The pressure is working. Let's keep it up!

Hi Ashley,   Over the past 24 hours, we sent thousands of emails to our New York State Legislators — and the pressure is working. Yesterday morning, it appeared that a deal to reauthorize zombie charters was close to done... but today, we're hearing that legislators are still pushing back hard against the Governor's proposal to expand charters at all. And as of now, there is still no final budget.   This is the critical moment in negotiations, when what our legislators are hearing from their constituents — or not hearing — can make or break the final result. We can't let up. We need to ensure that our calls and emails continue to flood the inboxes of our State leaders and legislators, right now, while there is still time to influence the budget outcome.   So let's keep the pressure up! Call and email your state leaders and legislators today! If you took action yesterday, you can make another call today, and then text or email the toolkit link to 5 other people and ask them to take action, too. And help us amplify the fight to keep charters out of the budget with the toolkit of sample tweets and graphics included below.   ACTION TOOLKIT Email State Leaders & Legislators Click below to send an email to the main budget negotiators — Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Speaker Carl Heastie — and your own State Senator and Assemblymember now. EMAIL NOW Make a phone call Use the script below to call your state leaders, and when you're done, please encourage family and friends to make a call too.   Click here to find the phone number of your State Senator or call the Senate switchboard at 518-455-2800 and ask to connect with your Senator's office.   Click here to find the phone number of your Assemblymember or call the Assembly switchboard at 518-455-4100 and ask to connect with your Assemblymember's office Share on social media Help us amplify our message using your personal social media accounts! Below you will find sample Tweets and posts, as well as graphics and videos. And remember to follow AQE @AQE_NY and the hashtags #DontRaiseTheCap to see what's happening in real time. Start by retweeting our video explainer on the impact of charter schools on public education.   @GovKathyHochul is pushing for a massive expansion of charter schools in New York City right now through the state budget. 🚨 Email Gov. Hochul and your State Legislators now and tell them: Don't raise the cap! → https://t.co/RaYdne9csa pic.twitter.com/nYTAzGqhFD — AQE New York (@AQE_NY) March 29, 2023 Graphics Click to download and save all the following graphics, or tap and hold an individual image on mobile to save to your phone:  Sample Tweets & Posts If policy debates were driven by data, charter schools wouldn't be on the table in the #NYSbudget. Why should we allow more charters to open when there aren't enough students to fill existing seats? #DontRaiseTheCap #NoZombieCharters Click to Tweet   Charter schools use long waitlists as an excuse for why they want to open more charters. But the numbers tell a different story. There are already thousands of unfilled seats in existing charter schools #DontRaiseTheCap #NoZombieCharters  Click to Tweet   It's clear that high demand isn't the real reason why @GovKathyHochul is pushing for more charters. @GovKathyHochul: whose side are you on? Students and families or your billionaire donors pushing for more charters?  #DontRaiseTheCap  Click to Tweet   Charters are on the agenda because of @GovKathyHochul's billionaire donors. The #NYSbudget needs to put students and families first, not wealthy donors looking to profit off of charters #DontRaiseTheCap #NoZombieCharters  Click to Tweet   As charters lobby Albany to expand, NYC charters eliminated 7,500 spots for students by requesting reductions in enrollment authorizations. That's 1 in 4 seats originally authorized at these schools #DontRaiseTheCap #NoZombieCharters  Click to Tweet   Finally: remember to forward this email or share the link below with five friends or family members and ask them to take action, too. ACTION TOOLKIT Jasmine Gripper Executive Director AQENY.org | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram DONATE

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