I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2252 

To amend the charter school program under the Elementary and Secondary 

Education Act of 1965. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 4, 2013 

Mr. POLIS (for himself, Mr. PETRI, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. PAULSEN, Mr. GUTHRIE, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. DELANEY, and Mr. SCHOCK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To amend the charter school program under the Elementary 

and Secondary Education Act of 1965. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘All Students Achieving 

5 through Reform Act of 2013’’ or the ‘‘All-STAR Act of 

6 2013’’. 

7 SEC. 2. REFERENCES. 

8 Except as otherwise specifically provided, whenever in 

9 this Act a section or other provision is amended or reVerDate Mar 15 2010 05:36 Jun 06, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2252.IH H2252

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1 pealed, such amendment or repeal shall be considered to 

2 be made to that section or other provision of the Elemen3 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

4 6301 et seq.). 

5 SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 

6 Section 5201 (20 U.S.C. 7221) is amended to read 

7 as follows: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 5201. PURPOSE. 

9 ‘‘It is the purpose of this subpart to— 

10 ‘‘(1) improve the United States education sys11 tem and educational opportunities for all Americans 

12 by supporting innovation in public education in pub13 lic school settings that prepare students to compete 

14 and contribute to the global economy; 

15 ‘‘(2) provide financial assistance for the plan16 ning, program design, and initial implementation of 

17 charter schools; 

18 ‘‘(3) expand the number of high-quality charter 

19 schools available to students across the Nation; 

20 ‘‘(4) evaluate the impact of such schools on stu21 dent achievement, families, and communities, and 

22 share best practices between charter schools and 

23 other public schools; 

24 ‘‘(5) encourage States to provide support to 

25 charter schools for facilities financing in an amount 


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1 more nearly commensurate to the amount the States 

2 have typically provided for traditional public schools; 

3 ‘‘(6) improve student services to increase oppor4 tunities for students with disabilities, limited 

5 English proficient students, and other traditionally 

6 underserved students to attend charter schools and 

7 meet challenging State academic achievement stand8 ards; and 

9 ‘‘(7) support efforts to strengthen the charter 

10 school authorizing process to improve performance 

11 management, including transparency, monitoring, 

12 and evaluation of such schools.’’. 

13 SEC. 4. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 

14 Section 5202 (20 U.S.C. 7221a) is amended to read 

15 as follows: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 5202. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—This subpart authorizes the Sec18 retary to carry out a charter school program that supports 

19 charter schools that serve elementary school and sec20 ondary school students by— 

21 ‘‘(1) supporting the startup, replication, and ex22 pansion of charter schools; 

23 ‘‘(2) assisting charter schools in accessing cred24 it to acquire and renovate facilities for school use; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(3) carrying out national and local activities to 

2 support— 

3 ‘‘(A) the development of high-quality char4 ter schools; 

5 ‘‘(B) the dissemination of best practices of 

6 charter schools for all schools; and 

7 ‘‘(C) the evaluation of the impact of the 

8 program on schools participating in the pro9 gram. 

10 ‘‘(b) FUNDING ALLOTMENT.—From the amount 

11 made available under section 5211 for a fiscal year, the 

12 Secretary shall— 

13 ‘‘(1) reserve 12.5 percent to support charter 

14 school facilities assistance under section 5204; 

15 ‘‘(2) reserve not more than 2.5 percent to carry 

16 out the technical assistance and best practices under 

17 section 5205(a) and the evaluation under section 

18 5205(b), of which 1 percent shall be used to carry 

19 out such evaluation; 

20 ‘‘(3) reserve not more than 20 percent to award 

21 grants for local activities under section 5205(c); and 

22 ‘‘(4) use the remaining amount after the Sec23 retary reserves funds under paragraphs (1) through 

24 (4) to carry out section 5203. 


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1 ‘‘(c) PRIOR GRANTS AND SUBGRANTS.—The recipi2 ent of a grant or subgrant under this subpart or subpart 

3 2, as such subpart was in effect on the day before the 

4 date of enactment of the All Students Achieving through 

5 Reform Act of 2013, shall continue to receive funds in 

6 accordance with the terms and conditions of such grant 

7 or subgrant.’’. 

8 SEC. 5. GRANTS TO SUPPORT HIGH-QUALITY CHARTER 

9 SCHOOLS. 

10 Section 5203 (20 U.S.C. 7221b) is amended to read 

11 as follows: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 5203. GRANTS TO SUPPORT HIGH-QUALITY CHARTER 

13 SCHOOLS. 

14 ‘‘(a) GRANTS TO COVERED ENTITIES.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

16 from the amount reserved under 5202(b)(5), the 

17 Secretary shall award grants to covered entities hav18 ing applications approved pursuant to subsection (f) 

19 to enable such entities to— 

20 ‘‘(A) award subgrants to eligible applicants 

21 for— 

22 ‘‘(i) opening new charter schools; 

23 ‘‘(ii) replicating high-quality charter 

24 school models; or 


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1 ‘‘(iii) expanding high-quality charter 

2 schools; and 

3 ‘‘(B) provide technical assistance to eligible 

4 applicants and authorized public chartering 

5 agencies in carrying out the activities described 

6 in paragraph (1) and work with authorized pub7 lic chartering agencies in the State to improve 

8 authorizing quality. 

9 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE.—In the case in which a 

10 covered entity that is a State educational agency 

11 elects not to receive a grant under this section or 

12 does not have an application approved under sub13 section (f), the Secretary may award a grant to an 

14 eligible applicant that— 

15 ‘‘(A) serves such State; 

16 ‘‘(B) submits an application to the Sec17 retary that would be approved pursuant to sec18 tion 5205(c) if such eligible applicant were to 

19 apply for a grant under such section; and 

20 ‘‘(C) has not received a grant under such 

21 section 5205(c). 

22 ‘‘(b) USES OF FUNDS FOR COVERED ENTITIES.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A covered entity receiving 

24 a grant under this section shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) use 90 percent of the grant funds to 

2 award subgrants to eligible applicants, in ac3 cordance with the quality charter school pro4 gram described in the covered entity’s applica5 tion approved pursuant to subsection (f), for 

6 the purposes described in clauses (i) through 

7 (iii) of subsection (a)(1)(A); and 

8 ‘‘(B) reserve 10 percent of such funds to 

9 carry out the activities described in subsection 

10 (a)(1)(B), of which not more than 30 percent 

11 may be used for administrative costs which may 

12 include technical assistance. 

13 ‘‘(2) CONTRACTS AND GRANTS.—A covered en14 tity may use a grant received under this section to 

15 carry out the activities described in subparagraphs 

16 (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) directly or through 

17 grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements. 

