IIB 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2218 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 14, 2011 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 

Labor, and Pensions 

AN ACT 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Empowering Parents 

3 through Quality Charter Schools Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. REFERENCES. 

5 Except as otherwise specifically provided, whenever in 

6 this Act a section or other provision is amended or re7 pealed, such amendment or repeal shall be considered to 

8 be made to that section or other provision of the Elemen9 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

10 6301 et seq.). 

11 SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 

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

13 as follows: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 5201. PURPOSE. 

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

16 ‘‘(1) improve the United States education sys17 tem and educational opportunities for all Americans 

18 by supporting innovation in public education in pub19 lic school settings that prepare students to compete 

20 and contribute to the global economy; 

21 ‘‘(2) provide financial assistance for the plan22 ning, program design, and initial implementation of 

23 charter schools; 

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

25 schools available to students across the Nation; 


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1 ‘‘(4) evaluate the impact of such schools on stu2 dent achievement, families, and communities, and 

3 share best practices between charter schools and 

4 other public schools; 

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

6 charter schools for facilities financing in an amount 

7 more nearly commensurate to the amount the States 

8 have typically provided for traditional public schools; 

9 ‘‘(6) improve student services to increase oppor10 tunities for students with disabilities, limited 

11 English proficient students, and other traditionally 

12 underserved students to attend charter schools and 

13 meet challenging State academic achievement stand14 ards; and 

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

16 school authorizing process to improve performance 

17 management, including transparency, monitoring, 

18 and evaluation of such schools.’’. 

19 SEC. 4. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 

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

21 as follows: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 5202. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—This subpart authorizes the Sec24 retary to carry out a charter school program that supports 


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1 charter schools that serve elementary school and sec2 ondary school students by— 

3 ‘‘(1) supporting the startup, replication, and ex4 pansion of charter schools; 

5 ‘‘(2) assisting charter schools in accessing cred6 it to acquire and renovate facilities for school use; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(3) carrying out national activities to sup9 port— 

10 ‘‘(A) charter school development; 

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

12 charter schools for all schools; and 

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

14 program on schools participating in the pro15 gram. 

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

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

18 Secretary shall— 

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

20 school facilities assistance under section 5204; 

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

22 out national activities under section 5205; and 

23 ‘‘(3) use the remaining amount after the Sec24 retary reserves funds under paragraphs (1) and (2) 

25 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 Empowering Parents through 

5 Quality Charter Schools Act, shall continue to receive 

6 funds in accordance with the terms and conditions of such 

7 grant 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) IN GENERAL.—From the amount reserved 

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

16 grants to State entities having applications approved pur17 suant to subsection (f) to enable such entities to— 

18 ‘‘(1) award subgrants to eligible applicants 

19 for— 

20 ‘‘(A) opening new charter schools; 

21 ‘‘(B) opening replicable, high-quality char22 ter school models; or 

23 ‘‘(C) expanding high-quality charter 

24 schools; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) provide technical assistance to eligible ap2 plicants and authorized public chartering agencies in 

3 carrying out the activities described in paragraph (1) 

4 and work with authorized public chartering agencies 

5 in the State to improve authorizing quality. 

6 ‘‘(b) STATE USES OF FUNDS.— 

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

8 grant under this section shall— 

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

10 award subgrants to eligible applicants, in ac11 cordance with the quality charter school pro12 gram described in the entity’s application ap13 proved pursuant to subsection (f), for the pur14 poses described in subparagraphs (A) through 

15 (C) of subsection (a)(1); and 

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

17 carry out the activities described in subsection 

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

19 be used for administrative costs which may in20 clude technical assistance. 

21 ‘‘(2) CONTRACTS AND GRANTS.—A State entity 

22 may use a grant received under this section to carry 

23 out the activities described in subparagraphs (A) 

24 and (B) of paragraph (1) directly or through grants, 

25 contracts, or cooperative agreements. 


