Sponsors (6)
Expands allowable State activities under the federal charter grant program, creates capped pre‑charter planning grants, and adjusts subgrant/reserve and administrative percentage limits.
Official title: Modify the program of grants to support high-quality charter schools.
Introduced May 15, 2025 by John Cornyn · Last progress May 15, 2025
The bill increases planning, facility, and administrative supports to help start new charter schools, but does so while allowing a smaller share of grant funds to flow directly to schools and by setting eligibility and State-discretion rules that could exclude some leaders and create uneven access across States.
Prospective charter school developers (schools, students, and educators) can receive up to $100,000 in pre-charter planning grants and benefit from a dedicated pre-charter planning reserve (up to 5%), improving application quality and the likelihood of successfully launching new schools.
State entities may provide revolving loan funds or facility assistance to help developers cover upfront facility costs and secure school facilities faster, reducing startup delays and capital barriers.
State program administration gets more flexibility—an increased administrative cap (to 5%) and a maintained/adjustable technical assistance reserve (up to 10%)—which can support stronger oversight, technical assistance, and capacity-building for new schools.
Charter schools and students may receive less direct grant funding because the minimum required subgrant share is reduced from 90% to 80% and higher administrative/technical assistance caps allow more funds to be used for overhead rather than classroom services.
Prospective leaders without the specified 54 months of school-based experience or a State-determined record of leadership success could be excluded from eligibility, blocking promising new leaders who lack that exact background.
Because revolving loan funds and facility assistance are discretionary for States, access to facility financing and support could vary widely by State, disadvantaging applicants in States that do not adopt these options—particularly rural communities.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Expands and refines a federal charter school grant program by adding new allowable state-level activities, creating a capped pre-charter planning subgrant, changing how grant funds are reserved and distributed, and raising the limit on administrative costs. It adjusts set‑asides and percentages so states may use funds for revolving loan funds and facility assistance, award pre‑charter planning grants up to $100,000 per prospective applicant, reduce the required pass‑through to subgrantees from 90% to 80%, set technical assistance and pre‑charter reserve limits, and increase the State administrative cap to 5%.