18 ‘‘(c) PROGRAM PERIODS; PEER REVIEW; GRANT

19 NUMBER AND AMOUNT; DIVERSITY OF PROJECTS; WAIV20 ERS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) PROGRAM PERIODS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) GRANTS.—A grant awarded by the 

23 Secretary to a covered entity under this section 

24 shall be for a period of not more than 3 years, 

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1 cretion of the Secretary, continue to expend 

2 grant funds after the end of such 3-year period 

3 to award subgrants in accordance with sub4 section (b)(1)(A). 

5 ‘‘(B) SUBGRANTS.—A subgrant awarded 

6 by a covered entity to an eligible applicant 

7 under this section shall be for a period of not 

8 more than 3 years. 

9 ‘‘(2) PEER REVIEW.—The Secretary, and each 

10 covered entity receiving a grant under this section, 

11 shall use a peer review process to review applications 

12 for assistance under this section. 

13 ‘‘(3) GRANT NUMBER AND AMOUNT.—The Sec14 retary shall ensure that the number of grants award15 ed under this section and the award amounts will 

16 allow for a sufficient number of new grants to be 

17 awarded under this section for each succeeding fiscal 

18 year. 

19 ‘‘(4) DIVERSITY OF PROJECTS.—Each covered 

20 entity receiving a grant under this section shall 

21 award subgrants under this section in a manner 

22 that, to the extent possible, ensures that such sub23 grants— 


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1 ‘‘(A) are distributed throughout different 

2 areas, including urban, suburban, and rural 

3 areas; and 

4 ‘‘(B) will assist charter schools rep5 resenting a variety of educational approaches. 

6 ‘‘(5) WAIVERS.—The Secretary may waive any 

7 statutory or regulatory requirement over which the 

8 Secretary exercises administrative authority except 

9 any such requirement relating to the elements of a 

10 charter school described in section 5210(1) or to an 

11 applicable civil rights requirement, if— 

12 ‘‘(A) the waiver is requested in an ap13 proved application under this section; and 

14 ‘‘(B) the Secretary determines that grant15 ing such a waiver will promote the purpose of 

16 this subpart. 

17 ‘‘(d) LIMITATIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) GRANTS.—A covered entity may not re19 ceive more than 1 grant under this section, unless 

20 the entity— 

21 ‘‘(A) for each charter school supported 

22 under the first grant received under this sec23 tion, provides aggregate data demonstrating 

24 that the students enrolled in the charter school 


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1 have experienced demonstrated improvement in 

2 academic achievement; and 

3 ‘‘(B) demonstrates that the funds provided 

4 under the additional grant will be awarded to 

5 replicate high-quality charter school models or 

6 expand high-quality charter schools. 

7 ‘‘(2) SUBGRANTS.—A charter school may not 

8 receive funds from more than 1 subgrant awarded to 

9 an eligible applicant under this section. 

10 ‘‘(e) APPLICATIONS.—A covered entity desiring to re11 ceive a grant under this section shall submit an application 

12 to the Secretary at such time and in such manner as the 

13 Secretary may require. The application shall include the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(1) DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM.—A descrip16 tion of the covered entity’s objectives in carrying out 

17 a quality charter school program under this section 

18 and how the objectives of the program will be car19 ried out, including a description— 

20 ‘‘(A) of how the entity— 

21 ‘‘(i) will support both new charter 

22 school startup and the expansion and rep23 lication of high-quality charter school mod24 els; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) will inform eligible charter 

2 schools, developers, and authorized public 

3 chartering agencies of the availability of 

4 funds under the program; 

5 ‘‘(iii) will work with eligible applicants 

6 to ensure that the applicants access all 

7 Federal funds that they are eligible to re8 ceive, and help the charter schools sup9 ported by the applicants and the students 

10 attending the charter schools— 

11 ‘‘(I) participate in the Federal 

12 programs in which the schools and 

13 students are eligible to participate; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(II) receive the commensurate 

16 share of Federal funds the schools 

17 and students are eligible to receive 

18 under such programs; 

19 ‘‘(iv) in the case in which the entity is 

20 not a State educational agency— 

21 ‘‘(I) will work with the State edu22 cational agency and the charter 

23 schools in the State to maximize char24 ter school participation in Federal and 


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1 State programs for charter schools; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(II) will work with the State 

4 educational agency to adequately op5 erate the entity’s program under this 

6 section, where applicable; 

7 ‘‘(v) will ensure eligible applicants 

8 that receive a subgrant under the entity’s 

9 program are prepared to continue to oper10 ate the charter schools receiving the 

11 subgrant funds once the funds have ex12 pired; 

13 ‘‘(vi) will support charter schools par14 ticipating in the entity’s program and that 

15 are in local educational agencies with large 

16 numbers of schools that must comply with 

17 the requirements of section 1116(b); 

18 ‘‘(vii) will work with charter schools 

19 participating in the entity’s program to 

20 promote inclusion of all students and sup21 port all students once they are enrolled to 

22 promote retention; 

23 ‘‘(viii) will work with such charter 

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1 wise have limited opportunities to partici2 pate in charter schools; 

3 ‘‘(ix) will share best and promising 

4 practices between charter schools and 

5 other public schools, including, where ap6 propriate, instruction and professional de7 velopment in science, math, technology, 

8 and engineering education; 

9 ‘‘(x) will ensure the charter schools 

10 they support can meet the educational 

11 needs of their students, including students 

12 with disabilities and limited English pro13 ficient students; and 

14 ‘‘(xi) will support efforts to increase 

15 quality initiatives, including meeting the 

16 quality authorizing elements described in 

17 paragraph (2)(E); 

18 ‘‘(B) of the extent to which the entity— 

19 ‘‘(i) is able to meet and carry out the 

20 priorities listed in subsection (f)(2); and 

21 ‘‘(ii) is working to develop or 

22 strengthen a cohesive statewide system to 

23 support the opening of new charter 

24 schools, replication of high-quality charter 


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1 school models, and the expansion of high2 quality charter schools; 

3 ‘‘(C) of how the entity will carry out the 

4 subgrant competition, including— 

5 ‘‘(i) a description of the application 

6 each eligible applicant desiring to receive a 

7 subgrant will submit, including— 

8 ‘‘(I) a description of the roles 

9 and responsibilities of eligible appli10 cants, partner organizations, and 

11 management organizations, including 

12 the administrative and contractual 

13 roles and responsibilities; 

14 ‘‘(II) a description of the quality 

15 controls agreed to between the eligible 

16 applicant and the authorized public 

17 chartering agency involved, such as a 

18 contract or performance agreement, 

19 and how a school’s performance on 

20 the State’s accountability system es21 tablished under section 1111(b)(2)(A) 

22 will be a primary factor for renewal; 

23 and 

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1 sider input from parents and other 

2 members of the community on the 

3 planning, implementation, and oper4 ation of each charter school receiving 

5 funds under the entity’s program; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) a description of how the entity 

7 will review applications; 

8 ‘‘(D) in the case of an entity that partners 

9 with an outside organization to carry out the 

10 entity’s quality charter school program, in 

11 whole or in part, of the roles and responsibil12 ities of this partner; 

13 ‘‘(E) of how the entity will support charter 

14 schools in providing for the transportation 

15 needs of their students; and 

16 ‘‘(F) of how the entity will support diverse 

17 charter school models, including models that 

18 serve rural communities. 

