II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1708 

To improve certain provisions relating to charter schools. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 7, 2015 

Mr. BROWN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To improve certain provisions relating to charter schools. 

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 ‘‘Charter School Ac5 countability Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. GENERAL PROVISIONS. 

7 Title V of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

8 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7201 et seq.) is amended— 

9 (1) by striking the title heading and inserting 

10 ‘‘EMPOWERING PARENTS AND EX11 PANDING OPPORTUNITY THROUGH IN12 NOVATION’’; 


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1 (2) by striking part A; 

2 (3) by striking subparts 2 and 3 of part B; 

3 (4) by redesignating parts B and C as parts A 

4 and B, respectively; 

5 (5) in part A, as redesignated by paragraph 

6 (4), by striking ‘‘Subpart 1—Charter School 

7 Programs’’; 

8 (6) by redesignating sections 5201 through 

9 5211 as sections 5101 through 5111, respectively; 

10 (7) by redesignating sections 5301 through 

11 5307 as sections 5201 through 5207, respectively; 

12 (8) by striking sections 5308 and 5310; and 

13 (9) by redesignating sections 5309 and 5311 as 

14 sections 5208 and 5209, respectively. 

15 SEC. 3. PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS. 

16 Part A of title V of the Elementary and Secondary 

17 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7221 et seq.), as redes18 ignated by section 2(4), is amended by striking sections 

19 5101 through 5105, as redesignated by section 2(6), and 

20 inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 5101. PURPOSE. 

22 ‘‘It is the purpose of this part to— 

23 ‘‘(1) provide authorization and support for pub24 lic charter schools providing elementary or secondary 

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1 tions aimed at improving the education of all stu2 dents and strengthening public education; 

3 ‘‘(2) evaluate the impact of such schools on stu4 dent achievement, families, and communities, and 

5 share best practices among charter schools and other 

6 public schools; 

7 ‘‘(3) expand opportunities for children with dis8 abilities, students who are English learners, and 

9 other traditionally underserved students to attend 

10 charter schools and meet the challenging State aca11 demic standards under section 1111(b)(1); and 

12 ‘‘(4) support efforts to strengthen the charter 

13 school authorizing process to improve performance 

14 management, including transparency, monitoring, in15 cluding financial audits, and evaluation of such 

16 schools. 

17 ‘‘SEC. 5102. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may award grants 

19 to eligible State educational agencies having applications 

20 approved pursuant to section 5103(f) to enable such agen21 cies to conduct a charter school grant program in accord22 ance with this part, by— 

23 ‘‘(1) supporting the startup of charter schools 

24 that are evaluated by the charter school authorizer 

25 for quality and local impact; 


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1 ‘‘(2) supporting the replication and expansion 

2 of high-quality charter schools; 

3 ‘‘(3) assisting charter schools in accessing cred4 it to acquire and renovate facilities for school use; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(4) carrying out national activities to sup7 port— 

8 ‘‘(A) the dissemination of best and prom9 ising practices between and among magnet, tra10 ditional district, and charter schools; 

11 ‘‘(B) the evaluation of the impacts of the 

12 charter school program under this part on edu13 cational quality and equity for students, and 

14 the overall strength of public education in local 

15 communities; and 

16 ‘‘(C) stronger charter school authorizing. 

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

18 made available under section 5113 for a fiscal year, the 

19 Secretary shall— 

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

21 school facilities assistance under section 5104; 

22 ‘‘(2) reserve not more than 25 percent to carry 

23 out sections 5103A and 5105; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) use the remaining amount after the res2 ervations under paragraphs (1) and (2) to carry out 

3 section 5103. 

4 ‘‘(c) PRIOR GRANTS AND SUBGRANTS.—The recipi5 ent of a grant or subgrant under this part (as such part 

6 was in effect on the day before the date of enactment of 

7 the Charter School Accountability Act of 2015) shall con8 tinue to receive funds in accordance with the terms and 

9 conditions of such grant or subgrant. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 5103. GRANTS TO SUPPORT HIGH-QUALITY CHARTER 

11 SCHOOLS. 

12 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—From the amount 

13 available under section 5102(b)(3), the Secretary shall 

14 award, on a competitive basis, grants to eligible State edu15 cational agencies having applications approved under sub16 section (f) to enable such eligible State educational agen17 cies to— 

18 ‘‘(1) award subgrants to eligible applicants to 

19 enable such eligible applicants to— 

20 ‘‘(A) support the startup of charter schools 

21 that are thoroughly vetted by the authorizer for 

22 quality and local impact; 

23 ‘‘(B) replicate or expand high-quality char24 ter schools, which may include— 


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1 ‘‘(i) supporting the acquisition, expan2 sion, or preparation of a charter school 

3 building to meet increasing enrollment 

4 needs, including financing the development 

5 of a new building and ensuring that a 

6 school building complies with applicable 

7 statutes and regulations; 

8 ‘‘(ii) paying costs associated with hir9 ing additional teachers to serve additional 

10 students; 

11 ‘‘(iii) providing transportation to stu12 dents to and from the charter school; 

13 ‘‘(iv) providing instructional materials, 

14 implementing teacher and principal or 

15 other school leader professional develop16 ment programs, and hiring additional non17 teaching staff; 

18 ‘‘(v) supporting any necessary activi19 ties that assist the charter school in car20 rying out this section; and 

21 ‘‘(vi) providing early childhood edu22 cation programs for children, including di23 rect support to, and coordination with, 

24 school or community based early childhood 

25 education programs; or 


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1 ‘‘(C) in the case of the closure or dissolu2 tion of a charter school, transfer students and 

3 student records to another school in the school 

4 district in which the charter school is located; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(2) provide technical assistance to eligible ap7 plicants and charter school authorizers in carrying 

8 out the activities described in paragraph (1), and 

9 work with charter school authorizers in the State to 

10 improve authorizing quality, including developing ca11 pacity for and conducting fiscal oversight and audit12 ing of charter schools. 

13 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY DE14 FINED.—For purposes of this section, the term ‘eligible 

15 State educational agencies’ are State educational agencies 

16 with all of the following student, family, community and 

17 taxpayer protection laws and policies in place: 

18 ‘‘(1) STATE LAW AUTHORIZING THE CREATION

19 OF CHARTER SCHOOLS.—The State must have a law 

20 in force that authorizes the creation and operation 

21 of charter schools. 

22 ‘‘(2) FIDUCIARY DUTIES AND CONFLICT OF IN23 TEREST RULES.—The State must have legally bind24 ing rules establishing fiduciary duties for officers, di25 rectors, managers, and employees of charter schools 


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1 and prohibitions against conflicts of interest among 

2 officers, directors, managers, and employees of char3 ter schools, education management organizations, 

4 and related entities. Specifically, the State must 

5 have legally binding rules— 

6 ‘‘(A) providing that charter school officers, 

7 directors, managers, and employees occupy po8 sitions of trust when they handle the money or 

9 property of the charter school; 

10 ‘‘(B) prohibiting charter school officers, di11 rectors, managers, and employees from dealing 

12 with the charter school as an adverse party or 

13 acting on behalf of an adverse party in any 

14 matter connected with the duties of such offi15 cer, director, manager, or employee; 

16 ‘‘(C) prohibiting charter school officers, di17 rectors, managers, and employees from holding 

18 or acquiring any pecuniary or personal interest 

19 that conflicts with the interests of the charter 

20 school; 

21 ‘‘(D) prohibiting education management 

22 organizations from entering into any trans23 action with a related party, including— 

24 ‘‘(i) any related entity formed for the 

25 purpose of managing or providing support 


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1 to a charter school or group of related 

2 charter schools; 

3 ‘‘(ii) any direct or indirect wholly 

4 owned subsidiary of any such entity, if the 

5 transaction benefits the education manage6 ment organization, the related party, or 

7 both; or 

8 ‘‘(iii) any other related party; and 

9 ‘‘(E) providing civil remedies and criminal 

10 penalties, as applicable, that will apply to a 

11 breach of fiduciary duties and prohibited ac12 tions described in this paragraph in the same 

13 manner that such remedies or penalties apply to 

14 a breach of fiduciary duties or an action similar 

15 to a prohibited action under this paragraph in 

16 the case of officers, directors, managers, and 

17 employees of an entity that is not a charter 

18 school. 

