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Fourteen new charter schools could open in New York City under a plan lawmakers are close to finalizing as part of the state budget, according to John Liu, who chairs the State Senate’s New York City education committee, and several others familiar with the discussions. The potential deal would mark the first charter expansion in years, in one of the most contentious issues in local education.

The change would not raise the charter cap, which limits the number schools in the city to 275.

But currently, even some closed schools are included in that total. The proposal would put 14 of those “zombie” licenses up for grabs again.

Legislators are nearing agreement on several key issues, including a potential ban on new charters in areas where more than 55 percent of all children already attend them, two people familiar with negotiations said. (District 5 in Harlem is the only area where that is the case.)

They also made progress on plans for the state to pay rent for charter facilities, the two people said, which could help assuage concerns about charters sharing space with regular district schools, a source of conflict in the past. Space-sharing arrangements would likely not be banned, however.

The terms will not be final until a state budget deal is reached.

Why It Matters: Even a Few Charters Will Make Big Political Waves

Fourteen is a small number in a system with roughly 1,800 schools, and the change would not transform New York City’s educational landscape.

But charter schools remain a hot-button issue. Charter schools use public taxpayer money, but are run independently from district schools and often aren’t unionized. The expansion of charters at a time when district schools are losing students is certain to draw criticism from some families and advocates, who have protested any increases.

The city’s charter leaders praised the news, which would represent a limited win for the sector. Still, some were disappointed by the negotiations: More than seven times as many new schools could have opened under Ms. Hochul’s first proposal.

Background: The Revival of “Zombie” Charters Brings to Life an Old Debate

Charters were once a topic of perennial debate in Albany. In the early days, some New York City charter networks planned to grow as large as districts like Boston and Atlanta.

But in recent budget cycles, the schools had not been a leading issue.

Overall charter enrollment rose by under 1 percent this school year, state data shows.

The return of charters as a major sticking point in the state budget reflected the influence of competing pressures on Ms. Hochul and lawmakers, including both charter supporters and teachers’ unions that oppose the schools and hold major sway.

What’s Next?

The most interest in licenses for new schools is expected to lie in the Bronx and Brooklyn, though several large networks in the borough have struggled with enrollment.

It is unclear whether the city’s established networks would vie for a limited set of licenses: Success Academy, for example, is interested in opening more schools soon, while KIPP is not.

Some charter supporters have cast the proposal as an opportunity for people of color. Claudia Espinosa, who runs a local nonprofit for Latina girls, said she wants to open a small high school in the South Bronx.

“I’ve been thinking about this for years,” Ms. Espinosa said. “Every day we learn more about what these girls need, and not all schools are equipped to address that.”

Her school is one of 11 permitted to open by one of the state’s two authorizers, if licenses become available. Others possibilities include an all-girls K-8 school in Brooklyn focused on gender justice; the first transfer high school in western Queens’ District 30; and a high school in Central Brooklyn with an emphasis on STEM education.

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