the source of caustic fights in New York a decade ago.
Last week’s rally, labeled a “March for Excellence,” was the largest demonstration in New York in recent years promoting charter schools, which are publicly funded but privately run and rarely unionized. The event, organizers said, was “about parents, not electoral politics.”
It came less than seven weeks before a mayoral election in which the two leading candidates diverge sharply in their stances on the charter schools, which serve about 15 percent of public school students in New York. The number of charter schools in the city is restricted to 275 under state law; more cannot open unless state lawmakers raise the cap.
Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for mayor, opposes lifting the charter school cap, arguing that the schools “undermine the principle of universal public education.” In a stark contrast, Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat who is running as an independent at a distant second in polls, was a crucial champion of the sector as governor and wants to allow them to gain a greater role in New York’s educational landscape.
Their dueling views reflect a national fault line. Charter schools enroll more than 3.5 million children across the United States. Supporters view them as offering an alternative pathway to rigorous academics for low-income families. Other parents and teachers remain deeply suspicious of them, arguing they lack adequate oversight on issues such as discipline and the treatment of students with disabilities.
In recent years, the most heated political fights on school choice have shifted from charters to the Republican-led push for private school voucher programs.
But this past week’s rally — and the reaction to it — suggested that more intense charter school clashes may resurface ahead of Election Day in November.
On Friday, two Democratic lawmakers called for the state education commissioner to investigate whether aspects of the rally breached state law, noting that the city’s largest charter operator, Success Academy, canceled classes for many elementary and middle school students for the demonstration and pushed staff members to attend.
The legislators, State Senators John Liu and Shelley Mayer, who lead separate education committees in the Senate, argued that the state should “claw back” a portion of funding from each of the more than 200 schools that participated in the rally if officials determine that the rally violated state rules on school demonstrations.
“Canceling classes during a school day and forcing families and students to engage in a political rally is an egregious misuse of instructional time and state funds,” they wrote. “Our state provides public dollars to charter schools to educate students, not for political activism or for influencing elections.”
The rally had echoes of another large-scale pro-charter march across the Brooklyn Bridge more than a decade ago, organized shortly before Bill de Blasio took office as mayor.
During his first term, Mr. de Blasio clashed with charter schools, especially Success Academy. But in recent years, the schools ceased to dominate education debates. Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat who is running for re-election as an independent, has not made them a priority.
Thursday’s rally came as some charter leaders have privately expressed alarm about Mr. Mamdani’s positions on the sector since his June victory in the Democratic primary.
Mayoral candidates weren’t mentioned by name at the event. Still, leaders of the charter movement did not disguise their distress.
“Yes, I am worried,” Eva Moskowitz, the founder of Success Academy, said at a news conference. “Because we can’t even establish that charter schools are public schools. This is crazy talk.”
Ms. Moskowitz said in a statement on Friday that the letter from elected officials was “another example of the discrimination and effort to silence Black and brown parents who only want equity and an excellent education.” Roughly 90 percent of the city’s students in charters are Black or Latino, a higher proportion than in the traditional school system.
A spokeswoman for the Mamdani campaign did not respond to a request for comment. But the state assemblyman has said that he believes charter schools should be subject to more stringent oversight on enrollment, spending and discipline.
He said in a spring mayoral survey that “many Black and brown families in particular feel they face a choice between a charter school promising college readiness and a flailing neighborhood public school.” He added that he would aim to ensure all families can feel confident their local school is the strongest option.
Several charter school leaders appeared to take direct aim at his stances during the Thursday demonstration.
Rafiq Kalam Id-Din II, the founder of Ember Charter Schools in Brooklyn, questioned why “anyone who purports to be a progressive” would stand “against the choice of parents.”
“Anyone who is serious about leading this city is going to have to say to themselves: ‘Wait a minute,’” he said at the news conference. “Perhaps it’s time for me to actually align my progressive values with the truth and the facts.”
Troy Closson is a Times education reporter focusing on K-12 schools.
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