19 ‘‘(2) ASSURANCES.—Assurances, including a 

20 description of how the assurances will be met, 

21 that— 

22 ‘‘(A) each charter school receiving funds 

23 under the entity’s program will have a high de24 gree of autonomy over budget and operations; 


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1 ‘‘(B) the entity will support charter schools 

2 in meeting the educational needs of their stu3 dents as described in paragraph (1)(A)(x); 

4 ‘‘(C) the entity will ensure that the author5 ized public chartering agency of any charter 

6 school that receives funds under the entity’s 

7 program— 

8 ‘‘(i) ensures that each charter school 

9 is meeting the obligations under this Act, 

10 part B of the Individuals with Disabilities 

11 Education Act, title VI of the Civil Rights 

12 Act of 1964, section 504 of the Rehabilita13 tion Act of 1973, the Age Discrimination 

14 Act of 1975, the Americans with Disabil15 ities Act of 1990, section 444 of the Gen16 eral Education Provisions Act (commonly 

17 known as the ‘Family Educational Rights 

18 and Privacy Act of 1974’), and title IX of 

19 the Education Amendments of 1972; 

20 ‘‘(ii) adequately monitors and hold ac21 countable each charter school with respect 

22 to recruiting, enrolling, and meeting the 

23 needs of all students, including students 

24 with disabilities and limited English pro25 ficient students; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) ensures that each charter school 

2 provides substantive outreach to students 

3 from low-income families in its plans to 

4 open new charter schools, replicate high5 quality charter school models, or expand 

6 existing high-quality charter schools; and 

7 ‘‘(iv) ensures that each charter school 

8 solicits and considers input from parents 

9 and other members of the community on 

10 the implementation and operation of the 

11 school; 

12 ‘‘(D) the entity will provide adequate tech13 nical assistance to eligible applicants to— 

14 ‘‘(i) meet the objectives described in 

15 clauses (vii) and (viii) of paragraph (1)(A) 

16 and paragraph (2)(B); and 

17 ‘‘(ii) enroll traditionally underserved 

18 students, including students with disabil19 ities and limited English proficient stu20 dents, to promote an inclusive education 

21 environment; 

22 ‘‘(E) the entity will promote quality au23 thorizing, such as through providing technical 

24 assistance, to support all authorized public 

25 chartering agencies in the State to improve the 


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1 monitoring of their charter schools, including 

2 by— 

3 ‘‘(i) assessing annual performance 

4 data of the schools, including, as appro5 priate, graduation rates and student 

6 growth; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) reviewing the schools’ inde8 pendent, annual audits of financial state9 ments conducted in accordance with gen10 erally accepted accounting principles, and 

11 ensuring any such audits are publicly re12 ported; 

13 ‘‘(F) the entity will work to ensure that 

14 charter schools are included with the traditional 

15 public local educational agencies in decision16 making about the public school system in the 

17 State; and 

18 ‘‘(G) the entity will ensure that each char19 ter school in the State make publicly available, 

20 consistent with the dissemination requirements 

21 of the annual State report card, the information 

22 parents need to make informed decisions about 

23 the educational options available to their chil24 dren, including information on the educational 

25 program, student support services, and annual 


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1 performance and enrollment data for the groups 

2 of students described in section 

3 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II). 

4 ‘‘(3) REQUESTS FOR WAIVERS.—A request and 

5 justification, meeting the requirements of subpara6 graphs (A) and (B) of section 5203(c)(5), for waiv7 ers of any Federal statutory or regulatory provisions 

8 that the entity believes are necessary for the success9 ful operation of the charter schools that will receive 

10 funds under the entity’s program under this section, 

11 and a description of any State or local rules, gen12 erally applicable to public schools, that will be 

13 waived, or otherwise not apply to such schools. 

14 ‘‘(f) SELECTION CRITERIA; PRIORITY.— 

15 ‘‘(1) SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Secretary 

16 shall award grants under this section to covered en17 tities on the basis of the quality of the applications 

18 submitted under subsection (e), after taking into 

19 consideration— 

20 ‘‘(A) for covered entities described in para21 graphs (1) and (3) of subsection (i)— 

22 ‘‘(i) the degree of flexibility afforded 

23 by the State’s public charter school law 

24 and how the entity will work to maximize 


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1 the flexibility provided to charter schools 

2 under the law; 

3 ‘‘(ii) the ambitiousness of the entity’s 

4 objectives for the quality charter school 

5 program carried out under this section; 

6 ‘‘(iii) the quality of the strategy for 

7 assessing achievement of those objectives; 

8 ‘‘(iv) the likelihood that the eligible 

9 applicants receiving subgrants under the 

10 program will meet those objectives and im11 prove educational results for students; 

12 ‘‘(v) the proposed number of new 

13 charter schools to be opened, and the pro14 posed number of high-quality charter 

15 schools to be replicated or expanded under 

16 the program; 

17 ‘‘(vi) the entity’s plan to— 

18 ‘‘(I) adequately monitor the eligi19 ble applicants receiving subgrants 

20 under the entity’s program; and 

21 ‘‘(II) work with the authorized 

22 public chartering agencies involved to 

23 avoid duplication of work for the char24 ter schools and authorized public 

25 chartering agencies; 


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1 ‘‘(vii) the entity’s plan to provide ade2 quate technical assistance, as described in 

3 the entity’s application under subsection 

4 (e), for the eligible applicants receiving 

5 subgrants under the entity’s program 

6 under this section; 

7 ‘‘(viii) the entity’s plan to support 

8 quality authorizing efforts in the State, 

9 consistent with the objectives described in 

10 clause (ii); and 

11 ‘‘(ix) the entity’s plan to solicit and 

12 consider input from parents and other 

13 members of the community on the imple14 mentation and operation of the charter 

15 schools in the State; 

16 ‘‘(B) for covered entities described in para17 graphs (2) and (4) of subsection (i)— 

18 ‘‘(i) the ambitiousness of the entity’s 

19 objectives for the quality charter school 

20 program carried out under this section; 

