Support for Charter School Educators

Empower Charter School Educators to Lead Act This bill makes changes to the Charter Schools Program (CSP), which authorizes competitive grants to state entities (e. g., state educational agencies and state charter school boards) to support high-quality charter schools. Specifically, the bill allows state entities to use up to 5% of their CSP grant funds to make pre-charter planning subgrants to certain prospective charter applicants. The bill specifies that state entities may also (1) fund a revolving loan fund or similar mechanisms for the expenses of eligible applicants prior to receiving CSP subgrants, and (2) provide assistance to eligible applicants in locating and accessing a charter school facility. Under the current CSP, state entities must use at least 7% of their CSP grant funds to provide technical assistance to eligible applicants and authorized public chartering agencies. The bill instead allows state entities to use not more than 10% of these funds for technical assistance.

1. This bill provides grants to help high-quality charter schools. 2. It offers technical assistance to charter school developers and agencies. 3. The bill allows funding for pre-charter planning to help new schools get started. 4. It sets requirements for educators leading new charter schools to ensure quality. 5. The bill reserves some funds specifically for planning assistance for new charter schools.