19 ‘‘(3) PUBLIC REMOVAL OF CHARTER SCHOOL

20 GOVERNING BOARD MEMBERS.—The State charter 

21 school law shall ensure that a State agency or char22 ter school authorizer has the authority to remove a 

23 member of a charter school’s governing board if the 

24 member has violated the member’s fiduciary respon25 sibilities or the applicable conflict of interest rules. 


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1 ‘‘(4) INDEPENDENT FINANCIAL AUDIT RE2 QUIREMENTS WITH PUBLIC DISCLOSURE.—The 

3 State must require that all charter schools, and all 

4 education management organizations that enter into 

5 management services contracts with charter 

6 schools— 

7 ‘‘(A) conduct annual, independent audits 

8 of their financial statements and submit these 

9 required audit reports to the eligible State edu10 cational agency; and 

11 ‘‘(B) make the required audit reports, in12 cluding any management letters, publicly avail13 able via disclosure by the eligible State edu14 cational agency. 

15 ‘‘(5) CHARTER SCHOOL ACCESS TO BOOKS AND

16 RECORDS OF EDUCATION MANAGEMENT ORGANIZA17 TIONS.—The State must require that a charter 

18 school’s governing board have access to all the books 

19 and records— 

20 ‘‘(A) of any education management organi21 zation with which the board has contracted to 

22 manage the school; and 

23 ‘‘(B) that are applicable to that charter 

24 school. 


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1 ‘‘(6) OPEN MEETINGS AND OPEN RECORDS RE2 QUIREMENTS FOR CHARTER SCHOOLS.—The State 

3 must provide that charter schools are covered by the 

4 State’s open meetings and open records laws to the 

5 same extent that public schools and school boards 

6 are covered by such laws. 

7 ‘‘(7) CHARTER SCHOOL AUTHORIZER AUTHOR8 ITY.—The State must have policies in force that 

9 provide charter school authorizers with the authority 

10 to— 

11 ‘‘(A) inspect and obtain copies of any 

12 books and records of the charter schools they 

13 authorize, including all contracts entered into 

14 by the charter schools; and 

15 ‘‘(B) conduct a review or audit of edu16 cational performance and financial operations of 

17 the charter schools they authorize. 

18 ‘‘(8) CHARTER SCHOOL AUTHORIZER ACCOUNT19 ABILITY.—The State must have policies holding 

20 charter school authorizers responsible for monitoring 

21 the educational performance and financial operations 

22 of all charter schools that the charter school author23 izer has authorized. Such policies must include all of 

24 the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) Performance standards for charter 

2 school authorizers. 

3 ‘‘(B) A standardized and public charter 

4 school authorizer performance reporting system 

5 that discloses, for each authorizer in each 

6 school year— 

7 ‘‘(i) the number of applications re8 ceived; 

9 ‘‘(ii) the number of applications ap10 proved; 

11 ‘‘(iii) the name, location, and status of 

12 each authorized school; and 

13 ‘‘(iv) all charter school closures, deci14 sions to deny renewal of charters, or deci15 sions to cancel charters, including reasons 

16 for the closures, nonrenewal decisions, or 

17 cancellation decisions. 

18 ‘‘(C) The provision of technical assistance 

19 to help authorizers meet performance stand20 ards. 

21 ‘‘(D) Authority on the part of an agency or 

22 instrumentality of the State to suspend or re23 voke an authorizer’s ability to authorize charter 

24 schools on the basis of poor performance, and 

25 policies relating to that authority, including— 


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1 ‘‘(i) published criteria for such sus2 pensions or revocations based on the edu3 cational or financial performance of the 

4 schools that are authorized by the charter 

5 school authorizer; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) a protocol or policy for reas7 signing authorizer responsibilities for each 

8 such school to another appropriate author9 izer and assisting with the necessary tran10 sition (except in the case of a State that 

11 has only one charter school authorizer). 

12 ‘‘(E) A policy regarding how charter 

13 schools are monitored and held accountable 

14 for— 

15 ‘‘(i) meeting the requirements de16 scribed in section 5110(1); and 

17 ‘‘(ii) providing equitable access and 

18 effectively serving the needs of all stu19 dents, including students with disabilities 

20 and English learners. 

21 ‘‘(F) A policy regarding how the charter 

22 school authorizer will ensure that the local edu23 cational agency that serves a charter school 

24 that such charter school authorizer has author25 ized will comply with subsections (a)(5) and 


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1 (e)(1)(B) of section 613 of the Individuals with 

2 Disabilities Education Act. 

3 ‘‘(9) FOR-PROFIT CHARTER SCHOOLS.—The 

4 State must have laws in effect that require for-profit 

5 charter schools to— 

6 ‘‘(A) ensure that the charter school’s edu7 cational responsibilities take primacy over other 

8 purposes, such as generating financial returns 

9 for investors, contributing to a related or parent 

10 organization, or supporting external interests; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(B) include board members who have no 

13 significant administrative position and no own14 ership interest in the charter school or a related 

15 party, as described in section 5103(b)(2)(D). 

16 ‘‘(10) DISTRICTWIDE MULTI-YEAR SCHOOL

17 PLAN.—The State must require local educational 

18 agencies, charter school authorizers, and charter 

19 schools to jointly develop and regularly update a dis20 trictwide multi-year school plan, which shall be co21 ordinated by the charter school authorizer. 

22 ‘‘(11) IMPACT STATEMENT.—The State must 

23 require that before any new charter school applica24 tion is approved, the local educational agency that 

25 serves the charter school or is in the geographic area 


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1 of the charter school, in accordance with the district2 wide multi-year school plan, shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) prepare an impact statement— 

4 ‘‘(i) assessing the proposed charter 

5 school’s impact on the districtwide multi6 year school plan; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) identifying the role that the char8 ter school intends to fill within the local 

9 educational agency; 

10 ‘‘(B) make such impact statement available 

11 to community members prior to the hearing de12 scribed in subparagraph (C); and 

13 ‘‘(C) hold a community input hearing prior 

14 to the determination about the approval or dis15 approval of a pending charter school applica16 tion. 

17 ‘‘(12) IMPACT REPORT.—The State educational 

18 agency must prepare, and publish on the State edu19 cational agency website, an annual assessment of the 

20 impact of charter schools on local educational agen21 cies in the State, including— 

22 ‘‘(A) a review of the flow of funding be23 tween sectors, student enrollment trends, and 

24 educational outcomes; 


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1 ‘‘(B) identification of noteworthy innova2 tive or promising practices carried out by char3 ter schools in the State; and 

4 ‘‘(C) documentation of efforts that lead to 

5 two-way cross sector sharing of promising prac6 tices. 

7 ‘‘(13) CHARTER SCHOOL DISCLOSURES.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara9 graph (B), the State must require each charter 

10 school to publicly disclose, on the school’s 

11 website, the following: 

12 ‘‘(i) The school’s charter documents. 

