New York City parents opening their latest private school tuition bills are experiencing serious sticker shock. At many elite schools, tuition now tops $70,000 a year — more than the median household income in most New York neighborhoods.
It makes obvious what many families already know: in New York City, school choice exists — but only if you can afford it.
Families with means can tour campuses, compare philosophies and outcomes, and write a check for the school that fits their child. Working-class parents are typically told to attend the school they’re assigned and hope for the best.
That’s not choice. It’s rationed opportunity and in a city that prides itself on fairness and progress, it should trouble all of us.
Education is supposed to be the great equalizer. But when private tuition rivals college costs, the divide between those with options and those without becomes impossible to ignore. High-needs families want what every parent wants: safe schools, strong academics, and a real path to college or a career. What they often lack isn’t ambition — it’s access.
That’s where public charter schools come in. Charter schools are tuition-free public schools families actively choose. There’s no legacy status or $70,000 check — just a lottery and the chance at a school that works for their child. For parents juggling rent, child care and multiple jobs, that choice isn’t ideological. It’s practical.
Too often, we conflate “free” with “fair.”
While traditional public schools are free, families know that quality varies widely, and when a child is zoned to a struggling school, “free” doesn’t feel like opportunity. Meanwhile, families with resources opt out —moving to more expensive neighborhoods, hiring tutors, or paying private tuition that now rivals college costs.
Charter schools help level the playing field. They give working-class families access to high-quality public schools without requiring wealth, relocation, and the results speak for themselves. Across New York, charter schools serving predominantly high-needs Black and Latino students have shown that income doesn’t have to dictate achievement, with strong gains on state exams that rival the highest-performing schools.
That’s not about competition. It’s about possibility.
It shows what can happen when families have access to schools with clear expectations, strong leadership, and the flexibility to meet students where they are.
At its core, this is a question of equity and dignity.
For decades, civil rights leaders have understood that access to quality education is one of the most powerful tools for breaking cycles of poverty. When students attend strong schools, graduation rates rise. College attendance increases. Long-term earnings improve. Communities benefit.
That’s why so many parents in low-income neighborhoods actively seek out charter schools. They are not abandoning public education. They are demanding that it work for their children.
This doesn’t have to be a fight between charter schools and traditional public schools. The real divide isn’t between school models — it’s between families who have options and families who don’t.
At a time when private education is becoming increasingly exclusive, our public system should be expanding high-quality options, not limiting them. Charter schools are one important part of that solution — especially for families who have historically been locked out of choice altogether.
If we believe in fairness, then school choice cannot be a luxury good.
Martell is executive director of Education Reform Now New York.
