The state Board of Regents is expected to approve seven new city charter schools at its monthly meeting Tuesday -- slicing to 23 the number of charters that can be issued statewide.
The move comes as lawmakers work feverishly under Gov. Paterson's deadline of Thursday for passing legislation to eliminate -- or at least raise -- the state's cap of 200 charter schools.
Lifting or removing the cap would boost the state's odds of snaring as much as $700 million in federal education-reform aid, for which the application due date is Jan. 19.
The charter schools set for approval early next week include the fifth clone of the successful Icahn Charter School in The Bronx, as well as replacements for two shuttering Catholic schools.
If approved, Riverton Street Charter School will open in September in the former home of St. Catherine of Sienna in Queens, and Bedford-Stuyvesant New Beginnings Charter School will open in the closing St. John the Baptist School in Brooklyn.
The Regents are expected to return two other charter-school applications approved by SUNY for revision.
Later this month, the city's Department of Education is planning to put out its first-ever parent guide to charter schools, with details on the 99 schools already operating as well as the 26 expected to open this fall.
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