A record 43,000 students could not get into charter schools this year because of a lack of space — a pent-up demand that will only worsen because of the state’s cap on new schools, officials said yesterday.
There are currently 99 charter schools in the city, a number that will expand to 125 next fall with 38,400 students.
But the increase in capacity can’t keep up with a growing number of parents desperately seeking to get their kids into popular charters.
About 55,000 students applied to enroll in charter schools, according to the New York City Charter Center. But only 11,700 will be accepted — about 20 percent.
That means about 80 percent of students are turned away, or on waiting lists.
This year’s wait list grew by 12,000 compared with the year before. Last year, there were about 31,000 students on charter waiting lists, education officials said.
New York law limits the number of charter schools to 200 statewide, and officials said the limit will be reached later this year — unless the Legislature lifts the cap.
State Sen. Bill Perkins (D-Harlem) — considered the fiercest opponent of charter schools in the Legislature, despite the fact that they outperform traditional public schools in his district — will grill charter operators at a legislative hearing scheduled for today.
State and city education officials, teachers-union president Mike Mulgrew and parents also will testify.
Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, a charter supporter, said of the waiting lists, “It doesn’t surprise me at all. Parents are voting for better and better opportunities for their kids, and we want to provide those opportunities. Give the parents choice.”
Klein added, “Let’s keep the politics out of it and make sure that we let the parents lead the way on this.”
A Long Island state senator said he will attend the hearing to prevent Perkins — a fellow Democrat — from turning it into a witch hunt against charters.
“I will be there to make sure that charter schools, chartered public schools, get the fair hearing that they deserve,” said Sen. Craig Johnson (D-Nassau).
“My concern is that Senator Perkins is stacking the deck to push an agenda that is completely misguided and mistaken.”
Demand for charters is particularly high in Perkins’ district.
Democracy Prep in Harlem received 1,350 applications for 100 seats — which means only 7 percent won a spot in a random lottery.
Meanwhile, in The Bronx, only 2 percent of the 1,184 applicants won seats at Bronx Lighthouse Charter School, and just 5 percent were accepted at the Carl Icahn Charter School.
In Brooklyn, only 4 percent of students won seats at Community Roots and Brooklyn Scholars.
In Queens, only 4 percent won slots at the Renaissance Charter School.
Additional reporting by Brendan Scott