Shawgi Tell at Dissident Voice reports that one infamous New York charter chain is attempting to circumvent some laws.
New York State limits the number of charter schools allowed in the state to 460. Currently, about 352 charter schools operate across the state. Roughly 285 of these privately-operated schools are in New York City. See here for more details about the number of charter schools allowed only in New York City.
A June 16, 2026, Press Release from New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) states that NYSUT and the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) in New York City, “have filed a legal challenge to stop a scheme by Success Academy Charter Schools and the State University of New York’s Charter School Committee that attempts to circumvent the state’s charter cap.”
Over the years, Success Academy Charter Schools has been exposed in the media for a broad range of illegal and unethical activities (search here and here). For its part, the State University of New York’s Charter School Committee, a major charter school authorizer, is notorious for consisting of unelected pro-privatization individuals who regularly rubber-stamp charter school applications.
The NYSUT/UFT lawsuit, filed in New York County Supreme Court, “charges that SUNY’s Charter School Committee illegally approved the ‘transfer’ of a Success Academy charter in the Bronx to a brand-new entity called Strive Charter School — even though New York City has already reached its statutory cap on charter schools and state law does not allow for the transfer of an existing charter to a new entity. Strive’s founder, Eric Grannis, is the husband of Success Academy CEO Eva Moskowitz.” Patronage, nepotism, and corruption are widespread in the U.S. charter school sector.
This “transfer” approval goes against “the explicit objections of the New York State Board of Regents, which found the action was likely illegal and recommended it be abandoned.”