13 ‘‘(ii) Any performance agreements in 

14 effect between the charter school and the 

15 charter school’s authorizer. 

16 ‘‘(iii) A description of the school’s 

17 program, including courses and programs 

18 offered. 

19 ‘‘(iv) Whether or not transportation 

20 services are provided, and any fees for 

21 transportation. 

22 ‘‘(v) Whether or not meals and snacks 

23 are served at school and whether or not 

24 free or reduced-price meals are available 

25 (and, if so, to which students). 


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1 ‘‘(vi) Annual student attrition rates by 

2 grade level. 

3 ‘‘(vii) Student behavior or discipline 

4 codes, policies, and processes, including 

5 parent appeal options. 

6 ‘‘(viii) Annual teacher attrition rates. 

7 ‘‘(ix) The amounts of non-public fund8 ing sources, including the duration of phil9 anthropic funding commitments. 

10 ‘‘(x) The names of legal title holders 

11 of land and buildings that the charter 

12 school utilizes, along with a description of 

13 any public subsidies used directly or indi14 rectly to purchase or lease charter school 

15 property. 

16 ‘‘(xi) Fees related to incidentals of at17 tendance, and whether any of those fees 

18 are waived for certain students (such as 

19 for students who are eligible to receive a 

20 free or reduced price lunch). 

21 ‘‘(xii) Information related to financial 

22 and in-kind contributions of support, which 

23 shall be— 

24 ‘‘(I) the amount and duration of 

25 any Federal, State, local, and private 


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1 financial and in-kind contributions of 

2 support, and how such funding and 

3 in-kind contributions are spent or 

4 used; 

5 ‘‘(II) the information required to 

6 be submitted to the Office for Civil 

7 Rights for the Civil Rights Data Col8 lection; or 

9 ‘‘(III) in the case of an organiza10 tion described in section 501(c)(3) of 

11 the Internal Revenue Code that is ex12 empt from taxation under section 

13 501(a) of that Code, the information 

14 required to be submitted on any re15 turn to be filed under section 6033 of 

16 that Code. 

17 ‘‘(B) PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFOR18 MATION.—Notwithstanding the requirements 

19 under subparagraph (A), a charter school shall 

20 not provide any information under this para21 graph that would reveal personally identifiable 

22 information about an individual. 

23 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY USES

24 OF FUNDS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible State edu2 cational agency receiving a grant under this section 

3 shall— 

4 ‘‘(A) use not less than 90 percent of the 

5 grant funds to award subgrants to eligible ap6 plicants, in accordance with the quality charter 

7 school program described in the eligible State 

8 educational agency’s application pursuant to 

9 subsection (f), for the purposes described in 

10 subsection (a)(1); 

11 ‘‘(B) reserve not less than 5 percent of 

12 such funds to carry out the activities described 

13 in subsection (a)(2); 

14 ‘‘(C) reserve not more than 3 percent of 

15 such funds for administrative costs, which may 

16 include the administrative costs of providing 

17 technical assistance; and 

18 ‘‘(D) reserve not less than 2 percent of 

19 such funds for the oversight of charter school 

20 use of Federal, State, and local public funds 

21 and private funds, including the investigation of 

22 fraud, waste, mismanagement and misconduct 

23 and ensuring compliance with paragraphs (2), 

24 (4), and (13) of subsection (b), which may be 

25 used by— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the State for oversight of each 

2 charter school in the State; 

3 ‘‘(ii) local educational agencies for 

4 oversight of public charter schools served 

5 by the local educational agency; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) charter school authorizers for— 

7 ‘‘(I) oversight of each charter 

8 school that is authorized by such au9 thorizer; and 

10 ‘‘(II) coordination of the district11 wide multi-year school plan, as de12 scribed in subsection (b)(10). 

13 ‘‘(2) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

14 this part shall prohibit the Secretary from awarding 

15 grants to eligible State educational agencies, or eligi16 ble State educational agencies from awarding sub17 grants to eligible applicants, that use a weighted lot18 tery, or an equivalent lottery mechanism, to give bet19 ter chances for school admission to all or a subset 

20 of educationally disadvantaged students if— 

21 ‘‘(A) the use of a weighted lottery in favor 

22 of such students is not prohibited by State law; 

23 and 


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1 ‘‘(B) such weighted lottery is not used for 

2 the purpose of creating schools exclusively to 

3 serve a particular subset of students. 

4 ‘‘(d) PROGRAM PERIODS; PEER REVIEW; DISTRIBU5 TION OF SUBGRANTS; WAIVERS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) PROGRAM PERIODS.— 

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

8 Secretary to an eligible State educational agen9 cy under this section shall be for a period of not 

10 more than 3 years, and may be renewed by the 

11 Secretary for one additional 2-year period. 

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

13 by an eligible State educational agency under 

14 this section— 

15 ‘‘(i) shall be for a period of not more 

16 than 3 years, of which an eligible applicant 

17 may use not more than 18 months for 

18 planning and program design; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) may be renewed by the eligible 

20 State educational agency for one additional 

21 2-year period. 

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

23 eligible State educational agency awarding subgrants 

24 under this section, shall use a peer-review process to 

25 review applications for assistance under this section. 


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1 ‘‘(3) DISTRIBUTION OF SUBGRANTS.—Each eli2 gible State educational agency awarding subgrants 

3 under this section shall award subgrants in a man4 ner that, to the extent practicable and applicable, 

5 ensures that such subgrants— 

6 ‘‘(A) prioritize eligible applicants that plan 

7 to serve a significant number of students from 

8 low-income families; 

9 ‘‘(B) are distributed throughout different 

10 areas, including urban, suburban, and rural 

11 areas; and 

12 ‘‘(C) will assist charter schools rep13 resenting a variety of educational approaches. 

14 ‘‘(4) WAIVERS.—The Secretary may waive any 

15 statutory or regulatory requirement over which the 

16 Secretary exercises administrative authority under 

17 this Act with respect to charter schools supported 

18 under this part, except any such requirement relat19 ing to the elements of a charter school, if— 

20 ‘‘(A) the waiver is requested in an ap21 proved application; and 

22 ‘‘(B) the Secretary determines that grant23 ing such waiver will promote the purposes of 

24 this part. 

25 ‘‘(e) LIMITATIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) GRANTS.—An eligible State educational 

2 agency may not receive more than 1 grant under 

3 this section at a time. 

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

5 not receive more than 1 subgrant under this section 

6 for each individual charter school for each grant pe7 riod or renewal period, unless the eligible applicant 

8 demonstrates to the eligible State educational agency 

9 that such individual charter school has demonstrated 

10 a strong track record of positive results over the 

11 course of the grant period regarding the elements 

12 described in subparagraphs (A) and (D) of section 

13 5110(8). 

14 ‘‘(f) APPLICATIONS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible State edu16 cational agency desiring to receive a grant under 

17 this section shall submit an application to the Sec18 retary at such time and in such manner as the Sec19 retary may require. 

20 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The application shall, in ad21 dition to citing the applicable policies necessary to 

22 satisfy the grant eligibility criteria set forth in sub23 section (b), provide a description of the eligible State 

24 educational agency’s objectives in running a quality 

25 charter school program under this section and how 


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1 the objectives of the program will be carried out, in2 cluding a description of the following: 

3 ‘‘(A) How the eligible State educational 

4 agency will— 

5 ‘‘(i) support the opening of new char6 ter schools and, if applicable, the replica7 tion or expansion of high-quality charter 

8 schools, and the proposed number of char9 ter schools to be opened, replicated, or ex10 panded under the eligible State educational 

11 agency’s program; 

12 ‘‘(ii) inform eligible charter schools, 

13 developers, and charter school authorizers 

14 of the availability of funds under the pro15 gram; 

16 ‘‘(iii) work with eligible applicants to 

17 ensure that the eligible applicants access 

18 all Federal funds that such applicants are 

19 eligible to receive, and help the charter 

20 schools supported by the applicants and 

21 the students attending those charter 

22 schools— 

23 ‘‘(I) participate in the Federal 

24 programs in which the schools and 


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1 students are eligible to participate; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(II) receive the commensurate 

4 share of Federal funds the schools 

5 and students are eligible to receive 

6 under such programs; 

7 ‘‘(iv) ensure each eligible applicant 

8 that receives a subgrant under the eligible 

9 State educational agency’s program— 

10 ‘‘(I) is opening or expanding 

11 schools that meet the definition of a 

12 charter school under section 5110; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(II) is prepared to continue to 

15 operate such charter schools once the 

16 subgrant funds under this section are 

17 no longer available; 

18 ‘‘(v) support charter schools in local 

19 educational agencies with schools that have 

20 been identified by the State under section 

21 1116(b); 

22 ‘‘(vi) work with charter schools to pro23 mote inclusion of all students and support 

24 all students upon enrollment in order to 


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1 promote retention of students in the 

2 school; 

3 ‘‘(vii) work with charter schools on re4 cruitment practices, including efforts to en5 gage groups that may otherwise have lim6 ited opportunities to attend charter 

7 schools; 

8 ‘‘(viii) promote the sharing of best 

9 and promising practices among and across 

10 their charter, magnet, and traditional 

11 school sectors; 

12 ‘‘(ix) ensure that charter schools re13 ceiving funds under the eligible State edu14 cational agency’s program meet the edu15 cational needs of their students, including 

16 students with disabilities and students who 

17 are English learners; 

18 ‘‘(x) support efforts to increase char19 ter school quality initiatives, including 

20 meeting quality authorizing elements in 

21 this part; 

22 ‘‘(xi) hold charter schools within such 

23 eligible State educational agency’s jurisdic24 tion accountable if such schools do not 

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1 formance contract described in section 

2 5110(1), including by closing unsuccessful 

3 schools; and 

4 ‘‘(xii) ensure that local educational 

5 agencies within such eligible State edu6 cational agency’s jurisdiction comply with 

7 subsections (a)(5) and (e)(1)(B) of section 

8 613 of the Individuals with Disabilities 

9 Education Act. 

10 ‘‘(B) The eligible State educational agen11 cy’s authorizer accountability policies and oper12 ations, and plans pursuant to section 

13 5103(b)(8). 

14 ‘‘(C) How the eligible State educational 

15 agency will ensure that each eligible applicant 

16 will solicit and consider input from parents and 

17 other members of the community on the imple18 mentation and operation of each charter school 

19 that will receive funds under the eligible State 

20 educational agency’s program. 

21 ‘‘(D) How the eligible State educational 

22 agency will allow for an impartial appeals proc23 ess for a denial by a charter school authorizer 

24 of a developer’s application for a charter school. 


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1 ‘‘(E) How the eligible State educational 

2 agency will award subgrants, on a competitive 

3 basis, to eligible applicants, on the basis of ap4 plications that include— 

5 ‘‘(i) the name and address of the pub6 lic charter school and its mission, purpose, 

7 and any specialized innovation of the char8 ter school; 

9 ‘‘(ii) a description of the roles and re10 sponsibilities of eligible applicants, and of 

11 any education management organizations 

12 or other organizations with which the eligi13 ble applicant will partner to open charter 

14 schools, including the administrative and 

15 contractual roles and responsibilities of 

16 such partners; 

17 ‘‘(iii) the proposed governance struc18 ture of the school, developed with public 

19 input and including, at a minimum, a list 

20 of members of the governing board with 

21 each member’s qualifications, terms, and 

22 full financial disclosure of any potential 

23 conflicts of interest, including relationships 

24 with education management organizations, 


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1 vendors, or other business dealings with 

2 the school or other charter schools; 

3 ‘‘(iv) for a traditional public school 

4 applying to convert to a charter school, 

5 demonstrated support of two-thirds of the 

6 families of children attending the school 

7 and two-thirds of the school staff for the 

8 conversion; 

9 ‘‘(v) any contract between the charter 

10 school and an education management orga11 nization; 

12 ‘‘(vi) student recruitment, admission, 

13 and retention policies and practices, includ14 ing a description of how the school pro15 vides equitable access and effectively serves 

16 the needs of all students, including stu17 dents with disabilities and English learn18 ers, and implements outreach and recruit19 ment practices that include the families of 

20 all students; 

21 ‘‘(vii) the ages and grades of students 

22 and an estimate of the total enrollment of 

23 the school to be served by the charter 

24 school; 


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1 ‘‘(viii) the number of staff and school 

2 leadership positions, including full-time 

3 and part-time employees, and qualifica4 tions of employees; 

5 ‘‘(ix) a description of the educational 

6 program, methodology, and services to be 

7 offered to students, including students who 

8 are English learners and students with dis9 abilities; 

10 ‘‘(x) information about the school’s 

11 daily hours of operation and number of 

12 days in the school year; 

13 ‘‘(xi) a description of how the school 

14 will engage parents as partners in the edu15 cation of their children; 

16 ‘‘(xii) a description of transportation 

17 services provided to and from school for 

18 students; 

19 ‘‘(xiii) a statement that the school will 

20 not discriminate on the basis of race, na21 tional origin, gender, sexual orientation 

22 and gender identity, ethnicity, disability, 

23 academic achievement, or home language 

24 and that the school will comply with Fed25 eral and State civil rights laws applicable 


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1 to other publicly funded elementary and 

2 secondary schools; 

3 ‘‘(xiv) evidence of adequate commu4 nity support for and interest in the charter 

5 school sufficient to allow the school to 

6 reach its anticipated enrollment, and an 

7 assessment of the projected programmatic 

8 and fiscal impact of the school on other 

9 public and nonpublic schools in the area; 

10 ‘‘(xv) a description of the health and 

11 food services to be provided to students at12 tending the school, including whether the 

13 school participates in any free or reduced 

14 price lunch programs; 

15 ‘‘(xvi) methods and strategies for 

16 serving students with disabilities, students 

17 who are English learners, and students 

18 who are homeless, including compliance 

19 with all applicable Federal laws; 

20 ‘‘(xvii) a description of the procedures 

21 to be followed in the case of the closure or 

22 dissolution of the charter school, includ23 ing— 

24 ‘‘(I) provisions for the transfer of 

25 students and student records to the 


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1 school district in which the charter 

2 school is located, which transfer ac3 tivities may be carried out using funds 

4 under this part; 

5 ‘‘(II) the amount of funds that 

6 will be held in escrow annually to fund 

7 closure or dissolution related costs; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(III) unless State law requires 

10 otherwise, procedures for the disposi11 tion of the charter school’s assets to 

12 the local educational agency that 

13 serves the charter school or is in the 

14 geographic area of the charter school; 

15 ‘‘(xviii) the hiring and personnel poli16 cies and procedures of the school; 

17 ‘‘(xix) a description of the manner by 

18 which employees of the charter school will 

19 be covered by the State teachers’ retire20 ment system, the public employees’ retire21 ment system, or other pension or retire22 ment plan as well as compensation, health, 

23 and other benefits provided to the school’s 

24 employees; 


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1 ‘‘(xx) for the purposes of a traditional 

2 public school that seeks to convert to a 

3 public charter school, how the charter 

4 school will comply with the same public 

5 sector labor relations laws and regulations 

6 as required of traditional public schools, 

7 including collective bargaining rights of the 

8 employees of the charter school, as applica9 ble under State law; 

10 ‘‘(xxi) a statement that the public 

11 charter school will conduct or arrange for 

12 the performance of annual independent fi13 nancial audits and submit the audits to the 

14 eligible State educational agency; 

15 ‘‘(xxii) a 3-year plan to sustain the 

16 maintenance, operation, and fiscal stability 

17 of the school; 

18 ‘‘(xxiii) a statement that the school 

19 will maintain a public online site with in20 formation as required in this section, and 

21 as otherwise provided in Federal, State, 

22 and local requirements applicable to other 

23 public schools, and a statement that the 

24 public charter school will participate in an 

25 independent evaluation, and any other 


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1 evaluations or assessments, in the time and 

2 manner determined by the eligible State 

3 educational agency; and 

4 ‘‘(xxiv) a description of the quality 

5 controls agreed to between the eligible ap6 plicant and the authorizer, such as a con7 tract or a performance agreement or finan8 cial audits to ensure adequate fiscal over9 sight. 

10 ‘‘(F) In the case of an eligible State edu11 cational agency that partners with an outside 

12 organization to carry out the entity’s quality 

13 charter school program, in whole or in part, a 

14 description of the roles and responsibilities of 

15 the partner. 

16 ‘‘(G) How the eligible State educational 

17 agency will help the charter schools receiving 

18 funds under the eligible State educational agen19 cy’s program address the transportation needs 

20 of the schools’ students. 

21 ‘‘(3) ASSURANCES.—The application shall, in 

22 addition to the information described in paragraph 

23 (2), include assurances that the eligible State edu24 cational agency will ensure that the charter school 

25 authorizer of any charter school that receives funds 


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1 under the eligible State educational agency’s pro2 gram— 

3 ‘‘(A) ensures that the charter school under 

4 the authority of such agency is meeting the re5 quirements of this Act, part B of the Individ6 uals with Disabilities Education Act, title VI of 

7 the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and section 504 

8 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; 

9 ‘‘(B) adequately monitors and provides 

10 adequate technical assistance to each charter 

11 school under the authority of such agency in re12 cruiting, enrolling, retaining, and meeting the 

13 needs of all students, including children with 

14 disabilities and students who are English learn15 ers; and 

16 ‘‘(C) ensures that each such charter school 

17 solicits and considers input from parents and 

18 other members of the community on the imple19 mentation and operation of the school. 

20 ‘‘(g) PARENT INFORMATION AND RIGHTS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) As a condition for eligibility for funding 

22 under this part, eligible State educational agencies 

23 shall— 

24 ‘‘(A) ensure that each charter school in the 

25 State provides the information described in 


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1 paragraph (2) to the parents of the students 

2 who attend the charter school in a manner that 

3 is— 

4 ‘‘(i) concise; 

5 ‘‘(ii) presented in an understandable 

6 and uniform format and, to the extent 

7 practicable, in a language that parents can 

8 understand; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) widely accessible to the public; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(B) make such information available on a 

12 single webpage of the State educational agen13 cy’s website. 

14 ‘‘(2) Such information shall include, at a min15 imum, each of the following: 

16 ‘‘(A) Information about the charter 

17 school’s mission, educational programs, and 

18 services. 

19 ‘‘(B) The charter application and the ap20 proved charter document for the school, as well 

21 as any performance or other agreements in ef22 fect between the charter school and its author23 izer. 

24 ‘‘(C) Rules and policies regarding student 

25 behavior and student disciplinary policies and 


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1 practices, including suspension and expulsion 

2 policies. 

3 ‘‘(D) Information about the provision of 

4 meals and snacks, including— 

5 ‘‘(i) the number and type of meals 

6 and snacks served each day; 

7 ‘‘(ii) whether such meals and snacks 

8 are fully or partially subsidized; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) information about student eligi10 bility for free and reduced price lunch pro11 grams. 

12 ‘‘(E) Information about transportation to 

13 and from the school, including any transpor14 tation that is free or subsidized to students and 

15 the eligibility requirements for free or sub16 sidized transportation. 

17 ‘‘(F) Recruitment and admission policies 

18 and practices used at each charter school site. 

19 ‘‘(G) Information about the school’s daily, 

20 weekly, and school year schedule, including 

21 hours of operation and number of days in the 

22 school year. 

23 ‘‘(H) The number of years that the public 

24 charter school has operated. 


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1 ‘‘(I) The maximum number of students in 

2 each classroom by grade. 

3 ‘‘(J) Staff qualifications (including school 

4 leadership) and languages spoken by staff. 

5 ‘‘(K) Fees related to incidentals of attend6 ance (other than tuition), and whether any of 

7 those fees are waived for certain students (such 

8 as for students who are eligible to receive a free 

9 or reduced price lunch). 

10 ‘‘(L) Data on attendance and the number 

11 of suspensions and expulsions by school year, in 

12 total and disaggregated by each of the cat13 egories of students described in section 

14 1111(b)(2)(C)(v). 

15 ‘‘(M) Annual student attrition rates by 

16 grade level. 

17 ‘‘(N) Annual teacher attrition rates and 

18 numbers, disaggregated by grade level and 

19 teaching subject matter, years of experience, 

20 and credential. 

21 ‘‘(O) Procedures for parents, students, and 

22 school employees to appeal school decisions and 

23 the procedures and processes for such appeals. 


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1 ‘‘(P) Other information that would assist a 

2 parent in making a decision to enroll a child in 

3 the public charter school. 

4 ‘‘(3) Notwithstanding the requirements under 

5 paragraph (2), a charter school shall not provide any 

6 information under this subsection that would reveal 

7 personally identifiable information about an indi8 vidual. 

9 ‘‘(h) SELECTION CRITERIA; PRIORITY.—The Sec10 retary shall award grants to eligible State educational 

11 agencies under this section on the basis of— 

12 ‘‘(1) the quality of the applications submitted; 

13 ‘‘(2) the performance record of the charter sec14 tor in the applicant State, including in the areas of 

15 promoting high student achievement and growth, 

16 identification and use of instructional and other edu17 cational program innovations to strengthen public 

18 education, financial management, student safety, 

19 and compliance with applicable policies; and 

20 ‘‘(3) the eligible State educational agency’s plan 

21 to solicit and consider input from parents and other 

22 members of the community on the implementation 

23 and operation of the charter schools in the State. 

24 ‘‘(i) STATE EVALUATION AND REPORT.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning not later than 2 

2 years after the date of enactment of the Charter 

3 School Accountability Act of 2015, each eligible 

4 State educational agency receiving a grant under 

5 this section shall enter into a contract for an inde6 pendent evaluation of the charter schools in the 

7 State, which shall be carried out on an annual basis. 

8 The State educational agency may use grant funds 

9 under this section to pay the cost of the independent 

10 evaluation and related reporting. 

11 ‘‘(2) SUBMISSION TO THE SECRETARY; PUBLIC

12 AVAILABILITY.—Each such independent evaluation 

13 shall be submitted to the Secretary and shall also be 

14 made publicly available on the website of the agency. 

15 ‘‘(3) CONTENTS.—The independent evaluation 

16 described in paragraph (1) shall include an evalua17 tion of the following: 

18 ‘‘(A) An assessment of the cumulative im19 pact of charter schools on local educational 

20 agencies within the State, including on the 

21 flows of funding between sectors, student enroll22 ment trends, staffing, and educational out23 comes, along with recommendations for any 

24 changes to laws, regulations, or policies to ad25 dress identified problems. 


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1 ‘‘(B) A compilation of profiles of public 

2 charter school and other charter schools in the 

3 State relating to demographic information on 

4 student enrollment and retention. 

5 ‘‘(C) Staff and leadership qualifications, 

6 demographic information and retention infor7 mation regarding staff, and academic and non8 academic programs provided, in charter schools 

9 in the State. 

10 ‘‘(D) The academic achievement of stu11 dents in each public charter school in the State, 

12 as compared to students enrolled in other public 

13 charter schools within the same local edu14 cational agency and as compared to other stu15 dents enrolled in all public schools in the local 

16 educational agency, accounting for differences 

17 in student populations served, programs and 

18 services provided, and public and nonpublic 

19 funding available in the schools students are at20 tending. 

21 ‘‘(E) Adequacy of funding and resource 

22 distribution among public charter schools and 

23 noncharter public schools in the State, account24 ing for differences in student populations served 

25 and programs and services provided. 


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1 ‘‘(F) Recommendations for any changes to 

2 laws, regulations, or policies that would facili3 tate improvement of student outcomes in public 

4 charter schools in the State. 

5 ‘‘(G) Recommendations for improvements 

6 in equity, transparency, and accountability of 

7 public charter schools in the State to the public 

8 and the parents and staff at such public charter 

9 schools. 

10 ‘‘(H) Identification of best and promising 

11 practices within the sectors of public schools, 

12 private schools, and charter schools, in the 

13 State and the extent to which these are being 

14 shared to improve educational outcomes as a 

15 whole, barriers to effective sharing, and rec16 ommendations for how to reduce such barriers, 

17 in the State. 

18 ‘‘(I) How the eligible State educational 

19 agency has worked with charter schools receiv20 ing funds under the State educational agency’s 

21 program to foster community involvement in 

22 the planning for and opening of such schools. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 5103A. GRANTS FOR THE REPLICATION AND EXPAN2 SION OF HIGH-QUALITY CHARTER SCHOOLS. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—From amounts reserved under 

4 section 5102(b)(2), the Secretary shall make grants, on 

5 a competitive basis, to eligible entities having applications 

6 approved under this section to enable such eligible entities 

7 to replicate a high-quality charter school or expand a high8 quality charter school. 

9 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITY DEFINED.—For purposes of 

10 this section, the term ‘eligible entity’ means an entity 

11 that— 

12 ‘‘(1)(A) is a charter management organization 

13 that, at the time of the application, operates or man14 ages one or more high-quality charter schools; or 

15 ‘‘(B) is a nonprofit organization that oversees 

16 and coordinates the activities of a group of such 

17 charter management organizations; and 

18 ‘‘(2)(A) operates in a State that meets the re19 quirements of section 5103(b); or 

20 ‘‘(B) if the entity does not operate in such a 

21 State, the Secretary has certified that the eligible 

22 entity has policies and controls in place that are in 

23 compliance with section 5103(b) and the Secretary 

24 has determined that awarding a grant under this 

25 section to the entity will promote the purposes of 

26 this part. 


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1 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—An eligible en2 tity desiring to receive a grant under this section shall sub3 mit an application to the Secretary at such time and in 

4 such manner as the Secretary may require. The applica5 tion shall include the following: 

6 ‘‘(1) Each item that is required for an applica7 tion as described in clauses (i) through (xxiv) of sec8 tion 5103(f)(2)(E), except that the term ‘eligible en9 tity’ shall be substituted for the term ‘eligible appli10 cant’. 

11 ‘‘(2) A description of the eligible entity’s objec12 tives for implementing a high-quality charter school 

13 program with funding under this section, including 

14 a description of the proposed number of high-quality 

15 charter schools to be replicated or expanded with 

16 funding under this section. 

17 ‘‘(3) A description of the educational program 

18 that the eligible entity will implement in the charter 

19 schools that the eligible entity proposes to replicate 

20 or expand, including information on how the pro21 gram will enable all students to meet the challenging 

22 State academic standards under section 1111(b)(1), 

23 the grade levels or ages of students that will be 

24 served, and the instructional practices that will be 

25 used. 


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1 ‘‘(4) A multi-year financial and operating model 

2 for the eligible entity, including a description of how 

3 the operation of the charter schools to be replicated 

4 or expanded will be sustained after the grant under 

5 this section has ended. 

6 ‘‘(5) A description of how the eligible entity will 

7 inform all students in the community, including chil8 dren with disabilities, students who are English 

9 learners, and other educationally disadvantaged stu10 dents, about the charter schools to be replicated or 

11 expanded with funding under this section. 

12 ‘‘(6) For each charter school currently operated 

13 or managed by the eligible entity— 

14 ‘‘(A) student assessment results for all stu15 dents and for each category of students de16 scribed in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v); and 

17 ‘‘(B) attendance and student retention 

18 rates for the most recently completed school 

19 year and, if applicable, the most recent avail20 able 4-year adjusted cohort graduate rate and 

21 extended-year adjusted cohort graduation rate 

22 (as such rates were calculated on the day before 

23 enactment of the Charter School Accountability 

24 Act of 2015). 


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1 ‘‘(7) Information on any significant compliance 

2 issues encountered, within the last 3 years, by any 

3 school operated or managed by the eligible entity, in4 cluding in the areas of student safety and financial 

5 management. 

6 ‘‘(8) An assurance that the eligibly entity will 

7 comply with the requirements of— 

8 ‘‘(A) section 5103(f)(3); and 

9 ‘‘(B) section 5103(g). 

10 ‘‘(d) SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall se11 lect eligible entities to receive grants under this section, 

12 on the basis of the quality of— 

13 ‘‘(1) the selection criteria described in section 

14 5103(h); 

15 ‘‘(2) the eligible entity’s financial and operating 

16 model, including the quality of the eligible entity’s 

17 plan for sustaining the operation of the charter 

18 schools to be replicated or expanded after the grant 

19 under this section has ended; 

20 ‘‘(3) a determination that the eligible entity has 

21 not operated or managed a significant proportion of 

22 charter schools that— 

23 ‘‘(A) have been closed; 


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1 ‘‘(B) have had a school charter revoked 

2 due to problems with statutory or regulatory 

3 compliance; or 

4 ‘‘(C) have had the school’s affiliation with 

5 the eligible entity revoked; and 

6 ‘‘(4) a determination that the eligible entity has 

7 not experienced significant problems with statutory 

8 or regulatory compliance that could lead to the rev9 ocation of a school’s charter. 

10 ‘‘(e) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec11 tion, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities 

12 that operate or manage charter schools that, in the aggre13 gate, serve students at least 60 percent of whom are eligi14 ble for a free or reduced price lunch under the Richard 

15 B. Russell National School Lunch Act. 

16 ‘‘(f) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Except as otherwise 

17 provided in this section, grants awarded under this section 

18 shall have the same terms and conditions as grants award19 ed to eligible State educational agencies under section 

20 5103. 

21 ‘‘SEC. 5104. FACILITIES FINANCING ASSISTANCE. 

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

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

24 under section 5102(b)(1), the Secretary shall use 

25 not less than 50 percent to award not less than 3 


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1 grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities 

2 that have the highest quality applications approved 

3 under subsection (d) to demonstrate innovative 

4 methods of helping charter schools to address the 

5 cost of acquiring, constructing, and renovating facili6 ties by enhancing the availability of loans or bond fi7 nancing. 

8 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY DEFINED.—For the 

9 purposes of this section, the term ‘eligible entity’ 

10 means an entity with at least an upper medium 

11 grade credit rating, which shall be— 

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.—Grants under sub22 section (a) shall be of a sufficient size, scope, and quality 

23 so as to ensure an effective demonstration of an innovative 

24 means of enhancing credit for the financing of charter 

25 school acquisition, construction, or renovation. 


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1 ‘‘(d) APPLICATIONS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity desiring 

3 to receive a grant under this section shall submit an 

4 application to the Secretary in such form as the Sec5 retary may reasonably require. 

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

7 under paragraph (1) shall contain— 

8 ‘‘(A) a statement identifying the activities 

9 that the eligible entity proposes to carry out 

10 with funds received under subsection (a), in11 cluding how the eligible entity will determine 

12 which charter schools will receive assistance, 

13 and how much and what types of assistance 

14 charter schools will receive; 

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

16 charter schools in the application’s development 

17 and the design of the proposed activities; 

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

19 expertise in capital market financing; 

20 ‘‘(D) a description of how the proposed ac21 tivities will leverage the maximum amount of 

22 private-sector financing capital relative to the 

23 amount of government funding used and other24 wise enhance credit available to charter schools, 

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1 tion of rates and terms more favorable than the 

2 rates and terms that a charter school could re3 ceive without assistance from the entity under 

4 this section; 

5 ‘‘(E) a description of how the eligible enti6 ty possesses sufficient expertise in education to 

7 evaluate the likelihood of success of a charter 

8 school program for which facilities financing is 

9 sought; and 

10 ‘‘(F) in the case of an application sub11 mitted by a State governmental entity, a de12 scription of the actions that the entity has 

13 taken, or will take, to ensure that charter 

14 schools within the State receive the funding 

15 that charter schools need to have adequate fa16 cilities. 

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

18 entity receiving a grant under this section shall use the 

19 funds deposited in the reserve account established under 

20 subsection (f) to assist one or more charter schools to ac21 cess private sector capital to accomplish one or more of 

22 the following objectives: 

23 ‘‘(1) The acquisition (by purchase, lease, dona24 tion, or otherwise) of an interest (including an inter25 est held by a third party for the benefit of a charter 


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1 school) in improved or unimproved real property 

2 that is necessary to commence or continue the oper3 ation of a charter school. 

4 ‘‘(2) The construction of new facilities, includ5 ing predevelopment costs, or the renovation, repair, 

6 or alteration of existing facilities, necessary to com7 mence or continue the operation of a charter school. 

8 ‘‘(3) The predevelopment costs required to as9 sess sites for purposes of paragraph (1) or (2) and 

10 which are necessary to commence or continue the 

11 operation of a charter school. 

12 ‘‘(f) RESERVE ACCOUNT.— 

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

14 in accomplishing the objectives described in sub15 section (e), an eligible entity receiving a grant under 

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

17 local law, directly or indirectly, alone or in collabora18 tion with others, deposit the funds received under 

19 subsection (a) (other than funds used for adminis20 trative costs in accordance with subsection (g)) in a 

21 reserve account established and maintained by the 

22 eligible entity for this purpose. Amounts deposited in 

23 such account shall be used by the eligible entity for 

24 one or more of the following purposes: 


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1 ‘‘(A) Guaranteeing, insuring, and rein2 suring bonds, notes, evidences of debt, loans, 

3 and interests therein, the proceeds of which are 

4 used for an objective described in subsection 

5 (e). 

6 ‘‘(B) Guaranteeing and insuring leases of 

7 personal and real property for an objective de8 scribed in such subsection. 

9 ‘‘(C) Facilitating financing by identifying 

10 potential lending sources, encouraging private 

11 lending, and other similar activities that di12 rectly promote lending to, or for the benefit of, 

13 charter schools. 

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

15 charter schools, or by other public entities for 

16 the benefit of charter schools, by providing 

17 technical, administrative, and other appropriate 

18 assistance (including the recruitment of bond 

19 counsel, underwriters, and potential investors 

20 and the consolidation of multiple charter school 

21 projects within a single bond issue). 

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

23 section and deposited in the reserve account estab24 lished under paragraph (1) shall be invested in obliVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:46 Jul 08, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00052 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1708.IS S1708

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•S 1708 IS

1 gations issued or guaranteed by the United States or 

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

3 ‘‘(3) REINVESTMENT OF EARNINGS.—Any earn4 ings on funds received under subsection (a) shall be 

5 deposited in the reserve account established under 

6 paragraph (1) and used in accordance with this sub7 section. 

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

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

10 funds received under subsection (a) for the administrative 

11 costs of carrying out its responsibilities under this section 

12 (excluding subsection (k)). 

13 ‘‘(h) AUDITS AND REPORTS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) FINANCIAL RECORD MAINTENANCE AND

15 AUDIT.—The financial records of each eligible entity 

16 receiving a grant under subsection (a) shall be main17 tained in accordance with generally accepted ac18 counting principles and shall be subject to an annual 

19 audit by an independent public accountant. 

20 ‘‘(2) REPORTS.— 

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

22 eligible entity receiving a grant under sub23 section (a) annually shall submit to the Sec24 retary a report of the entity’s operations and 

25 activities 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 carried 

6 out by the eligible entity under this section 

7 (excluding subsection (k)) during the re8 porting 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 such subsection. 

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 5102(b)(1) and 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 

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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 for the second such 

14 year; 

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

16 year; 

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

18 year; and 

19 ‘‘(v) 20 percent for the fifth such 

20 year. 

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

22 grant under this subsection may partner with 1 

23 or more organizations, and such organizations 

24 may provide not more than 50 percent of the 

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1 hancing, and administering, the per-pupil facili2 ties 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 grant 

6 funds provided to charter schools increases with 

7 each 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, 

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1 vide per-pupil facilities aid programs, operations 

2 financing programs, or other programs, for 

3 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. 5105. NATIONAL ACTIVITIES. 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—From amounts reserved under 

8 section 5102(b)(2) the Secretary shall use such funds to— 

9 ‘‘(1) disseminate technical assistance to eligible 

10 State educational agencies in awarding grants under 

11 section 5103; 

12 ‘‘(2) disseminate best and promising practices 

13 regarding charter schools; 

14 ‘‘(3) evaluate the impact of the charter school 

15 program carried out under this part on all students 

16 in charter and traditional public schools and on local 

17 communities and the overall strength and perform18 ance of their public schools; and 

19 ‘‘(4) award grants, on a competitive basis, for 

20 the purpose of carrying out the activities described 

21 in section 5103(1)(b), to eligible applicants that de22 sire to open a charter school, replicate a high-quality 

23 charter school, or expand a high-quality charter 

24 school in— 


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

2 under section 5103; or 

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

4 under section 5103. 

5 ‘‘(b) REPORT BY THE SECRETARY.—Not later than 

6 6 months after the date of enactment of the Charter 

7 School Accountability Act of 2015, the Secretary shall pre8 pare and submit to the Committee on Health, Education, 

9 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, the Committee on 

10 Education and the Workforce of the House of Representa11 tives, and the relevant appropriations committees of Con12 gress, and to the public via the Department’s website, a 

13 report— 

14 ‘‘(1) responding to the March 9, 2010, final 

15 management information report of the Office of the 

16 Inspector General of the Department of Education, 

17 which expressed concern about findings of inad18 equate oversight by local educational agencies and 

19 charter school authorizers to ensure Federal funds 

20 are properly used and accounted for; 

21 ‘‘(2) responding to the September 2012 report 

22 of the Office of the Inspector General of the Depart23 ment of Education entitled ‘The Office of Innovation 

24 and Improvement’s Oversight and Monitoring of the 

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1 tation Grants Final Audit Report’ finding that none 

2 of the 3 States whose charter schools programs that 

3 Office investigated adequately monitored the public 

4 charter schools that the States funded; and 

5 ‘‘(3) describing actions the Department has 

6 taken to address the concerns described in such 

7 memorandum and final audit report.’’. 