21 ‘‘(ii) the quality of the strategy for as22 sessing achievement of those objectives; 

23 ‘‘(iii) the likelihood that the eligible 

24 applicants receiving subgrants under the 

25 entity’s program will meet those objectives 


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1 and improve educational results for stu2 dents; 

3 ‘‘(iv) the proposed number of new 

4 charter schools to be opened, and the pro5 posed number of high-quality charter 

6 schools to be replicated or expanded under 

7 the program; 

8 ‘‘(v) the entity’s plan to adequately 

9 monitor the eligible applicants receiving 

10 subgrants under the entity’s program; 

11 ‘‘(vi) the entity’s plan to provide ade12 quate technical assistance, as described in 

13 the entity’s application under subsection 

14 (e), for the eligible applicants receiving 

15 subgrants under the entity’s program 

16 under this section; 

17 ‘‘(vii) the extent to which the entity 

18 has policies and procedures to ensure that 

19 charter schools in the area served by the 

20 entity— 

21 ‘‘(I) have equitable access to fa22 cilities available to other public 

23 schools in such area; or 


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1 ‘‘(II) are not denied access to 

2 available public school facilities in 

3 such area; and 

4 ‘‘(viii) the extent to which the entity 

5 demonstrates support for public school 

6 choice and provides parents with informa7 tion regarding charter school alternatives; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(C) for covered entities described in sub10 section (i)(2), in addition to taking into consid11 eration the items described in clauses (i) 

12 through (viii) of subparagraph (B), the entity’s 

13 record of success in authorizing and supporting 

14 high-quality charter schools. 

15 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 

16 section, the Secretary shall give priority to covered 

17 entities to the extent that such entities meet the fol18 lowing criteria: 

19 ‘‘(A) STATES.—For covered entities de20 scribed in paragraphs (1) and (3) of subsection 

21 (i): 

22 ‘‘(i) The entity is located in a State 

23 that has a quality authorized public char24 tering agency that is an entity other than 

25 a local educational agency. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) The entity is located in a State 

2 that does not impose any limitation on the 

3 number or percentage of charter schools 

4 that may exist or the number or percent5 age of students that may attend charter 

6 schools in the State. 

7 ‘‘(iii) The entity is located in a State 

8 that ensures equitable financing, as com9 pared to traditional public schools, for 

10 charter schools and students in a prompt 

11 manner. 

12 ‘‘(iv) The entity is located in a State 

13 that uses charter schools and best prac14 tices from charter schools to help improve 

15 struggling schools and local educational 

16 agencies. 

17 ‘‘(v) The entity partners with an orga18 nization that has a demonstrated record of 

19 success in developing management organi20 zations to support the development of 

21 charter schools in the State. 

22 ‘‘(vi) The entity demonstrates quality 

23 policies and practices to support and mon24 itor charter schools through factors includ25 ing— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the proportion of high-qual2 ity charter schools in the State; and 

3 ‘‘(II) the proportion of charter 

4 schools enrolling, at a rate similar to 

5 traditional public schools, traditionally 

6 underserved students, including stu7 dents with disabilities and limited 

8 English proficient students. 

9 ‘‘(vii) The entity supports charter 

10 schools that support at-risk students 

11 through activities such as dropout preven12 tion or dropout recovery. 

13 ‘‘(viii) The entity authorizes all char14 ter schools in the State to serve as school 

15 food authorities. 

16 ‘‘(ix) The entity is located in a State 

17 that authorizes any charter school to be a 

18 local educational agency in accordance with 

19 State law. 

20 ‘‘(x) The entity is located in a State 

21 that allows appeals of decisions of author22 ized public chartering agencies. 

23 ‘‘(xi) The entity is located in a State 

24 that funds local educational agencies based 

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1 ance count or based on more than one an2 nual enrollment count. 

3 ‘‘(xii) The entity is located in a State 

4 with a law or policy such that per pupil 

5 revenues are shared between local edu6 cational agencies to reflect split student 

7 enrollment in 2 or more part-time edu8 cational programs operated or authorized 

9 by different local educational agencies. 

10 ‘‘(xiii) The entity has taken steps to 

11 ensure that all authorized public chartering 

12 agencies implement practices that comply 

13 with nationally recognized best practices 

14 for quality charter school authorizing. 

15 ‘‘(xiv) The entity has policies and pro16 cedures to ensure that charter schools 

17 identified as failing under the account18 ability system established under section 

19 1111(b)(2)(A) of the State in which the 

20 entity is located are closed, do not have 

21 their charters renewed, or are not other22 wise allowed to continue operating, except 

23 in special circumstances determined by the 

24 State for charter schools— 


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1 ‘‘(I) designated through a State 

2 system as alternative education pro3 grams with an explicit mission to 

4 serve students who have failed in tra5 ditional systems or large proportions 

6 of extremely at-risk students, such as 

7 students with moderate to profound 

8 disabilities or incarcerated youth; and 

9 ‘‘(II) that are required to comply 

10 with the accountability system estab11 lished under section 1111(b)(2)(A) of 

12 the State. 

13 ‘‘(B) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES AND

14 AUTHORIZED PUBLIC CHARTERING AGEN15 CIES.—For covered entities described in para16 graphs (2) and (4) of subsection (i): 

17 ‘‘(i) The entity does not impose, to 

18 the extent allowable under State law, any 

19 limitation on the number or percentage of 

20 charter schools that may exist or the num21 ber or percentage of students that may at22 tend charter schools. 

23 ‘‘(ii) The entity provides, to the extent 

24 allowed under State law, equitable financ25 ing, as compared to traditional public 


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1 schools, for charter schools and students 

2 who attend such schools in a prompt man3 ner. 

4 ‘‘(iii) The entity demonstrates quality 

5 policies and practices to support and mon6 itor charter schools through factors, in7 cluding the proportion of charter schools 

8 enrolling, at a rate similar to traditional 

9 public schools, traditionally underserved 

10 students, including students with disabil11 ities and limited English proficient stu12 dents. 

13 ‘‘(iv) The entity supports charter 

14 schools that support at-risk students 

15 through activities such as dropout preven16 tion or dropout recovery. 

17 ‘‘(v) The entity authorizes all charter 

18 schools it authorizes to serve as school food 

19 authorities to the extent allowed under 

20 State law. 

21 ‘‘(vi) The entity has taken steps to en22 sure that it complies with nationally recog23 nized best practices for quality charter 

24 school authorizing. 


