I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2218 

To amend the charter school program under the Elementary and Secondary 

Education Act of 1965. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 16, 2011 

Mr. HUNTER (for himself and Mr. KLINE) 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 ‘‘Empowering Parents 

5 through Quality Charter Schools Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. REFERENCES. 

7 Except as otherwise specifically provided, whenever in 

8 this Act a section or other provision is amended or re9 pealed, such amendment or repeal shall be considered to 

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1 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

2 6301 et seq.). 

3 SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 

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

5 as follows: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 5201. PURPOSE. 

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

8 ‘‘(1) provide financial assistance for the plan9 ning, program design, and initial implementation of 

10 charter schools; 

11 ‘‘(2) expand the number of high-quality charter 

12 schools available to students across the Nation; 

13 ‘‘(3) evaluate the impact of such schools on stu14 dent achievement, families, and communities, and 

15 share best practices with other public schools; 

16 ‘‘(4) encourage States to provide support to 

17 charter schools for facilities financing in an amount 

18 more nearly commensurate to the amount the States 

19 have typically provided for traditional public schools; 

20 ‘‘(5) improve student services to increase oppor21 tunities for students with disabilities, English lan22 guage learners, and other traditionally underserved 

23 students to attend charter schools and meet chal24 lenging State academic achievement standards; and 


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1 ‘‘(6) support efforts to strengthen the charter 

2 school authorizing process to improve performance 

3 management, including transparency, monitoring, 

4 and evaluation of such schools.’’. 

5 SEC. 4. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 

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

7 as follows: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 5202. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—This subpart authorizes the Sec10 retary to carry out a charter school program that supports 

11 charter schools that serve elementary school and sec12 ondary school students by— 

13 ‘‘(1) supporting the startup, replication, and ex14 pansion of charter schools; 

15 ‘‘(2) assisting charter schools in accessing cred16 it to acquire and renovate facilities for school use; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(3) carrying out national activities to support 

19 charter school development, the dissemination of 

20 best practices of charter schools for all schools, and 

21 the evaluation of the impact of the program on 

22 schools participating in the program. 

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

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

25 Secretary shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) reserve 15 percent to support charter 

2 school facilities assistance under section 5204; 

3 ‘‘(2) reserve not more than 5 percent to carry 

4 out national activities under section 5205; and 

5 ‘‘(3) use the remaining amount after the Sec6 retary reserves funds under paragraphs (1) and (2) 

7 to carry out section 5203. 

8 ‘‘(c) PRIOR GRANTS AND SUBGRANTS.—The recipi9 ent of a grant or subgrant under this subpart, as such 

10 subpart was in effect on the day before the date of enact11 ment of the Empowering Parents through Quality Charter 

12 Schools Act, shall continue to receive funds in accordance 

13 with the terms and conditions of such grant or subgrant.’’. 

14 SEC. 5. GRANTS TO SUPPORT QUALITY CHARTER SCHOOLS. 

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

16 as follows: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 5203. GRANTS TO SUPPORT QUALITY CHARTER 

18 SCHOOLS. 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—From the amount reserved 

20 under section 5202(b)(3), the Secretary shall award 

21 grants to State entities having applications approved pur22 suant to subsection (e) to enable such entities to— 

23 ‘‘(1) award subgrants to eligible applicants 

24 for— 

25 ‘‘(A) new charter schools; 


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1 ‘‘(B) replicable, high-quality charter school 

2 models; and 

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

4 schools; and 

5 ‘‘(2) provide technical assistance (which may be 

6 provided by awarding subgrants to other entities) to 

7 eligible applicants and authorized public chartering 

8 agencies in carrying out the activities described in 

9 paragraph (1) and work with authorized public char10 tering agencies in the State to improve the author11 izing quality. 