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

2 NUMBER AND AMOUNT; DIVERSITY OF PROJECTS; WAIV3 ERS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) PROGRAM PERIODS.— 

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

6 Secretary to a State entity under this section 

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

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

9 by a State entity under this section shall be for 

10 a period of not more than 5 years, of which an 

11 eligible applicant may use not more than 18 

12 months for planning and program design. 

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

14 State entity receiving a grant under this section, 

15 shall use a peer review process to review applications 

16 for assistance under this section. 

17 ‘‘(3) GRANT NUMBER AND AMOUNT.—The Sec18 retary shall ensure that the number of grants award19 ed under this section and the award amounts will 

20 allow for a sufficient number of new grants to be 

21 awarded under this section for each succeeding fiscal 

22 year. 

23 ‘‘(4) DIVERSITY OF PROJECTS.—Each State en24 tity receiving a grant under this section shall award 


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1 subgrants under this section in a manner that, to 

2 the extent possible, ensures that such subgrants— 

3 ‘‘(A) are distributed throughout different 

4 areas, including urban, suburban, and rural 

5 areas; and 

6 ‘‘(B) will assist charter schools rep7 resenting a variety of educational approaches. 

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

9 statutory or regulatory requirement over which the 

10 Secretary exercises administrative authority except 

11 any such requirement relating to the elements of a 

12 charter school described in section 5210(1), if— 

13 ‘‘(A) the waiver is requested in an ap14 proved application under this section; and 

15 ‘‘(B) the Secretary determines that grant16 ing such a waiver will promote the purpose of 

17 this subpart. 

18 ‘‘(d) LIMITATIONS.— 

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

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

21 period. 

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

23 not receive more than 1 subgrant under this section 

24 per charter school for a 5-year period, unless the eli25 gible applicant demonstrates to the State entity not 


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1 less than 3 years of improved educational results in 

2 the areas described in subparagraphs (A) and (D) of 

3 section 5210(6) for students enrolled in such charter 

4 school. 

5 ‘‘(e) APPLICATIONS.—A State entity desiring to re6 ceive a grant under this section shall submit an application 

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

8 Secretary may require. The application shall include the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(1) DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM.—A descrip11 tion of the entity’s objectives in running a quality 

12 charter school program under this section and how 

13 the objectives of the program will be carried out, in14 cluding a description— 

15 ‘‘(A) of how the entity— 

16 ‘‘(i) will support both new charter 

17 school startup and the expansion and rep18 lication of high-quality charter school mod19 els; 

20 ‘‘(ii) will inform eligible charter 

21 schools, developers, and authorized public 

22 chartering agencies of the availability of 

23 funds under the program; 

24 ‘‘(iii) will work with eligible applicants 

25 to ensure that the applicants access all 


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1 Federal funds that they are eligible to re2 ceive, and help the charter schools sup3 ported by the applicants and the students 

4 attending the charter schools— 

5 ‘‘(I) participate in the Federal 

6 programs in which the schools and 

7 students are eligible to participate; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(II) receive the commensurate 

10 share of Federal funds the schools 

11 and students are eligible to receive 

12 under such programs; 

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

14 not a State educational agency— 

15 ‘‘(I) will work with the State edu16 cational agency and the charter 

17 schools in the State to maximize char18 ter school participation in Federal and 

19 State programs for charter schools; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(II) will work with the State 

22 educational agency to adequately op23 erate the entity’s program under this 

24 section, where applicable; 


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1 ‘‘(v) will ensure eligible applicants 

2 that receive a subgrant under the entity’s 

3 program are prepared to continue to oper4 ate the charter schools receiving the 

5 subgrant funds once the funds have ex6 pired; 

7 ‘‘(vi) will support charter schools in 

8 local educational agencies with large num9 bers of schools that must comply with the 

10 requirements of section 1116(b); 

11 ‘‘(vii) will work with charter schools to 

12 promote inclusion of all students and sup13 port all students once they are enrolled to 

14 promote retention; 

15 ‘‘(viii) will work with charter schools 

16 on recruitment practices, including efforts 

17 to engage groups that may otherwise have 

18 limited opportunities to participate in char19 ter schools; 