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1 ‘‘(vii) The entity ensures that charter 

2 schools identified as failing under the ac3 countability system established under sec4 tion 1111(b)(2)(A) of the State in which 

5 the entity is located are closed, do not have 

6 their charter renewed, or are otherwise al7 lowed to continue operating, except in spe8 cial circumstances determined by the State 

9 for charter schools— 

10 ‘‘(I) designated through a State 

11 system as alternative education pro12 grams with an explicit mission to 

13 serve students who have failed in tra14 ditional systems or large proportions 

15 of extremely at-risk students, such as 

16 students with moderate to profound 

17 disabilities or incarcerated youth; and 

18 ‘‘(II) that are required to comply 

19 with the accountability system estab20 lished under section 1111(b)(2)(A) of 

21 the State. 

22 ‘‘(viii) The entity has authorized not 

23 less than 3 high-quality charter schools. 

24 ‘‘(g) LOCAL USES OF FUNDS.—An eligible applicant 

25 receiving a subgrant under this section shall use such 


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1 funds to open new charter schools, replicate high-quality 

2 charter school models, or expand existing high-quality 

3 charter schools, which may include— 

4 ‘‘(1) securing a school building through lease or 

5 purchase and providing the necessary renovations to 

6 ensure a strong school opening or to meet the needs 

7 of increased student enrollment; 

8 ‘‘(2) paying startup costs associated with hiring 

9 teachers to ensure strong school starts; 

10 ‘‘(3) providing transportation to students to 

11 and from charter schools opened, replicated, or ex12 panded under this subsection, but only in the case 

13 of an applicant that demonstrates the capability to 

14 continue providing such transportation after the ex15 piration of the subgrant funds; 

16 ‘‘(4) purchasing instructional materials, imple17 menting teacher and principal professional develop18 ment programs, and hiring additional other staff for 

19 such charter schools; and 

20 ‘‘(5) supporting any other necessary startup 

21 and expansion activities with respect to such charter 

22 schools. 

23 ‘‘(h) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Each covered en24 tity receiving a grant under this section shall submit to 


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1 the Secretary, at the end of each year of the 3-year grant 

2 period and at the end of such grant period, a report on— 

3 ‘‘(1) the number of students served by each 

4 subgrant awarded under this section and, if applica5 ble, how many new students were served during each 

6 year of the subgrant period; 

7 ‘‘(2) the number of subgrants awarded under 

8 this section to carry out each of the following— 

9 ‘‘(A) the opening of new charter schools; 

10 ‘‘(B) the replication of high-quality charter 

11 school models; and 

12 ‘‘(C) the expansion of high-quality charter 

13 schools; 

14 ‘‘(3) the progress the entity made toward meet15 ing the priorities described in subsection (f)(2), as 

16 applicable; 

17 ‘‘(4) how the entity met the objectives of the 

18 quality charter school program described in the enti19 ty’s application under subsection (e); 

20 ‘‘(5) how the entity complied with, and ensured 

21 that eligible applicants complied with, the assurances 

22 described in the entity’s application; and 

23 ‘‘(6) how the entity worked with authorized 

24 public chartering agencies, including how the agen25 cies worked with the management company or leadVerDate Mar 15 2010 05:36 Jun 06, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2252.IH H2252

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1 ership of the schools that received subgrants under 

2 this section. 

3 ‘‘(i) COVERED ENTITY DEFINED.—For purposes of 

4 this section, the term ‘covered entity’ means— 

5 ‘‘(1) a State educational agency; 

6 ‘‘(2) an authorized public chartering agency 

7 that is located in a State in which neither the State 

8 educational agency nor the Governor of the State 

9 has received a grant under this section; 

10 ‘‘(3) a Governor of a State; or 

11 ‘‘(4) a local educational agency that— 

12 ‘‘(A) is not a charter school that is consid13 ered a local educational agency under State law; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(B) is located in a State in which neither 

16 the State educational agency nor the Governor 

17 of the State has received a grant under this sec18 tion.’’. 

19 SEC. 6. FACILITIES FINANCING ASSISTANCE. 

20 Section 5204 (20 U.S.C. 7221c) is amended to read 

21 as follows: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 5204. FACILITIES FINANCING ASSISTANCE. 

23 ‘‘(a) GRANTS TO ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use not 

25 less than 65 percent of the amount reserved under 


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1 section 5202(b)(1) to award grants to eligible enti2 ties that have the highest-quality applications ap3 proved under subsection (d), after considering the 

4 diversity of such applications, to demonstrate inno5 vative methods of assisting charter schools to ad6 dress the cost of acquiring, constructing, and ren7 ovating facilities by enhancing the availability of 

8 loan or bond financing. 

9 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY DEFINED.—For pur10 poses of this section, the term ‘eligible entity’ 

11 means— 

12 ‘‘(A) a public entity, such as a State or 

13 local governmental entity; 

14 ‘‘(B) a private nonprofit entity; or 

15 ‘‘(C) a consortium of entities described in 

16 subparagraphs (A) and (B). 

17 ‘‘(b) GRANTEE SELECTION.—The Secretary shall 

18 evaluate each application submitted under subsection (d), 

19 and shall determine whether the application is sufficient 

20 to merit approval. 

21 ‘‘(c) GRANT CHARACTERISTICS.—In awarding grants 

22 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall award multiple 

23 grants of sufficient size, scope, and quality so as to ensure 

24 an effective demonstration of an innovative means of enVerDate Mar 15 2010 05:36 Jun 06, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2252.IH H2252

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1 hancing credit for the financing of charter school acquisi2 tion, construction, or renovation. 

3 ‘‘(d) APPLICATIONS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To receive a grant under 

5 subsection (a), an eligible entity shall submit to the 

6 Secretary an application in such form as the Sec7 retary may reasonably require. 

8 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—An application submitted 

9 under paragraph (1) shall contain— 

10 ‘‘(A) a statement identifying the activities 

11 proposed to be undertaken with funds received 

12 under subsection (a), including how the eligible 

13 entity will determine which charter schools will 

14 receive assistance, and how much and what 

15 types of assistance charter schools will receive; 

16 ‘‘(B) a description of the involvement of 

17 charter schools in the application’s development 

18 and the design of the proposed activities; 

19 ‘‘(C) a description of the eligible entity’s 

20 expertise in capital market financing; 

21 ‘‘(D) a description of how the proposed ac22 tivities will leverage the maximum amount of 

23 private-sector financing capital relative to the 

24 amount of government funding used and other25 wise enhance credit available to charter schools, 


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1 including how the entity will offer a combina2 tion of rates and terms more favorable than the 

3 rates and terms that a charter school could re4 ceive without assistance from the entity under 

5 this section; 

6 ‘‘(E) a description of how the eligible enti7 ty possesses sufficient expertise in education to 

8 evaluate the likelihood of success of a charter 

9 school program for which facilities financing is 

10 sought; 

11 ‘‘(F) a description of how the eligible enti12 ty will encourage energy-efficient school build13 ing practices; 

14 ‘‘(G) in the case of an application sub15 mitted by a State governmental entity, a de16 scription of the actions that the entity has 

17 taken, or will take, to ensure that charter 

18 schools within the State receive the funding the 

19 charter schools need to have adequate facilities; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(H) such other information as the Sec22 retary may reasonably require. 

