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NY lawmakers seek probe into charter schools rally that canceled classes, forced attendance
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Sep 19, 2025
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Elizabeth Kim
Published Sep 19, 2025
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Two state lawmakers are calling for an investigation into a large rally this week in support of charter schools, after it emerged that charter leaders canceled class and required students and staff to attend.
State Sens. John Liu and Shelley Mayer sent the state Department of Education and SUNY a letter on Friday, citing a recording obtained by Gothamist that captured Success Academy founder Eva Moskowitz telling staff that advocacy was part of their job responsibilities.
Charter schools, which serve around 142,000 students in New York City, are privately managed but publicly funded.
“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,” the lawmakers wrote. “Our state provides public dollars to charter schools to educate students, not for political activism or for influencing elections.”
They added that “staff and families reported feeling pressured to participate and fearful of repercussions if they did not” participate in the rally.
The rally across the Brooklyn Bridge on Thursday featured thousands of charter parents, students and staff.
It came weeks ahead of a mayoral election that could affect the future of charters in the city. Zohran Mandani, the Democratic mayoral nominee and front-runner, has said he is opposed to expanding charters and they “siphon resources” away from traditional public schools. In the recorded remarks, Moskowitz said Success Academy faced “an existential threat.” She didn’t mention Mamdani by name.
She pressured employees to attend the rally and send emails to elected officials.
“We are quite hierarchical,” she said. “There is a chain of command, and when your boss asks you to do something, assuming it's not unethical or a question of conscience, you do the task.”
“Are we clear?”
Moskowitz also urged families to attend the rally and reach out to elected officials five times.
“There are currently serious threats to the educational excellence your child deserves,” she wrote in an email obtained by Gothamist. “We need 100% of parents to get on the bus with us.”
A spokesperson for Success Academy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The school previously told Gothamist that it has a dual mission of educating students and advocating for policy changes.
“Nobody who works at Success should be surprised by this or should object to standing up for charter schools,” its spokesperson, Ann Powell, said in a statement on Wednesday. “That has always been true and it's why we have organized so many marches over the years.”
But Liu pushed back on the school’s argument.
“It was a school day and classes were not held. So that by itself is a disservice to school kids, and a potential misuse of state funds,” Liu said. “Whether or not the staff agreed to the dual mission, that remains to be seen.”
The staging of the event was nearly identical to one organized in 2013 when Bill de Blasio, a critic of charters, was poised to win his mayoral campaign.
“We have a core competency in political threats, unfortunately,” Moskowitz said in the recording. “But this is one of these moments where there is heightened risk, policy risk, political risk, and so we are going to do what we've always done, which is to stand up for children and families in a massive way.”
Tagged
education
new york city
Elizabeth Kim
Elizabeth Kim is a reporter on the People and Power desk who covers mayoral power. She previously covered the pandemic, housing, redevelopment and public spaces. A native of Queens, she speaks fluent Mandarin. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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