12 ‘‘(b) STATE USES OF FUNDS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State entity receiving a 

14 grant under this section shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) use 90 percent of the grant funds for 

16 activities to support quality charter schools de17 scribed in the entity’s application approved pur18 suant to subsection (e) by carrying out a qual19 ity charter school program to award subgrants 

20 to eligible applicants for the purposes described 

21 in subparagraphs (A) through (C) of subsection 

22 (a)(1); and 

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

24 carry out the activities described in subsection 

25 (a)(2), of which not more than 30 percent may 


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1 be used for administrative costs (including the 

2 costs for providing the technical assistance de3 scribed in subsection (a)(2)). 

4 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—A State entity 

5 receiving a grant under this section may not use 

6 more than 30 percent of the funds reserved under 

7 paragraph (1)(B) for administrative costs, which 

8 may include providing the technical assistance de9 scribed in subsection (a)(2). 

10 ‘‘(c) PROGRAM PERIODS; PEER REVIEW; DIVERSITY

11 OF PROJECTS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) PROGRAM PERIODS.— 

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

14 Secretary to a State entity under this section 

15 shall be for a period of not more than 5 years. 

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

17 by a State entity to an eligible applicant under 

18 this section shall be for a period of not more 

19 than 5 years, of which the eligible applicant 

20 may use not more than 18 months for planning 

21 and program design. 

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

23 State entity receiving a grant under this section, 

24 shall use a peer review process to review applications 

25 for assistance under this section. 


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1 ‘‘(3) DIVERSITY OF PROJECTS.—Each State en2 tity receiving a grant under this section, shall award 

3 subgrants under this section in a manner that, to 

4 the extent possible, ensures that such subgrants— 

5 ‘‘(A) are distributed throughout different 

6 areas, including urban, suburban, and rural 

7 areas; and 

8 ‘‘(B) will assist charter schools rep9 resenting a variety of educational approaches. 

10 ‘‘(d) LIMITATIONS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) GRANTS.—A State entity may not receive 

12 more than 1 grant under this section for a 5-year 

13 period. 

14 ‘‘(2) SUBGRANTS.—An eligible applicant may 

15 not receive more than 1 subgrant under this section 

16 per charter school for a 5-year period. 

17 ‘‘(e) APPLICATIONS.—A State entity desiring to re18 ceive a grant under this section shall submit an application 

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

20 Secretary may require. The application shall include the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(1) DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM.—A descrip23 tion of the entity’s objectives in running a quality 

24 charter school program under this section and how 


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1 the objectives of such program will be carried out, 

2 including a description— 

3 ‘‘(A) of how the entity— 

4 ‘‘(i) will support both new charter 

5 school start up and the expansion and rep6 lication of high-quality charter school mod7 els; 

8 ‘‘(ii) will inform eligible charter 

9 schools, developers, and authorized public 

10 chartering agencies of the availability of 

11 funds under this program; 

12 ‘‘(iii) will work with eligible applicants 

13 to ensure that the applicants access all 

14 Federal funds that they are eligible to re15 ceive, and ensure charter schools and stu16 dents attending charter schools will receive 

17 the commensurate share of Federal funds 

18 the schools and students are eligible to re19 ceive and participate; 

20 ‘‘(iv) will support efforts to increase 

21 quality initiatives for charter schools; 

22 ‘‘(v) in the case in which the entity is 

23 not a State educational agency— 

24 ‘‘(I) will work with the State edu25 cational agency and the charter 


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1 schools in the State to maximize char2 ter school participation in Federal and 

3 State programs for charter schools; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(II) will work with the State 

6 educational agency, where applicable, 

7 to adequately operate the subgrant 

8 program under this section; 

9 ‘‘(vi) will ensure eligible applicants 

10 that receive a subgrant under this section 

11 are prepared to continue to operate once 

12 the subgrant funds have expired; 

13 ‘‘(vii) will support charter schools in 

14 local educational agencies with large num15 bers of schools that must comply with the 

16 requirements of section 1116(b); 

17 ‘‘(viii) will work with charter schools 

18 to promote inclusion of all students, en19 gage in additional recruitment efforts with 

20 respect to groups that might otherwise 

21 have limited opportunities to participate in 

22 the charter school’s program, and support 

23 students once they are admitted to the 

24 school to help avoid drop outs and trans25 fers; 


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1 ‘‘(ix) will ensure the charter schools 

2 they support can meet the educational 

3 needs of their students, including students 

4 with disabilities and English language 

5 learners; and 

6 ‘‘(x) will meet the quality authorizing 

7 elements described in paragraph (2)(F); 

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

9 ‘‘(i) is able to meet and implement the 

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

11 ‘‘(ii) is working to develop or 

12 strengthen a cohesive statewide system to 

13 support the opening of new charter schools 

14 and high-quality replicable charter school 

15 models, and expanding high-quality charter 

16 schools; and 

17 ‘‘(C) in the case of an entity that partners 

18 with an outside organization, of what respon19 sibilities the organization will have in carrying 

20 out the quality charter school program under 

21 this section. 

22 ‘‘(2) ASSURANCES.—An assurance, including a 

23 description of how the assurance will be met, that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) each charter school receiving funds 

2 under the entity’s program will have a high de3 gree of autonomy; 

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

5 so they will meet the educational needs of their 

6 students as described in paragraph (1)(A)(ix); 

7 ‘‘(C) the entity will ensure that the author8 ized public chartering agency of any charter 

9 school that receives funds under the entity’s 

10 program— 

11 ‘‘(i) ensures that the charter school 

12 can meet the obligations under this Act, 

13 the Individuals with Disabilities Education 

14 Act, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the 

15 Rehabilitation Act of 1974; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) adequately monitors and helps 

17 the schools meet the needs of students with 

18 disabilities and English language learners; 

19 ‘‘(D) the entity will award subgrants to eli20 gible applicants that provide such funds to 

21 charter schools that offer an evidence-based, 

22 quality academic experience; 

23 ‘‘(E) the entity will provide adequate tech24 nical assistance to eligible applicants to— 


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1 ‘‘(i) meet the recruiting practices de2 scribed in paragraph (1)(A)(viii); 

3 ‘‘(ii) meet the educational needs of 

4 their students, including through activities 

5 described in paragraph (1)(A)(ix); and 

6 ‘‘(iii) enroll students with disabilities, 

7 English language learners, and other tradi8 tionally underserved populations at a rate 

9 similar to traditional public schools in the 

10 area; and 

11 ‘‘(F) the entity will award support quality 

12 authorizing that will help all authorized public 

13 chartering agencies in the State to adequately 

14 monitor their charter schools, including by— 

15 ‘‘(i) using annual performance data to 

16 ensure their charter schools are successful; 

17 ‘‘(ii) assisting their charter schools to 

18 conduct annual financial audits, as re19 quired under State and Federal law; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) utilizing quality control meas21 ures. 

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

23 justification for waivers of any Federal statutory or 

24 regulatory provisions that the entity believes are nec25 essary for the successful operation of the charter 


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1 schools that will receive funds under the entity’s pro2 gram under this section, and a description of any 

3 State or local rules, generally applicable to public 

4 schools, that will be waived, or otherwise not apply 

5 to such schools. 

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

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

8 shall award grants to State entities under this sec9 tion on the basis of the quality of the applications 

10 submitted under subsection (e), after taking into 

11 consideration— 

12 ‘‘(A) the degree of flexibility afforded by 

13 the State’s public charter school law and how 

14 the entity will work to maximize the flexibility 

15 provided to charter schools under the law; 

16 ‘‘(B) the ambitiousness of the State enti17 ty’s objectives for the quality charter school 

18 program carried out under this section; 

19 ‘‘(C) the quality of the strategy for assess20 ing achievement of those objectives; 

21 ‘‘(D) the likelihood that the eligible appli22 cants receiving subgrants under the program 

23 will meet those objectives and improve edu24 cational results for students; 


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1 ‘‘(E) the number of new, expanded, or rep2 licated charter schools proposed to be opened, 

3 and the number of high quality charter schools 

4 to be replicated or expanded under the pro5 gram, by such eligible applicants; 

6 ‘‘(F) the entity’s plan to adequately mon7 itor its subgrantees and work with the author8 ized public chartering agencies to avoid duplica9 tion of work for the schools and authorized pub10 lic chartering agencies; 

11 ‘‘(G) the entity’s plan to provide adequate 

12 technical assistance, as described in the entity’s 

13 application under subsection (e), for the eligible 

14 applicants receiving subgrants under this sec15 tion; and 

16 ‘‘(H) the entity’s plan to support quality 

17 authorizing efforts in the State. 

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

19 section, the Secretary shall give priority to State en20 tities to the extent that they meet the following cri21 teria: 

22 ‘‘(A) In the case of a State that allows 

23 more than the State educational agency or a 

24 local educational agency to be an authorized 

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1 ized public chartering agency other than the 

2 State educational agency. 

3 ‘‘(B) The State entity does not impose any 

4 limitation on the number or percentage of char5 ter schools that may exist or the number or 

6 percentage of students that may attend charter 

7 schools in the State. 

8 ‘‘(C) The State entity ensures equitable fi9 nancing, as compared to traditional public 

10 schools, for charter schools and students in a 

11 prompt manner. 

12 ‘‘(D) The State entity supports full-, 

13 blended, or hybrid-online charter school models. 

14 ‘‘(E) The State entity will work with the 

15 traditional public school system to include char16 ter school operators in decisions about the pub17 lic school system in the State. 

18 ‘‘(F) The State entity uses charter schools 

19 to help turn around struggling schools and local 

20 educational agencies. 

21 ‘‘(G) The State entity provides for or 

22 works with the State educational agency to pro23 vide an appeals process for charter schools who 

24 have been denied an application for a charter 

25 school. 


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1 ‘‘(H) The State entity partners with an or2 ganization that has a demonstrated record of 

3 success in developing management organiza4 tions to support the development of charter 

5 schools in the State. 

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

7 receiving a subgrant under this section shall use such 

8 funds to— 

9 ‘‘(1) open new charter schools and high-quality 

10 charter school models that are replicable, or expand 

11 existing high-quality charter schools; and 

12 ‘‘(2) support quality authorizing. 

13 ‘‘(h) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Each State enti14 ty receiving a grant under this section shall submit at the 

15 end of the third year of the 5-year grant period and at 

16 the end of such grant period a report to the Secretary 

17 on— 

18 ‘‘(1) the number of students served and, if ap19 plicable how many new students were served during 

20 each year of the grant period; 

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

22 this section for— 

23 ‘‘(A) new charter schools; 

24 ‘‘(B) replicable charter schools; and 

25 ‘‘(C) the expansion of charter schools; 


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1 ‘‘(3) the progress the entity made toward meet2 ing the priorities described in subsection (f)(2), as 

3 applicable; 

4 ‘‘(4) how the entity met the objectives described 

5 in the entity’s application under subsection (e); 

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

7 that eligible applicants complied with, the assurances 

8 described in the application; and 

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

10 public chartering agencies, including how the agen11 cies worked with the management company or lead12 ership of the schools in which the subgrants were 

13 awarded. 

14 ‘‘(i) STATE ENTITY DEFINED.—For purposes of this 

15 section, the term ‘State entity’ means— 

16 ‘‘(1) a State educational agency; 

17 ‘‘(2) a State charter school board; or 

18 ‘‘(3) a Governor of a State.’’. 

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.—From the amount reserved 

25 under section 5202(b)(1), the Secretary shall award 


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1 not less than 3 grants to eligible entities that have 

2 applications approved under subsection (d) to dem3 onstrate innovative methods of assisting charter 

4 schools to address the cost of acquiring, con5 structing, and renovating facilities by enhancing the 

6 availability of loans or bond financing. 

7 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY DEFINED.—For pur8 poses of this section, the term ‘eligible entity’ 

9 means— 

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

11 local governmental entity; 

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

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

14 subparagraphs (A) and (B). 

15 ‘‘(b) GRANTEE SELECTION.— 

16 ‘‘(1) EVALUATION OF APPLICATION.—The Sec17 retary shall evaluate each application submitted 

18 under subsection (d), and shall determine whether 

19 the application is sufficient to merit approval. 

20 ‘‘(2) DISTRIBUTION OF GRANTS.—The Sec21 retary shall award at least one grant to an eligible 

22 entity described in subsection (a)(2)(A), at least one 

23 grant to an eligible entity described in subsection 

24 (a)(2)(B), and at least one grant to an eligible entity 

25 described in subsection (a)(2)(C), if applications are 


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1 submitted that permit the Secretary to do so without 

2 approving an application that is not of sufficient 

3 quality to merit approval. 

4 ‘‘(c) GRANT CHARACTERISTICS.—Grants under sub5 section (a) shall be of a sufficient size, scope, and quality 

6 so as to ensure an effective demonstration of an innovative 

7 means of enhancing credit for the financing of charter 

8 school acquisition, construction, or renovation. 

9 ‘‘(d) APPLICATIONS.— 

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

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

12 Secretary an application in such form as the Sec13 retary may reasonably require. 

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

15 under paragraph (1) shall contain— 

16 ‘‘(A) a statement identifying the activities 

17 proposed to be undertaken with funds received 

18 under subsection (a), including how the eligible 

19 entity will determine which charter schools will 

20 receive assistance, and how much and what 

21 types of assistance charter schools will receive; 

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

23 charter schools in the application’s development 

24 and the design of the proposed activities; 


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

2 expertise in capital market financing; 

3 ‘‘(D) a description of how the proposed ac4 tivities will leverage the maximum amount of 

5 private-sector financing capital relative to the 

6 amount of government funding used and other7 wise enhance credit available to charter schools, 

8 including how the entity will offer a combina9 tion of rates and terms more favorable than the 

10 rates and terms that a charter school could re11 ceive without assistance from the entity under 

12 this section; 

13 ‘‘(E) a description of how the eligible enti14 ty possesses sufficient expertise in education to 

15 evaluate the likelihood of success of a charter 

16 school program for which facilities financing is 

17 sought; and 

18 ‘‘(F) in the case of an application sub19 mitted by a State governmental entity, a de20 scription of the actions that the entity has 

21 taken, or will take, to ensure that charter 

22 schools within the State receive the funding the 

23 charter schools need to have adequate facilities. 

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

25 entity receiving a grant under this section shall use the 


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1 funds deposited in the reserve account established under 

2 subsection (f) to assist one or more charter schools to ac3 cess private sector capital to accomplish one or both of 

4 the following objectives: 

5 ‘‘(1) The acquisition (by purchase, lease, dona6 tion, or otherwise) of an interest (including an inter7 est held by a third party for the benefit of a charter 

8 school) in improved or unimproved real property 

9 that is necessary to commence or continue the oper10 ation of a charter school. 

11 ‘‘(2) The construction of new facilities, includ12 ing predevelopment costs, or the renovation, repair, 

13 or alteration of existing facilities, necessary to com14 mence or continue the operation of a charter school. 

15 ‘‘(f) RESERVE ACCOUNT.— 

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

17 to accomplish the objectives described in subsection 

18 (e), an eligible entity receiving a grant under this 

19 subsection (a) shall, in accordance with State and 

20 local law, directly or indirectly, alone or in collabora21 tion with others, deposit the funds received under 

22 subsection (a) (other than funds used for adminis23 trative costs in accordance with subsection (g)) in a 

24 reserve account established and maintained by the 

25 eligible entity for this purpose. Amounts deposited in 


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1 such account shall be used by the eligible entity for 

2 one or more of the following 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 

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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 subsection. 

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 

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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 eligi13 ble 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 

24 or more organizations to provide up to 50 per25 cent of the State share of the cost of estabVerDate Mar 15 2010 18:59 Jun 20, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2218.IH H2218

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1 lishing or enhancing, and administering 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 18:59 Jun 20, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2218.IH H2218

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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.—To be eligible to 

10 receive a grant under this subsection, a 

11 State shall establish or enhance, and ad12 minister, a per-pupil facilities aid program 

13 for charter schools in the State, that— 

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

15 ‘‘(II) provides annual financing, 

16 on a per-pupil basis, for charter 

17 school facilities. 

18 ‘‘(ii) SPECIAL RULE.—A State that is 

19 required under State law to provide its 

20 charter schools with access to adequate fa21 cility space may be eligible to receive a 

22 grant under this subsection if the State 

23 agrees to use the funds to develop a per24 pupil facilities aid program consistent with 

25 the requirements of this subsection. 


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

2 grant under this subsection, a State shall submit an 

3 application to the Secretary at such time, in such 

4 manner, and containing such information as the Sec5 retary may require.’’. 

6 SEC. 7. NATIONAL ACTIVITIES. 

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

8 as follows: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 5205. NATIONAL ACTIVITIES. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—From the amount reserved 

11 under section 5202(b)(2), the Secretary shall— 

12 ‘‘(1) use not less than 50 percent of such funds 

13 to award startup grants in accordance with sub14 section (b); and 

15 ‘‘(2) use the remainder of such funds to— 

16 ‘‘(A) disseminate technical assistance to 

17 State entities in awarding subgrants under sec18 tion 5203; 

19 ‘‘(B) disseminate best practices; and 

20 ‘‘(C) evaluate the impact of the charter 

21 school program carried out under this subpart. 

22 ‘‘(b) STARTUP GRANTS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make 

24 grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible applicants 


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1 for the purpose of carrying out the activities de2 scribed in section 5202(a)(1). 

3 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE APPLICANT DEFINED.—For pur4 poses of this subsection, the term ‘eligible applicant’ 

5 means an eligible applicant that desires to open a 

6 charter school in— 

7 ‘‘(A) a State that did not apply for a grant 

8 under section 5203; 

9 ‘‘(B) a State that did not receive a grant 

10 under section 5203; or 

11 ‘‘(C) a State that received a grant under 

12 section 5203 and is in the 4th or 5th year of 

13 a grant period for such grant. 

14 ‘‘(c) CONTRACTS AND GRANTS.—The Secretary may 

15 carry out any of the activities described in this section di16 rectly or through grants to, or contracts or cooperative 

17 agreements with, State educational agencies, local edu18 cational agencies, and other public and private agencies.’’. 

19 SEC. 8. RECORDS TRANSFER. 

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

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

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

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

24 ‘‘section 602(14)’’. 


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1 SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS. 

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

3 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

4 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub5 paragraph (K); 

6 (B) by striking the period at the end of 

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

8 (C) by adding at the end, the following: 

9 ‘‘(M) may serve prekindergarten or post 

10 secondary students.’’; 

11 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘under section 

12 5203(d)(3)’’; and 

13 (3) by inserting at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(5) REPLICABLE CHARTER SCHOOL MODEL.— 

15 The term ‘replicable charter school model’ means a 

16 high-quality charter school that will open a new 

17 campus under an existing charter. 

18 ‘‘(6) EXPANSION OF A HIGH-QUALITY CHARTER

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

20 charter school’ means a high-quality charter school 

21 that either significantly increases its enrollment or 

22 adds one or more grades to its school. 

23 ‘‘(7) HIGH-QUALITY CHARTER SCHOOL.—The 

24 term ‘high-quality charter school’ is a charter school 

25 that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) shows evidence of strong academic re2 sults; 

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

4 of student safety, financial management, or 

5 statutory or regulatory compliance; 

6 ‘‘(C) has demonstrated success in signifi7 cantly increasing student academic achievement 

8 and attainment for all students, including edu9 cationally disadvantaged students described in 

10 section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II)(aa), served by 

11 charter schools; and 

12 ‘‘(D) has demonstrated success in closing 

13 historic achievement gaps for the subgroups of 

14 students described in section 

15 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II).’’. 

16 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

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

18 as follows: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 5211. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

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

21 this subpart $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2012 and each 

22 of the succeeding 5 fiscal years.’’. 

23 SEC. 11. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

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

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


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

2 section 2 is amended— 

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

4 and inserting: 

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

5 and 

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

7 and inserting: 

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

Æ 


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