20 ‘‘(ix) will share best and promising 

21 practices between charter schools and 

22 other public schools, including, where ap23 propriate, instruction and professional de24 velopment in science, math, technology, 

25 and engineering education; 


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1 ‘‘(x) will ensure the charter schools 

2 they support can meet the educational 

3 needs of their students, including students 

4 with disabilities and limited English pro5 ficient students; and 

6 ‘‘(xi) will support efforts to increase 

7 quality initiatives, including meeting the 

8 quality authorizing elements described in 

9 paragraph (2)(E); 

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

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

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

13 ‘‘(ii) is working to develop or 

14 strengthen a cohesive statewide system to 

15 support the opening of new charter schools 

16 and replicable, high-quality charter school 

17 models, and the expansion of high-quality 

18 charter schools; 

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

20 subgrant competition, including— 

21 ‘‘(i) a description of the application 

22 each eligible applicant desiring to receive a 

23 subgrant will submit, including— 

24 ‘‘(I) a description of the roles 

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1 cants, partner organizations, and 

2 management organizations, including 

3 the administrative and contractual 

4 roles and responsibilities; 

5 ‘‘(II) a description of the quality 

6 controls agreed to between the eligible 

7 applicant and the authorized public 

8 chartering agency involved, such as a 

9 contract or performance agreement, 

10 and how a school’s performance on 

11 the State’s academic accountability 

12 system will be a primary factor for re13 newal; and 

14 ‘‘(III) a description of how the el15 igible applicant will solicit and con16 sider input from parents and other 

17 members of the community on the im18 plementation and operation of each 

19 charter school receiving funds under 

20 the entity’s program; and 

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

22 will review applications; 

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

24 with an outside organization to carry out the 

25 entity’s quality charter school program, in 


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1 whole or in part, of the roles and responsibil2 ities of this partner; 

3 ‘‘(E) of how the entity will help the charter 

4 schools receiving funds under the entity’s pro5 gram consider the transportation needs of the 

6 schools’ students; and 

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

8 charter school models, including models that 

9 serve rural communities. 

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

11 description of how the assurances will be met, 

12 that— 

13 ‘‘(A) each charter school receiving funds 

14 under the entity’s program will have a high de15 gree of autonomy over budget and operations; 

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

17 in meeting the educational needs of their stu18 dents as described in paragraph (1)(A)(x); 

19 ‘‘(C) the entity will ensure that the author20 ized public chartering agency of any charter 

21 school that receives funds under the entity’s 

22 program— 

23 ‘‘(i) ensures that each charter school 

24 is meeting the obligations under this Act, 

25 part B of the Individuals with Disabilities 


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1 Education Act, title VI of the Civil Rights 

2 Act of 1964, section 504 of the Rehabilita3 tion Act of 1973, the Age Discrimination 

4 Act of 1975, and title IX of the Education 

5 Amendments of 1972; 

6 ‘‘(ii) adequately monitors and helps 

7 each charter school in recruiting, enrolling, 

8 and meeting the needs of all students, in9 cluding students with disabilities and lim10 ited English proficient students; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) ensures that each charter school 

12 solicits and considers input from parents 

13 and other members of the community on 

14 the implementation and operation of the 

15 school; 

16 ‘‘(D) the entity will provide adequate tech17 nical assistance to eligible applicants to— 

18 ‘‘(i) meet the objectives described in 

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

20 and paragraph (2)(B); and 

21 ‘‘(ii) enroll traditionally underserved 

22 students, including students with disabil23 ities and limited English proficient stu24 dents, to promote an inclusive education 

25 environment; 


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1 ‘‘(E) the entity will promote quality au2 thorizing, such as through providing technical 

3 assistance, to support all authorized public 

4 chartering agencies in the State to improve the 

5 monitoring of their charter schools, including 

6 by— 

7 ‘‘(i) assessing annual performance 

8 data of the schools, including, as appro9 priate, graduation rates and student 

10 growth; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) reviewing the schools’ inde12 pendent, annual audits of financial state13 ments conducted in accordance with gen14 erally accepted accounting principles, and 

15 ensuring any such audits are publically re16 ported; 

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

18 charter schools are included with the traditional 

19 public school system in decision-making about 

20 the public school system in the State; and 

21 ‘‘(G) the entity will ensure that each char22 ter school in the State make publicly available, 

23 consistent with the dissemination requirements 

24 of the annual State report card, the information 

25 parents need to make informed decisions about 


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1 the educational options available to their chil2 dren, including information on the educational 

3 program, student support services, and annual 

4 performance and enrollment data for the groups 

5 of students described in section 

6 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II). 

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

8 justification for waivers of any Federal statutory or 

9 regulatory provisions that the entity believes are nec10 essary for the successful operation of the charter 

11 schools that will receive funds under the entity’s pro12 gram under this section, and a description of any 

13 State or local rules, generally applicable to public 

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

15 to such schools. 

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

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

18 shall award grants to State entities under this sec19 tion on the basis of the quality of the applications 

20 submitted under subsection (e), after taking into 

21 consideration— 

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

23 the State’s public charter school law and how 

24 the entity will work to maximize the flexibility 

25 provided to charter schools under the law; 


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1 ‘‘(B) the ambitiousness of the entity’s ob2 jectives for the quality charter school program 

3 carried out under this section; 

4 ‘‘(C) the quality of the strategy for assess5 ing achievement of those objectives; 

6 ‘‘(D) the likelihood that the eligible appli7 cants receiving subgrants under the program 

8 will meet those objectives and improve edu9 cational results for students; 

10 ‘‘(E) the proposed number of new charter 

11 schools to be opened, and the proposed number 

12 of high-quality charter schools to be replicated 

13 or expanded under the program; 

14 ‘‘(F) the entity’s plan to— 

15 ‘‘(i) adequately monitor the eligible 

16 applicants receiving subgrants under the 

17 entity’s program; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) work with the authorized public 

19 chartering agencies involved to avoid dupli20 cation of work for the charter schools and 

21 authorized public chartering agencies; 

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

23 technical assistance, as described in the entity’s 

24 application under subsection (e), for the eligible 


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1 applicants receiving subgrants under the enti2 ty’s program under this section; 

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

4 authorizing efforts in the State, consistent with 

5 the objectives described in subparagraph (B); 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(I) the entity’s plan to solicit and con8 sider input from parents and other members of 

9 the community on the implementation and oper10 ation of the charter schools in the State. 

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

12 section, the Secretary shall give priority to State en13 tities to the extent that they meet the following cri14 teria: 

15 ‘‘(A) In the case of a State entity located 

16 in a State that allows an entity other than a 

17 local educational agency to be an authorized 

18 public chartering agency, the State has a qual19 ity authorized public chartering agency that is 

20 an entity other than a local educational agency. 

21 ‘‘(B) The State entity is located in a State 

22 that does not impose any limitation on the 

23 number or percentage of charter schools that 

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1 dents that may attend charter schools in the 

2 State. 

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

4 that ensures equitable financing, as compared 

5 to traditional public schools, for charter schools 

6 and students in a prompt manner. 

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

8 that uses charter schools and best practices 

9 from charter schools to help improve struggling 

10 schools and local educational agencies. 

11 ‘‘(E) The State entity partners with an or12 ganization that has a demonstrated record of 

13 success in developing management organiza14 tions to support the development of charter 

15 schools in the State. 

16 ‘‘(F) The State entity demonstrates quality 

17 policies and practices to support and monitor 

18 charter schools through factors including— 

19 ‘‘(i) the proportion of high-quality 

20 charter schools in the State; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) the proportion of charter schools 

22 enrolling, at a rate similar to traditional 

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1 ities and limited English proficient stu2 dents. 

3 ‘‘(G) The State entity supports charter 

4 schools that support at-risk students through 

5 activities such as dropout prevention or dropout 

6 recovery. 

7 ‘‘(H) The State entity authorizes all char8 ter schools in the State to serve as school food 

9 authorities. 

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

11 receiving a subgrant under this section shall use such 

12 funds to open new charter schools or replicable, high-qual13 ity charter school models, or expand existing high-quality 

14 charter schools. 

15 ‘‘(h) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Each State enti16 ty receiving a grant under this section shall submit to the 

17 Secretary, at the end of the third year of the 5-year grant 

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

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

20 subgrant awarded under this section and, if applica21 ble, how many new students were served during each 

22 year of the subgrant period; 

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

24 this section to carry out each of the following— 

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


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1 ‘‘(B) the opening of replicable, high-quality 

2 charter school models; and 

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

4 schools; 

5 ‘‘(3) the progress the entity made toward meet6 ing the priorities described in subsection (f)(2), as 

7 applicable; 

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

9 quality charter school program described in the enti10 ty’s application under subsection (e); 

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

12 that eligible applicants complied with, the assurances 

13 described in the entity’s application; and 

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

15 public chartering agencies, including how the agen16 cies worked with the management company or lead17 ership of the schools that received subgrants under 

18 this section. 

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

20 section, the term ‘State entity’ means— 

21 ‘‘(1) a State educational agency; 

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

23 ‘‘(3) a Governor of a State.’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. FACILITIES FINANCING ASSISTANCE. 

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

3 as follows: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 5204. FACILITIES FINANCING ASSISTANCE. 

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

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

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

8 grants to eligible entities that have the highest-qual9 ity applications approved under subsection (d), after 

10 considering the diversity of such applications, to 

11 demonstrate innovative methods of assisting charter 

12 schools to address the cost of acquiring, con13 structing, and renovating facilities by enhancing the 

14 availability of loans or bond financing. 

15 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY DEFINED.—For pur16 poses of this section, the term ‘eligible entity’ 

17 means— 

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

19 local governmental entity; 

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

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

22 subparagraphs (A) and (B). 

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

24 evaluate each application submitted under subsection (d), 

25 and shall determine whether the application is sufficient 

26 to merit approval. 


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1 ‘‘(c) GRANT CHARACTERISTICS.—Grants under sub2 section (a) shall be of a sufficient size, scope, and quality 

3 so as to ensure an effective demonstration of an innovative 

4 means of enhancing credit for the financing of charter 

5 school acquisition, construction, or renovation. 

6 ‘‘(d) APPLICATIONS.— 

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

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

9 Secretary an application in such form as the Sec10 retary may reasonably require. 

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

12 under paragraph (1) shall contain— 

13 ‘‘(A) a statement identifying the activities 

14 proposed to be undertaken with funds received 

15 under subsection (a), including how the eligible 

16 entity will determine which charter schools will 

17 receive assistance, and how much and what 

18 types of assistance charter schools will receive; 

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

20 charter schools in the application’s development 

21 and the design of the proposed activities; 

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

23 expertise in capital market financing; 

24 ‘‘(D) a description of how the proposed ac25 tivities will leverage the maximum amount of 


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1 private-sector financing capital relative to the 

2 amount of government funding used and other3 wise enhance credit available to charter schools, 

4 including how the entity will offer a combina5 tion of rates and terms more favorable than the 

6 rates and terms that a charter school could re7 ceive without assistance from the entity under 

8 this section; 

9 ‘‘(E) a description of how the eligible enti10 ty possesses sufficient expertise in education to 

11 evaluate the likelihood of success of a charter 

12 school program for which facilities financing is 

13 sought; and 

14 ‘‘(F) 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 ‘‘(e) CHARTER SCHOOL OBJECTIVES.—An eligible 

21 entity receiving a grant under this section shall use the 

22 funds deposited in the reserve account established under 

23 subsection (f) to assist one or more charter schools to ac24 cess private sector capital to accomplish one or both of 

25 the following objectives: 


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1 ‘‘(1) The acquisition (by purchase, lease, dona2 tion, or otherwise) of an interest (including an inter3 est held by a third party for the benefit of a charter 

4 school) in improved or unimproved real property 

5 that is necessary to commence or continue the oper6 ation of a charter school. 

7 ‘‘(2) The construction of new facilities, includ8 ing predevelopment costs, or the renovation, repair, 

9 or alteration of existing facilities, necessary to com10 mence or continue the operation of a charter school. 

11 ‘‘(f) RESERVE ACCOUNT.— 

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

13 to accomplish the objectives described in subsection 

14 (e), an eligible entity receiving a grant under sub15 section (a) shall, in accordance with State and local 

16 law, directly or indirectly, alone or in collaboration 

17 with others, deposit the funds received under sub18 section (a) (other than funds used for administrative 

19 costs in accordance with subsection (g)) in a reserve 

20 account established and maintained by the eligible 

21 entity for this purpose. Amounts deposited in such 

22 account shall be used by the eligible entity for one 

23 or more of the following purposes: 

24 ‘‘(A) Guaranteeing, insuring, and rein25 suring bonds, notes, evidences of debt, loans, 


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1 and interests therein, the proceeds of which are 

2 used for an objective described in subsection 

3 (e). 

4 ‘‘(B) Guaranteeing and insuring leases of 

5 personal and real property for an objective de6 scribed in subsection (e). 

7 ‘‘(C) Facilitating financing by identifying 

8 potential lending sources, encouraging private 

9 lending, and other similar activities that di10 rectly promote lending to, or for the benefit of, 

11 charter schools. 

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

13 charter schools, or by other public entities for 

14 the benefit of charter schools, by providing 

15 technical, administrative, and other appropriate 

16 assistance (including the recruitment of bond 

17 counsel, underwriters, and potential investors 

18 and the consolidation of multiple charter school 

19 projects within a single bond issue). 

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

21 section and deposited in the reserve account estab22 lished under paragraph (1) shall be invested in obli23 gations issued or guaranteed by the United States or 

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


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1 ‘‘(3) REINVESTMENT OF EARNINGS.—Any earn2 ings on funds received under subsection (a) shall be 

3 deposited in the reserve account established under 

4 paragraph (1) and used in accordance with such 

5 paragraph. 

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

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

8 funds received under subsection (a) for the administrative 

9 costs of carrying out its responsibilities under this section 

10 (excluding subsection (k)). 

11 ‘‘(h) AUDITS AND REPORTS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) FINANCIAL RECORD MAINTENANCE AND

13 AUDIT.—The financial records of each eligible entity 

14 receiving a grant under subsection (a) shall be main15 tained in accordance with generally accepted ac16 counting principles and shall be subject to an annual 

17 audit by an independent public accountant. 

18 ‘‘(2) REPORTS.— 

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

20 eligible entity receiving a grant under sub21 section (a) annually shall submit to the Sec22 retary a report of its operations and activities 

23 under this section. 


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1 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—Each annual report 

2 submitted under subparagraph (A) shall in3 clude— 

4 ‘‘(i) a copy of the most recent finan5 cial statements, and any accompanying 

6 opinion on such statements, prepared by 

7 the independent public accountant review8 ing the financial records of the eligible en9 tity; 

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

11 audit of the financial records of the eligible 

12 entity that was conducted under paragraph 

13 (1) during the reporting period; 

14 ‘‘(iii) an evaluation by the eligible en15 tity of the effectiveness of its use of the 

16 Federal funds provided under subsection 

17 (a) in leveraging private funds; 

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

19 charter schools served during the reporting 

20 period, including the amount of funds used 

21 by each school, the type of project facili22 tated by the grant, and the type of assist23 ance provided to the charter schools; 

24 ‘‘(v) a description of the activities car25 ried out by the eligible entity to assist 


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1 charter schools in meeting the objectives 

2 set forth in subsection (e); and 

3 ‘‘(vi) a description of the characteris4 tics of lenders and other financial institu5 tions participating in the activities under6 taken by the eligible entity under this sec7 tion (excluding subsection (k)) during the 

8 reporting period. 

9 ‘‘(C) SECRETARIAL REPORT.—The Sec10 retary shall review the reports submitted under 

11 subparagraph (A) and shall provide a com12 prehensive annual report to Congress on the ac13 tivities conducted under this section (excluding 

14 subsection (k)). 

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

16 OBLIGATION.—No financial obligation of an eligible entity 

17 entered into pursuant to this section (such as an obliga18 tion under a guarantee, bond, note, evidence of debt, or 

19 loan) shall be an obligation of, or guaranteed in any re20 spect by, the United States. The full faith and credit of 

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

22 which may be required to be paid under any obligation 

23 made by an eligible entity pursuant to any provision of 

24 this section. 

25 ‘‘(j) RECOVERY OF FUNDS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in accord2 ance with chapter 37 of title 31, United States 

3 Code, shall collect— 

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

5 established by an eligible entity under sub6 section (f)(1) if the Secretary determines, not 

7 earlier than 2 years after the date on which the 

8 eligible entity first received funds under this 

9 section (excluding subsection (k)), that the eli10 gible entity has failed to make substantial 

11 progress in carrying out the purposes described 

12 in subsection (f)(1); or 

13 ‘‘(B) all or a portion of the funds in a re14 serve account established by an eligible entity 

15 under subsection (f)(1) if the Secretary deter16 mines that the eligible entity has permanently 

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

18 such account to accomplish any purpose de19 scribed in subsection (f)(1). 

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

21 shall not exercise the authority provided in para22 graph (1) to collect from any eligible entity any 

23 funds that are being properly used to achieve one or 

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


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

2 451, 452, and 458 of the General Education Provi3 sions Act shall apply to the recovery of funds under 

4 paragraph (1). 

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

6 not be construed to impair or affect the authority of 

7 the Secretary to recover funds under part D of the 

8 General Education Provisions Act. 

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

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

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

12 facilities aid program’ means a program in which a 

13 State makes payments, on a per-pupil basis, to char14 ter schools to provide the schools with financing— 

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

16 charter school facilities; or 

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

18 funding charter school facilities. 

19 ‘‘(2) GRANTS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—From the amount re21 served under section 5202(b)(1) remaining 

22 after the Secretary makes grants under sub23 section (a), the Secretary shall make grants, on 

24 a competitive basis, to States to pay for the 

25 Federal share of the cost of establishing or enVerDate Mar 15 2010 07:09 Sep 15, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2218.RFS H2218

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1 hancing, and administering per-pupil facilities 

2 aid programs. 

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

4 grants under this subsection for periods of not 

5 more than 5 years. 

6 ‘‘(C) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal 

7 share of the cost described in subparagraph (A) 

8 for a per-pupil facilities aid program shall be 

9 not more than— 

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

11 first fiscal year for which the program re12 ceives assistance under this subsection; 

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

14 year; 

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

16 year; 

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

18 year; and 

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

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

21 grant under this subsection may partner with 1 

22 or more organizations to provide up to 50 per23 cent of the State share of the cost of estab24 lishing or enhancing, and administering the per25 pupil facilities aid program. 


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1 ‘‘(E) MULTIPLE GRANTS.—A State may 

2 receive more than 1 grant under this sub3 section, so long as the amount of such funds 

4 provided to charter schools increases with each 

5 successive grant. 

6 ‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.— 

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

8 a grant under this subsection shall use the 

9 funds made available through the grant to es10 tablish or enhance, and administer, a per-pupil 

11 facilities aid program for charter schools in the 

12 State of the applicant. 

13 ‘‘(B) EVALUATIONS; TECHNICAL ASSIST14 ANCE; DISSEMINATION.—From the amount 

15 made available to a State through a grant 

16 under this subsection for a fiscal year, the State 

17 may reserve not more than 5 percent to carry 

18 out evaluations, to provide technical assistance, 

19 and to disseminate information. 

20 ‘‘(C) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.— 

21 Funds made available under this subsection 

22 shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, 

23 State, and local public funds expended to pro24 vide per pupil facilities aid programs, operVerDate Mar 15 2010 07:09 Sep 15, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2218.RFS H2218

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1 ations financing programs, or other programs, 

2 for charter schools. 

3 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENTS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION.—No 

5 State may be required to participate in a pro6 gram carried out under this subsection. 

7 ‘‘(B) STATE LAW.— 

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro9 vided in clause (ii), to be eligible to receive 

10 a grant under this subsection, a State shall 

11 establish or enhance, and administer, a 

12 per-pupil facilities aid program for charter 

13 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.—Notwith19 standing clause (i), a State that is required 

20 under State law to provide its charter 

21 schools with access to adequate facility 

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

23 facilities aid program for charter schools 

24 specified in State law, may be eligible to 

25 receive a grant under this subsection if the 


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1 State agrees to use the funds to develop a 

2 per-pupil facilities aid program consistent 

3 with the requirements of this subsection. 

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

5 grant under this subsection, a State shall submit an 

6 application to the Secretary at such time, in such 

7 manner, and containing such information as the Sec8 retary may require.’’. 

9 SEC. 7. NATIONAL ACTIVITIES. 

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

11 as follows: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 5205. NATIONAL ACTIVITIES. 

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

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

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

16 to award grants in accordance with subsection (b); 

17 and 

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

19 ‘‘(A) disseminate technical assistance to 

20 State entities in awarding subgrants under sec21 tion 5203, and eligible entities and States re22 ceiving grants under section 5204; 

23 ‘‘(B) disseminate best practices; and 

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

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1 dent achievement, carried out under this sub2 part. 

3 ‘‘(b) GRANTS.— 

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

5 grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible applicants 

6 for the purpose of carrying out the activities de7 scribed in section 5202(a)(1), subparagraphs (A) 

8 through (C) of section 5203(a)(1), and section 

9 5203(g). 

10 ‘‘(2) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Except as oth11 erwise provided in this subsection, grants awarded 

12 under this subsection shall have the same terms and 

13 conditions as grants awarded to State entities under 

14 section 5203. 

15 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE APPLICANT DEFINED.—For pur16 poses of this subsection, the term ‘eligible applicant’ 

17 means an eligible applicant that desires to open a 

18 charter school in— 

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

20 under section 5203; 

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

22 under section 5203; or 

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

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

25 the grant period for such grant. 


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

2 carry out any of the activities described in this section di3 rectly or through grants, contracts, or cooperative agree4 ments.’’. 

5 SEC. 8. RECORDS TRANSFER. 

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

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

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

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

10 ‘‘section 602(14)’’. 

11 SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS. 

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

13 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub15 paragraph (K); 

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

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

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

19 ‘‘(M) may serve prekindergarten or post 

20 secondary students.’’; 

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

22 section 5203(d)(3)’’; and 

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

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

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


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1 charter school’ means a high-quality charter school 

2 that either significantly increases its enrollment or 

3 adds one or more grades to its school. 

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

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

6 school that— 

7 ‘‘(A) shows evidence of strong academic re8 sults, which may include strong academic 

9 growth as determined by a State; 

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

11 of student safety, financial management, or 

12 statutory or regulatory compliance; 

13 ‘‘(C) has demonstrated success in signifi14 cantly increasing student academic achievement 

15 and attainment for all students served by char16 ter schools; and 

17 ‘‘(D) has demonstrated success in increas18 ing student academic achievement for the 

19 groups of students described in section 

20 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II). 

21 ‘‘(7) REPLICABLE, HIGH-QUALITY CHARTER

22 SCHOOL MODEL.—The term ‘replicable, high-quality 

23 charter school model’ means a high-quality charter 

24 school that will open a new campus under an exist25 ing charter.’’. 


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1 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

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

3 as follows: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 5211. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

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

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

7 of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.’’. 

8 SEC. 11. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

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

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

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

12 section 2 is amended— 

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

14 and inserting the following: 

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

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

16 and inserting the following: 

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

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

Passed the House of Representatives September 13, 

2011. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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