Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
City Plans To Appeal Ruling That Would Expand COVID-19 Testing To Charter Schools
By
Jessica Gould
Published Feb 22, 2021
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Helistockter / Shutterstock
By
Jessica Gould
Published Feb 22, 2021
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Advocates for charter schools hope more can reopen soon, after a judge ruled the city must include them in the program that provides free weekly tests at traditional public schools.
“It's a win for kids because hopefully we're one step closer to getting testing and tracing done so that schools can open and kids can return to schools,” said James Merriman, CEO of The Charter Center, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
Merriman said between a third and a half of the city’s charters are open for some form of in-person learning right now. According to The Charter Center, there are 267 charter schools in the city serving just under 196,000 students. The city’s public school system includes 960,000 students.
The ruling could also open the door for more private and parochial schools to seek city support for their own testing programs.
But a Department of Education spokesperson said the city will appeal the decision.
“Testing is an essential part of keeping our schools safe, and the State provides free test kits for schools that are subject to its testing requirements,” said DOE spokesperson Danielle Filson.
“We do not believe our obligation to perform free, random sample surveillance testing extends beyond DOE schools, and we will appeal this decision.”
The Archdiocese of New York also sued the city for access to the program last fall and won, but the city has appealed that decision, too.
Speaking to reporters about the Catholic Schools’ suit in December, Mayor Bill de Blasio argued the law requires the city to serve students at the schools it runs. “We got a huge number of kids to serve,” he said at the time. “We need all the resources that we have right now.”
Listen to reporter Jessica Gould's radio story for WNYC:
The free testing program, part of a deal brokered between the city and the teachers union, dispatches health workers to every traditional public school to test a sample of students and staff each week. The goal is to identify, and stop, asymptomatic spread of the virus, and can trigger classroom or building-wide closures if multiple cases are identified.
City officials have heralded the program as a key component of safely reopening the school system. But it has refused to extend the program to charters, which are also public, though independently run.
In late December, The Charter Center, along with a group of individual charter schools and families sued the city’s Department of Education, arguing New York law requires the school district to provide all requested “health and welfare” services to all resident children, including “screening tests.” The education department countered that the testing does not qualify as a required “health and welfare” service but is instead a form of “surveillance.”
On Friday, state Supreme Court judge Frank P. Nervo sided with the charter schools: In addition to qualifying for the testing under the law, the court noted that many charter schools share buildings with traditional public schools and share the risk of transmission.
Merriman said testing one side of a building, or in some cases one floor, and not the rest “makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.”
Stacey Gauthier, principal at The Renaissance Charter School, said it is challenging for individual schools to manage the logistics and cost of setting up their own testing program.
She said that while it is true the state provides free tests, schools have to get waivers for tests on site and find qualified medical professionals to conduct them. “It’s complicated,” she said. “It’s much more difficult than training your office staff to do it.”
Guathier said her school operates two sites, and one shares space with city-run District 75 and pre-k programs. She said the fact that those programs can participate in the weekly testing provided by the city while her schools cannot seems unfair and impractical.
“We’re talking about safety, community safety,” she said. “In times of a pandemic it shouldn’t matter what kind of school you are.”
Tagged
COVID-19
pandemic
charter schools
coronavirus
Jessica Gould
Jessica is the education reporter for WNYC and Gothamist. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Jessica reported on the shutdown and reopening of the nation’s largest school system, highlighting the unprecedented impacts on learning, health and mental health for students, staff and families. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
64-year-old man dies in police custody after medical emergency, NYPD says
Police said an internal investigation is underway and have not released the man’s name.
By
Karen Yi
and
Charles Lane
Published Aug 15, 2026 at 4:25 p.m. ET
Man charged with hate crimes after disrupting Shabbat at NYC Central Synagogue
Public officials condemned the incident and says people should be allowed to worship in peace.
By
Ryan Kost
News
Man charged with hate crimes after disrupting Shabbat at NYC Central Synagogue
Public officials condemned the incident and says people should be allowed to worship in peace.
By
Ryan Kost
NYPD to swarm upper Manhattan, aiming to head off a 'Dyckman Takeover'
By
Charles Lane
A tussle over driver's license data that could affect NY, NJ commutes
By
Herb Pinder
NYC confirms 2 more Legionnaires' deaths in Upper East Side outbreak
By
Caroline Lewis
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .