Sec. 403. Grants to support high-quality charter schools
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Section 5203 ( 20 U.S.C. 7221b ) is amended to read as follows: In this section: The term charter management organization means a nonprofit organization that operates, manages, or oversees multiple charter schools by centralizing or sharing certain functions and resources among schools, or a group or consortium of such organizations. The term eligible entity means— a State entity; an authorized public chartering agency; a local educational agency; or a charter management organization.
The term State entity means— a State educational agency; a State charter school board; a Governor of a State; or a charter support organization. From the amount available under section 5202(b)(3), the Secretary shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities to enable— eligible entities described in subparagraph (A), (B), or
(C)of subsection (a)(2) to— award subgrants to eligible applicants— to open new charter schools; to open replicable, high-quality charter school models; or to expand high-quality charter schools; and provide technical assistance to eligible applicants and authorized public chartering agencies in carrying out the activities described in subparagraph
(A)and work with authorized public chartering agencies in the State to improve authorizing quality; or eligible entities described in subparagraph (B), (C), or
(D)of subsection (a)(2) to open new charter schools, to open replicable high-quality charter school models, or to expand high-quality charter schools, which may include— supporting the physical expansion of charter school buildings, including financing the development of new buildings and campuses to meet increased enrollment needs; paying costs associated with hiring additional teachers to serve additional students; providing transportation to students to and from the charter school; purchasing instructional materials, implementing teacher and principal professional development programs, and hiring additional non-teaching staff; and supporting any necessary activities associated with the charter school carrying out the purpose of this section. An eligible entity receiving a grant under subsection (b)(1) shall— use 90 percent of the grant funds to carry out subsection (b)(1)(A), in accordance with the quality charter school program described in the entity’s application approved pursuant to subsection (f); and reserve 10 percent of such funds to carry out the activities described in subsection (b)(1)(B), of which not more than 30 percent may be used for administrative costs which may include technical assistance. An eligible entity may use a grant received under this section to carry out the activities described in subsection
(b)directly or through grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements. A grant awarded by the Secretary to an eligible entity under this section shall be for a period of not more than 3 years, and may be renewed by the Secretary for 1 additional 2-year period. A subgrant awarded by an eligible entity under this section shall be for a period of not more than 3 years, of which an eligible applicant may use not more than 18 months for planning and program design. An eligible entity may renew a subgrant for 1 additional 2-year period. The Secretary, and each eligible entity awarding subgrants under this section, shall use a peer review process to review applications for assistance under this section. Each eligible entity awarding subgrants under this section shall award subgrants in a manner that, to the extent practicable and applicable, ensures that such subgrants— are distributed throughout different areas, including urban, suburban, and rural areas; and will assist charter schools representing a variety of educational approaches. An eligible entity may not receive more than 1 grant under this section at a time, unless the eligible entity demonstrates to the Secretary that, for each charter school supported under the first grant, the education results have improved in the areas described in subparagraphs
(A)and
(D)of section 5210(7). An eligible applicant may not receive more than 1 subgrant under this section per charter school for each grant period or renewal period. An eligible entity desiring to receive a grant under this section shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may require. The application shall include the following: A description of the entity’s objectives in running a quality charter school program under this section and how the objectives of the program will be carried out, including— a description of how the entity will— support both new charter school startup and the expansion and replication of high-quality charter school models; work with charter schools to promote inclusion of all students and support all students upon enrollment to promote retention; work with charter schools on recruitment practices, including efforts to engage groups that may otherwise have limited opportunities to participate in charter schools; share best and promising practices between charter schools and other public schools; ensure the charter schools the eligible entity supports can meet the educational needs of their students, including students who are children with disabilities and English language learners; and support efforts to increase quality initiatives, including meeting the quality authorizing elements described in paragraph (2)(D)(ii); in the case of any eligible entity that will be awarding subgrants under subsection (b)(1)(A), a description of how the entity will— inform eligible charter schools, developers, authorized public chartering agencies, and other entities of the availability of funds under the program; work with eligible applicants to ensure that the applicants access all Federal funds that they are eligible to receive, and help the charter schools supported by the applicants and the students attending the charter schools— participate in the Federal programs in which the schools and students are eligible to participate; and receive the commensurate share of Federal funds the schools and students are eligible to receive under such programs; ensure eligible applicants that receive a subgrant under the entity’s program are prepared to continue to operate the charter schools receiving the subgrant funds once the funds have expired; support charter schools in local educational agencies with large numbers of schools identified by the State under section 1114(a)(1)(B); and carry out the subgrant competition, including— a description of the application each eligible applicant desiring to receive a subgrant will submit, which application shall include— a description of the roles and responsibilities of eligible applicants, partner organizations, and charter management organizations, including the administrative and contractual roles and responsibilities; and a description of the quality controls agreed to between the eligible applicant and the authorized public chartering agency involved, such as a contract or performance agreement, and how a school’s performance on the State’s academic accountability system will be a primary factor for renewal; and a description of how the entity will review applications; except in the case of an eligible entity described in subsection (a)(3)(A), a description of how the entity— will work with the State educational agency and the charter schools in the State to maximize charter school participation in Federal and State programs for charter schools; and will work with the State educational agency to adequately operate the entity’s program under this section, where applicable; in the case of an eligible entity that is a State entity, a description of the extent to which the entity— is able to meet and carry out the priorities described in subsection (g)(2); and is working to develop or strengthen a cohesive statewide system to support the opening of new charter schools, the opening of replicable, high-quality charter school models, and the expansion of high-quality charter schools; and in the case of an entity that partners with an outside organization to carry out the entity’s quality charter school program, in whole or in part, a description of the roles and responsibilities of such partner. Assurances, including a description of how the assurances will be met, that— the eligible entity, if awarding subgrants, will— consider applications from eligible charter schools, authorized public chartering agencies, charter management organizations, and other entities as applicable under State law; and provide adequate technical assistance to such eligible applicants to— meet the objectives described in clauses
(ii)and
(iii)of paragraph (1)(A) and subparagraph (B); and enroll traditionally underserved students, including students who are children with disabilities and English language learners, to promote an inclusive education environment; each charter school receiving funds under the entity’s program will have a high degree of autonomy over budget and operations; the entity will support charter schools in meeting the educational needs of their students as described in paragraph (1)(A)(v); and in the case of an eligible entity that is a State entity— the entity will ensure that the authorized public chartering agency of any charter school that receives funds under the entity’s program— ensures that the charter school is meeting the obligations under this Act, part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; and adequately monitors and helps the schools in recruiting, enrolling, and meeting the needs of all students, including students who are children with disabilities and English language learners; and the entity will promote quality authorizing, such as through providing technical assistance, to support all authorized public chartering agencies in the State to improve the monitoring of their charter schools, including by— using annual performance data, which may include graduation rates and student growth data, as appropriate, to measure the progress of their schools toward becoming high-quality charter schools; and reviewing the schools’ independent, annual audits of financial statements conducted in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and ensuring any such audits are publically reported. A request and justification for waivers of any Federal statutory or regulatory provisions that the entity believes are necessary for the successful operation of the charter schools that will receive funds under the entity’s program under this section, and a description of any State or local rules, generally applicable to public schools, that will be waived, or otherwise not apply, to such schools. The Secretary shall award grants to eligible entities under this section on the basis of the quality of the applications submitted under subsection (f), after taking into consideration— the degree of flexibility afforded by the State’s public charter school law and, in the case of an eligible entity described in subsection (a)(2)(A), how the entity will work to maximize the flexibility provided to charter schools under the law; the quality of the strategy for assessing achievement of the entity’s objectives under subsection (f)(1); the likelihood that the eligible entity, and any eligible applicants receiving subgrants from the eligible entity, will meet those objectives and improve educational results for students; the proposed number of new charter schools to be opened, and the number of high-quality charter schools to be replicated or expanded under the program; in the case of an eligible entity awarding subgrants under subsection (b)(1)(A), the entity’s plan to— adequately monitor the eligible applicants receiving subgrants under the entity’s program; work with the authorized public chartering agencies involved to avoid duplication of work for the charter schools and authorized public chartering agencies; and provide adequate technical assistance, as described in the entity’s application under subsection (f), for the eligible applicants receiving subgrants under the entity’s program; and the eligible entity’s plan to support quality authorizing efforts in the State, consistent with the objectives under subsection (f)(1). In selecting eligible entities that are State entities to receive a portion of the grants awarded under this section, the Secretary shall give priority to State entities to the extent that the entities meet the following criteria: In the case in which a State entity is located in a State that allows an entity other than the State educational agency to be an authorized public chartering agency or a State in which only a local educational agency may be an authorized public chartering agency, the State has an appeals process for the denial of an application for a charter school. The State entity is located in a State that ensures equitable financing, as compared to traditional public schools, for charter schools and students in a prompt manner. The State entity is located in a State that uses charter schools and best practices from charter schools to help improve struggling schools and local educational agencies. The State entity partners with an organization that has a demonstrated record of success in developing management organizations to support the development of charter schools in the State. The State entity supports charter schools that support at-risk students through activities such as dropout prevention or dropout recovery. An eligible applicant receiving a subgrant under this section shall use such funds to open new charter schools, open replicable, high-quality charter school models, or expand existing high-quality charter schools, which may include the activities described in subparagraphs
(A)through
(E)of subsection (b)(2). Each eligible entity receiving a grant under this section shall submit to the Secretary, at the end of the second and third year of the grant period and at the end of any renewal period, a report that includes the following: The number of students served and, if applicable, how many new students were served during each year of the grant. In the case of an eligible entity awarding subgrants under subsection (b)(1)(A), the number of subgrants awarded under this section to carry out each of the following: The opening of new charter schools. The opening of replicable, high-quality charter school models. The expansion of high-quality charter schools. In the case of an eligible entity receiving a grant under subsection (b)(2), the number of new charter schools opened, the number of replicable high-quality charter school models opened, and the number of high-quality charter schools expanded under the grant. In the case of a State entity described in subparagraph (A), (B), or
(C)of subsection (a)(3), the progress the State entity made toward meeting the priorities described in subsection (g)(2), as applicable. A description of— how the entity met the objectives of the quality charter school program described in the entity’s application under subsection (f); how the entity complied with, and, if applicable, ensured that eligible applicants complied with, the assurances described in the entity’s application; and how the entity worked with authorized public chartering agencies, including how the agencies worked with the management company or leadership of the schools in which the subgrants were awarded, if applicable. .
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Sec. 403
Grants to support high-quality charter schools
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