The New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) and the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) have filed another lawsuit aimed at limiting educational options for New York families and restricting innovation. Last month, NYSUT and the UFT sued the State University of New York, a charter authorizer, to prevent the transfer of a charter from Success Academy to Strive Charter School. This is not the first such lawsuit by the unions, and it is unlikely to be the last. Ongoing declines in statewide enrollment have increased pressure to maintain teacher positions and their associated revenue for unions.
New York State has a nonsensical law that restricts the opening of new charter schools, though New York charter schools are among the highest-performing in the country and primarily serve low-income black and Hispanic students.
NYSUT has pursued legal action to prevent additional charters from opening. Earlier this year, it sued SUNY to block new charters on Long Island and previously tried to prevent Vertex Charter School from opening. These actions ignore student outcomes; for example, Vertex is located in a Bronx district where only 7 percent of high school graduates are prepared for college. Strive Charter School has an innovative model focused on low-income families: it will be open every day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., including weekends and summer, to support families that struggle to afford child care…