Late Thursday, Albany lawmakers reached a tentative agreement to raise the cap on charter schools statewide from 200 to 460, with authority to grant charters divided between the State Board of Regents and the State University systems.

The power has been taken away from the city's schools chancellor.

It would be phased in over a four-year period and include provisions for evaluating teachers based on student performance.

The deal would also include a statewide pupil data collection program.

The move paves the way for the state to apply for $700 million in federal education funds in the "Race To The Top" competition.

The deadline is Tuesday.

Also, just in time for the long holiday weekend, a deal has been reached to keep state parks and historical sites open this summer.

Governor David Paterson says the deal will provide $11 million to fund operating costs.

The money coming as a result of $70 million in cuts to the Environmental Protection Fund.

The Assembly was in conference late Thursday night discussing the deal and a Senate vote is expected Friday.

"We're keeping the parks open, as we've come to a deal to approximately cut what I proposed in the original budget. That's the good news, that the Legislature, in this case, has made the tough decision," said Paterson in an interview with WOR 710.

The Paterson administration had closed 41 parks and 14 historic sites, as well as service cuts at other locations, in an effort to help close the state's growing budget gap.

Among the parks impacted were Bayswater Point State Park in Queens and Riverbank State Park in Manhattan.

"It's a shame that the parks... were essentially held hostage, but we now got a deal to keep the parks open. We'll keep our promises to New York's families," said Manhattan Senator Eric Schneiderman. "

Opponents said cutting the Environmental Fund would lead to drastic cuts for other institutions like the Bronx Zoo and the Botanical Garden.

Currently the state is operating without a budget deal, after lawmakers failed to meet an April 1 deadline. The budget is now eight weeks late.