23 ‘‘(e) CHARTER SCHOOL OBJECTIVES.—An eligible 

24 entity receiving a grant under this section shall use the 

25 funds deposited in the reserve account established under 


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1 subsection (f) to assist one or more charter schools to ac2 cess private sector capital to accomplish one or both of 

3 the following objectives: 

4 ‘‘(1) The acquisition (by purchase, lease, dona5 tion, or otherwise) of an interest (including an inter6 est held by a third party for the benefit of a charter 

7 school) in improved or unimproved real property 

8 that is necessary to commence or continue the oper9 ation of a charter school. 

10 ‘‘(2) The construction of new facilities, includ11 ing predevelopment costs, or the renovation, repair, 

12 or alteration of existing facilities, necessary to com13 mence or continue the operation of a charter school. 

14 ‘‘(f) RESERVE ACCOUNT.— 

15 ‘‘(1) USE OF FUNDS.—To assist charter schools 

16 to accomplish the objectives described in subsection 

17 (e), an eligible entity receiving a grant under sub18 section (a) shall, in accordance with State and local 

19 law, directly or indirectly, alone or in collaboration 

20 with others, deposit the funds received under sub21 section (a) (other than funds used for administrative 

22 costs in accordance with subsection (g) of this sec23 tion) in a reserve account established and main24 tained by the eligible entity for this purpose. 

25 Amounts deposited in such account shall be used by 


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1 the eligible entity for one or more of the following 

2 purposes: 

3 ‘‘(A) Guaranteeing, insuring, and rein4 suring bonds, notes, evidences of debt, loans, 

5 and interests therein, the proceeds of which are 

6 used for an objective described in subsection 

7 (e). 

8 ‘‘(B) Guaranteeing and insuring leases of 

9 personal and real property for an objective de10 scribed in subsection (e). 

11 ‘‘(C) Facilitating financing by identifying 

12 potential lending sources, encouraging private 

13 lending, and other similar activities that di14 rectly promote lending to, or for the benefit of, 

15 charter schools. 

16 ‘‘(D) Facilitating the issuance of bonds by 

17 charter schools, or by other public entities for 

18 the benefit of charter schools, by providing 

19 technical, administrative, and other appropriate 

20 assistance (including the recruitment of bond 

21 counsel, underwriters, and potential investors 

22 and the consolidation of multiple charter school 

23 projects within a single bond issue). 

24 ‘‘(2) INVESTMENT.—Funds received under this 

25 section and deposited in the reserve account estabVerDate Mar 15 2010 05:36 Jun 06, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2252.IH H2252

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1 lished under paragraph (1) shall be invested in obli2 gations issued or guaranteed by the United States or 

3 a State, or in other similarly low-risk securities. 

4 ‘‘(3) REINVESTMENT OF EARNINGS.—Any earn5 ings on funds received under subsection (a) shall be 

6 deposited in the reserve account established under 

7 paragraph (1) and used in accordance with such 

8 paragraph. 

9 ‘‘(g) LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—An 

10 eligible entity may use not more than 2.5 percent of the 

11 funds received under subsection (a) for the administrative 

12 costs of carrying out its responsibilities under this section 

13 (excluding subsection (k)). 

14 ‘‘(h) AUDITS AND REPORTS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) FINANCIAL RECORD MAINTENANCE AND

16 AUDIT.—The financial records of each eligible entity 

17 receiving a grant under subsection (a) shall be main18 tained in accordance with generally accepted ac19 counting principles and shall be subject to an annual 

20 audit by an independent public accountant. 

21 ‘‘(2) REPORTS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) GRANTEE ANNUAL REPORTS.—Each 

23 eligible entity receiving a grant under sub24 section (a) annually shall submit to the SecVerDate Mar 15 2010 05:36 Jun 06, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2252.IH H2252

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1 retary a report of its operations and activities 

2 under this section. 

3 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—Each annual report 

4 submitted under subparagraph (A) shall in5 clude— 

6 ‘‘(i) a copy of the most recent finan7 cial statements, and any accompanying 

8 opinion on such statements, prepared by 

9 the independent public accountant review10 ing the financial records of the eligible en11 tity; 

12 ‘‘(ii) a copy of any report made on an 

13 audit of the financial records of the eligible 

14 entity that was conducted under paragraph 

15 (1) during the reporting period; 

16 ‘‘(iii) an evaluation by the eligible en17 tity of the effectiveness of its use of the 

18 Federal funds provided under subsection 

19 (a) in leveraging private funds; 

20 ‘‘(iv) a listing and description of the 

21 charter schools served during the reporting 

22 period, including the amount of funds used 

23 by each school, the type of project facili24 tated by the grant, and the type of assist25 ance provided to the charter schools; 


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1 ‘‘(v) a description of the activities car2 ried out by the eligible entity to assist 

3 charter schools in meeting the objectives 

4 set forth in subsection (e); and 

5 ‘‘(vi) a description of the characteris6 tics of lenders and other financial institu7 tions participating in the activities under8 taken by the eligible entity under this sec9 tion (excluding subsection (k)) during the 

10 reporting period. 

11 ‘‘(C) SECRETARIAL REPORT.—The Sec12 retary shall review the reports submitted under 

13 subparagraph (A) and shall provide a com14 prehensive annual report to Congress on the ac15 tivities conducted under this section (excluding 

16 subsection (k)). 

17 ‘‘(i) NO FULL FAITH AND CREDIT FOR GRANTEE

18 OBLIGATION.—No financial obligation of an eligible entity 

19 entered into pursuant to this section (such as an obliga20 tion under a guarantee, bond, note, evidence of debt, or 

21 loan) shall be an obligation of, or guaranteed in any re22 spect by, the United States. The full faith and credit of 

23 the United States is not pledged to the payment of funds 

24 which may be required to be paid under any obligation 


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1 made by an eligible entity pursuant to any provision of 

2 this section. 

3 ‘‘(j) RECOVERY OF FUNDS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in accord5 ance with chapter 37 of title 31, United States 

6 Code, shall collect— 

7 ‘‘(A) all of the funds in a reserve account 

8 established by an eligible entity under sub9 section (f)(1) if the Secretary determines, not 

10 earlier than 2 years after the date on which the 

11 eligible entity first received funds under this 

12 section (excluding subsection (k)), that the eli13 gible entity has failed to make substantial 

14 progress in carrying out the purposes described 

15 in subsection (f)(1); or 

16 ‘‘(B) all or a portion of the funds in a re17 serve account established by an eligible entity 

18 under subsection (f)(1) if the Secretary deter19 mines that the eligible entity has permanently 

20 ceased to use all or a portion of the funds in 

21 such account to accomplish any purpose de22 scribed in subsection (f)(1). 

23 ‘‘(2) EXERCISE OF AUTHORITY.—The Secretary 

24 shall not exercise the authority provided in para25 graph (1) to collect from any eligible entity any 


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1 funds that are being properly used to achieve one or 

2 more of the purposes described in subsection (f)(1). 

3 ‘‘(3) PROCEDURES.—The provisions of sections 

4 451, 452, and 458 of the General Education Provi5 sions Act shall apply to the recovery of funds under 

6 paragraph (1). 

7 ‘‘(4) CONSTRUCTION.—This subsection shall 

8 not be construed to impair or affect the authority of 

9 the Secretary to recover funds under part D of the 

10 General Education Provisions Act. 

11 ‘‘(k) PER-PUPIL FACILITIES AID PROGRAM.— 

12 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF PER-PUPIL FACILITIES AID

13 PROGRAM.—In this subsection, the term ‘per-pupil 

14 facilities aid program’ means a program in which a 

15 State makes payments, on a per-pupil basis, to char16 ter schools to provide the schools with financing— 

17 ‘‘(A) that is dedicated solely for funding 

18 charter school facilities; or 

19 ‘‘(B) a portion of which is dedicated for 

20 funding charter school facilities. 

21 ‘‘(2) GRANTS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—From the amount re23 served under section 5202(b)(1) remaining 

24 after the Secretary makes grants under sub25 section (a), the Secretary shall make grants, on 


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1 a competitive basis, to States to pay for the 

2 Federal share of the cost of establishing or en3 hancing, and administering per-pupil facilities 

4 aid programs. 

5 ‘‘(B) PERIOD.—The Secretary shall award 

6 grants under this subsection for periods of not 

7 more than 5 years. 

8 ‘‘(C) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal 

9 share of the cost described in subparagraph (A) 

10 for a per-pupil facilities aid program shall be 

11 not more than— 

12 ‘‘(i) 90 percent of the cost, for the 

13 first fiscal year for which the program re14 ceives assistance under this subsection; 

15 ‘‘(ii) 80 percent in the second such 

16 year; 

17 ‘‘(iii) 60 percent in the third such 

18 year; 

19 ‘‘(iv) 40 percent in the fourth such 

20 year; and 

21 ‘‘(v) 20 percent in the fifth such year. 

22 ‘‘(D) STATE SHARE.—A State receiving a 

23 grant under this subsection may partner with 1 

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1 lishing or enhancing, and administering the per2 pupil facilities aid program. 

3 ‘‘(E) MULTIPLE GRANTS.—A State may 

4 receive more than 1 grant under this sub5 section, so long as the amount of such funds 

6 provided to charter schools increases with each 

7 successive grant. 

8 ‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State that receives 

10 a grant under this subsection shall use the 

11 funds made available through the grant to es12 tablish or enhance, and administer, a per-pupil 

13 facilities aid program for charter schools in the 

14 State of the applicant. 

15 ‘‘(B) EVALUATIONS; TECHNICAL ASSIST16 ANCE; DISSEMINATION.—From the amount 

17 made available to a State through a grant 

18 under this subsection for a fiscal year, the State 

19 may reserve not more than 5 percent to carry 

20 out evaluations, to provide technical assistance, 

21 and to disseminate information. 

22 ‘‘(C) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.— 

23 Funds made available under this subsection 

24 shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, 

25 State, and local public funds expended to proVerDate Mar 15 2010 05:36 Jun 06, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00044 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2252.IH H2252

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1 vide per pupil facilities aid programs, oper2 ations financing programs, or other programs, 

3 for charter schools. 

4 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENTS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION.—No 

6 State may be required to participate in a pro7 gram carried out under this subsection. 

8 ‘‘(B) STATE LAW.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro10 vided in clause (ii), to be eligible to receive 

11 a grant under this subsection, a State shall 

12 establish or enhance, and administer, a 

13 per-pupil facilities aid program for charter 

14 schools in the State, that— 

15 ‘‘(I) is specified in State law; and 

16 ‘‘(II) provides annual financing, 

17 on a per-pupil basis, for charter 

18 school facilities. 

19 ‘‘(ii) SPECIAL RULE.—Notwith20 standing clause (i), a State that is required 

21 under State law to provide its charter 

22 schools with access to adequate facility 

23 space, but which does not have a per-pupil 

24 facilities aid program for charter schools 

25 specified in State law, may be eligible to 


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1 receive a grant under this subsection if the 

2 State agrees to use the funds to develop a 

3 per-pupil facilities aid program consistent 

4 with the requirements of this subsection. 

5 ‘‘(5) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible to receive a 

6 grant under this subsection, a State shall submit an 

7 application to the Secretary at such time, in such 

8 manner, and containing such information as the Sec9 retary may require.’’. 

10 SEC. 7. NATIONAL ACTIVITIES. 

11 Section 5205 (20 U.S.C. 7221d) is amended to read 

12 as follows: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 5205. NATIONAL ACTIVITIES AND GRANTS FOR LOCAL 

14 ACTIVITIES. 

15 ‘‘(a) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND BEST PRAC16 TICES.—From the amount reserved under section 

17 5202(b)(2) for carrying out this subsection, the Secretary 

18 shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) disseminate technical assistance to covered 

20 entities in awarding subgrants under section 5203, 

21 and eligible entities and States receiving grants 

22 under section 5204; and 

23 ‘‘(2) disseminate best practices. 

24 ‘‘(b) EVALUATION.—From the amount reserved 

25 under section 5202(b)(2) for carrying out this subsection, 


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1 the Secretary shall, in partnership with the Institute for 

2 Education Sciences— 

3 ‘‘(1) develop relevant performance metrics, in4 cluding student outcome data, for covered entities, 

5 eligible applicants, and charter schools that receive 

6 funds under section 5203; 

7 ‘‘(2) assist such covered entities, eligible appli8 cants, and charter schools in collecting and submit9 ting, on an annual basis, data on such performance 

10 metrics to the Secretary; 

11 ‘‘(3) evaluate the performance of and conduct 

12 related research to— 

13 ‘‘(A) determine which policies and prac14 tices of covered entities, eligible applicants, and 

15 charter schools have the greatest impact on stu16 dent achievement; 

17 ‘‘(B) drive continuous improvement with 

18 respect to relevant performance metrics, includ19 ing student outcome data, for covered entities, 

20 eligible applicants, and charter schools that re21 ceive funds under section 5203; and 

22 ‘‘(C) inform the distribution of funds to 

23 higher performing covered entities, eligible ap24 plicants, and charter schools; and 


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1 ‘‘(4) disseminate the findings of the research, 

2 evaluation, and data collection under this subsection 

3 to maximize lessons learned for other educators, 

4 charter schools, and policy makers. 

5 ‘‘(c) GRANTS FOR LOCAL ACTIVITIES.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From the amount reserved 

7 under section 5202(b)(3), the Secretary shall make 

8 grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible applicants 

9 for the purpose of carrying out the activities de10 scribed in section 5202(a)(1), clauses (i) through 

11 (iii) of section 5203(a)(1)(A), and section 5203(g). 

12 ‘‘(2) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Except as oth13 erwise provided in this subsection, each grant award14 ed under this subsection shall have the same terms 

15 and conditions as a grant awarded to covered enti16 ties under section 5203, including the grant limita17 tions described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) in sec18 tion 5203(d)(1), except that— 

19 ‘‘(A) a charter school that has previously 

20 used funds received under this subpart for plan21 ning or charter school program design to open 

22 a new charter school may not use funds under 

23 this subsection for such planning or program 

24 design; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) notwithstanding subparagraph (A), 

2 an eligible applicant that is a charter manage3 ment organization may receive more than 1 

4 grant under this subsection during a grant pe5 riod to expand a high-quality charter school, 

6 replicate a high-quality charter school model, or 

7 open or one or more high-quality charter 

8 schools that are based on the charter school 

9 model for which the eligible applicant has pre10 sented evidence of success to the Secretary. 

11 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub12 section— 

13 ‘‘(A) the term ‘charter management orga14 nization’ a nonprofit organization, other non15 profit entity, or a group or consortium of such 

16 organizations or entities that— 

17 ‘‘(i) operates, manages, or oversees 

18 multiple charter schools by centralizing or 

19 sharing certain functions and resources 

20 among such schools; or 

21 ‘‘(ii) desires to open, replicate, or ex22 pand a high-quality charter school. 

23 ‘‘(B) the term ‘eligible applicant’ means— 


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1 ‘‘(i) an eligible applicant (as defined 

2 in section 5210) that has not received a 

3 grant or subgrant under section 5203; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) a charter management organiza5 tion. 

6 ‘‘(d) CONTRACTS AND GRANTS.—The Secretary may 

7 carry out any of the activities described in this section di8 rectly or through grants, contracts, or cooperative agree9 ments.’’. 

10 SEC. 8. RECORDS TRANSFER. 

11 Section 5208 (20 U.S.C. 7221g) is amended— 

12 (1) by inserting ‘‘as quickly as possible and’’ 

13 before ‘‘to the extent practicable’’; and 

14 (2) by striking ‘‘section 602’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘section 602(14)’’. 

16 SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS. 

17 Section 5210 (20 U.S.C. 7221i) is amended— 

18 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

19 (A) in subparagraph (H) by inserting 

20 ‘‘(which, if authorized under the State law of 

21 the school and the school’s charter agreement, 

22 may be a lottery that gives added weight to stu23 dents eligible for free or reduced price lunch 

24 under the Richard B. Russell National School 

25 Lunch Act)’’ after ‘‘lottery’’; 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub2 paragraph (K); 

3 (C) by striking the period at the end of 

4 subparagraph (L) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

5 (D) by adding at the end, the following: 

6 ‘‘(M) may serve prekindergarten or post 

7 secondary students.’’; 

8 (2) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking ‘‘under 

9 section 5203(d)(3)’’; and 

10 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(5) EXPANSION OF A HIGH-QUALITY CHARTER

12 SCHOOL.—The term ‘expansion of a high-quality 

13 charter school’ means significantly increasing the en14 rollment of a high-quality charter school or adding 

15 1 or more grades to such school. 

16 ‘‘(6) HIGH-QUALITY CHARTER SCHOOL.—The 

17 term ‘high-quality charter school’ means a charter 

18 school that— 

19 ‘‘(A) shows evidence of strong academic re20 sults, including through— 

21 ‘‘(i) the percentage of students in the 

22 proficient or advanced levels of achieve23 ments on the State academic assessments 

24 required under section 1111(b)(3), comVerDate Mar 15 2010 05:36 Jun 06, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00051 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2252.IH H2252

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1 pared to demographically similar schools in 

2 the State; 

3 ‘‘(ii) the average student academic, 

4 longitudinal growth from one school year 

5 to next school year, if available and as de6 termined by the State, on the State aca7 demic assessments required under section 

8 1111(b)(3) that is above such growth in 

9 demographically similar schools in the 

10 State; 

11 ‘‘(iii) in the case of a charter school 

12 that is a secondary school, high school 

13 graduation rates; and 

14 ‘‘(iv) college attendance and persist15 ence rates, when available; 

16 ‘‘(B) has no significant issues in the areas 

17 of student safety, financial management, or 

18 statutory or regulatory compliance; 

19 ‘‘(C) has demonstrated success in signifi20 cantly increasing student academic achievement 

21 and attainment for all students served by the 

22 charter school; and 

23 ‘‘(D) has demonstrated success in— 

24 ‘‘(i) increasing student academic 

25 achievement as described in subparagraph 


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1 (A) for each group of students described in 

2 section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II) and served by 

3 the charter school, except that such dem4 onstration is not required in a case in 

5 which the number of students in a group 

6 is insufficient to yield statistically reliable 

7 information or the results would reveal 

8 personally identifiable information about 

9 an individual student; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) closing achievement gaps be11 tween each such group and all populations 

12 served by the charter school. 

13 ‘‘(7) HIGH-QUALITY CHARTER SCHOOL

14 MODEL.—The term ‘high-quality charter school 

15 model’ means a high-quality charter school that has 

16 the capability of opening another such charter school 

17 under an existing charter, such as a feeder middle 

18 school or a secondary school that a middle school 

19 feeds students into.’’. 

20 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

21 Section 5211 (20 U.S.C. 7221j) is amended to read 

22 as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 5211. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

3 this subpart $330,000,000 for fiscal year 2014 and each 

4 of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.’’. 

5 SEC. 11. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

6 (a) REPEAL.—Subpart 2 of part B of title V (20 

7 U.S.C. 7223 et seq.) is repealed. 

8 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents in 

9 section 2 is amended— 

10 (1) by striking the item relating to section 5203 

11 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 5203. Grants to support high-quality charter schools.’’; 

12 (2) by striking the item relating to section 5204 

13 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 5204. Facilities Financing Assistance.’’; 

14 and 

15 (3) by striking subpart 2 of part B of title V. 

Æ 


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