8 SEC. 4. FORMULA ALLOCATION. 

9 Section 5106 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu10 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7221e), as redesignated by 

11 section 2(6), is amended by adding at the end the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(c) NEW OR SIGNIFICANTLY EXPANDING CHARTER

14 SCHOOLS.—For purposes of implementing the hold harm15 less protections in sections 1122(c) and 1125A(g)(3) for 

16 a newly opened or significantly expanded charter school 

17 under subsection (a), a State educational agency shall cal18 culate a hold harmless base for the prior year that, as 

19 applicable, reflects the new or significantly expanded en20 rollment of the charter school.’’. 

21 SEC. 5. RECORDS TRANSFER. 

22 Section 5108 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu23 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7221g), as redesignated 

24 by section 2(6), is amended by inserting ‘‘as quickly as 

25 possible and’’ before ‘‘to the extent practicable’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. PAPERWORK REDUCTION. 

2 Section 5109 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu3 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7221f), as redesignated by 

4 section 2(6), is amended by striking ‘‘authorized public 

5 chartering agency shall ensure that implementation of this 

6 subpart’’ and inserting ‘‘charter school authorizer shall 

7 ensure that implementation of this part’’. 

8 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS; TRANSITION; CAPS; AUTHORIZATION 

9 OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

10 Title V of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

11 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7201 et seq.) is further amended 

12 by striking sections 5110 and 5111 (20 U.S.C. 7221i; 

13 7221j), as redesignated by section 2(6) and inserting the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 5110. DEFINITIONS. 

16 ‘‘(1) CHARTER SCHOOL.—The term ‘charter 

17 school’ means a public school that— 

18 ‘‘(A) is afforded autonomy to test innova19 tive educational approaches, consistent with the 

20 provisions of this Act, which local educational 

21 agencies consider promising; 

22 ‘‘(B) complies with the data collection, re23 porting, auditing, and disclosure provisions of 

24 this Act as well as those applicable to other 

25 public schools through other Federal, State, 

26 and local laws, regulations and policies; 


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1 ‘‘(C) admits students on the basis of a lot2 tery, if more students apply for admission that 

3 can be accommodated; 

4 ‘‘(D) in the case of a school that has an 

5 affiliated charter school (such as a school that 

6 is part of the same network of schools), auto7 matically enrolls students who are enrolled in 

8 the immediate prior grade level of the affiliated 

9 charter school and, for any additional student 

10 openings or student openings created through 

11 regular attrition in student enrollment in the 

12 affiliated charter school and the enrolling 

13 school, admits students on the basis of a lottery 

14 as described in subparagraph (C); 

15 ‘‘(E) complies with the Age Discrimination 

16 Act of 1975 (42 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.), title VI 

17 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 

18 2000d et seq.), title IX of the Education 

19 Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), 

20 section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 

21 (29 U.S.C. 794), the Americans with Disabil22 ities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), 

23 section 444 of the General Education Provi24 sions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g) (commonly re25 ferred to as the ‘Family Educational Rights 


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1 and Privacy Act of 1974’), and part B of the 

2 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 

3 U.S.C. 1411 et seq.); 

4 ‘‘(F) meets all applicable Federal, State, 

5 and local health and safety requirements; 

6 ‘‘(G) operates in accordance with State 

7 law; 

8 ‘‘(H) has a written performance contract 

9 with a charter school authorizer that includes— 

10 ‘‘(i) a description of how student per11 formance will be measured on the basis 

12 of— 

13 ‘‘(I) State assessments that are 

14 required of other public schools; and 

15 ‘‘(II) any other assessments that 

16 are mutually agreeable to the charter 

17 school authorizer and the charter 

18 school; 

19 ‘‘(ii) a requirement that student aca20 demic achievement and growth, for the stu21 dents enrolled at the school as a whole and 

22 for each of the categories of students de23 scribed in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v) (except 

24 in a case in which the number of students 

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1 tically reliable information or the results 

2 would reveal personally identifiable infor3 mation about an individual student) will be 

4 used as a primary factor in decisions about 

5 the renewal or revocation of the charter, in 

6 addition to other criteria, as appropriate; 

7 ‘‘(iii) the student academic achieve8 ment and growth and student retention 

9 goals, and, in the case of a high school, 

10 graduation rate goals for the students en11 rolled at the school as a whole and for each 

12 of the categories of students described in 

13 section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v) (except in a case 

14 in which the number of students in a 

15 group is insufficient to yield statistically 

16 reliable information or the results would 

17 reveal personally identifiable information 

18 about an individual student), and any 

19 other goals to be achieved by the end of 

20 the contract period; and 

21 ‘‘(iv) the obligations and responsibil22 ities of the charter school and the charter 

23 school authorizer; 

24 ‘‘(I) does not charge tuition; 


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1 ‘‘(J) is nonsectarian in its programs, ad2 missions policies, employment practices, and all 

3 other operations, and is not affiliated with a 

4 sectarian school or religious institution; 

5 ‘‘(K) is created by a developer as a public 

6 school, or is adapted by a developer from an ex7 isting public school, and is operated under pub8 lic supervision and direction; 

9 ‘‘(L) operates in pursuit of a specific set of 

10 educational objectives determined by the 

11 school’s developer and agreed to by the charter 

12 school authorizer; 

13 ‘‘(M) provides 1 or more programs of ele14 mentary education, secondary education, or 

15 both, including early childhood education, and 

16 may also provide adult education, in accordance 

17 with State law; and 

18 ‘‘(N) is governed by a separate and inde19 pendent board that exercises authority over 1 or 

20 more schools, including authority in the areas 

21 of governance, personnel, budget, schedule, and 

22 instructional program. 

23 ‘‘(2) CHARTER MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION.— 

24 The term ‘charter management organization’ means 

25 a nonprofit organization that operates or manages 


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1 multiple charter schools by centralizing or sharing 

2 certain functions or resources. 

3 ‘‘(3) CHARTER SCHOOL AUTHORIZER.—The 

4 term ‘charter school authorizer’ means a local edu5 cational agency or other public entity that has au6 thority pursuant to State law and has been approved 

7 by the Secretary to authorize and approve a charter 

8 school, and that shall— 

9 ‘‘(A) develop and update regularly a dis10 trictwide multi-year school plan; 

11 ‘‘(B) monitor and assist charter schools in 

12 complying with applicable requirements, includ13 ing data collection and public disclosure re14 quirements and participation in the develop15 ment of the districtwide multi-year school plan; 

16 ‘‘(C) establish criteria and processes that 

17 the charter school authorizer will use in moni18 toring the performance of each charter school 

19 authorized by the charter school authorizer, in20 cluding interventions and any actions leading 

21 up to the revocation of a school’s charter if the 

22 charter school authorizer finds that such a rev23 ocation is necessary to protect the public inter24 est; 


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1 ‘‘(D) review the application and hold 

2 meaningful public hearings to gather input 

3 from the public and parents on applications to 

4 establish a charter school or convert another 

5 school to a public charter school; 

6 ‘‘(E) provide a statement on the impact of 

7 the charter school within the local educational 

8 agency; and 

9 ‘‘(F) in the case of a State with a cap on 

10 the number of public charter schools in the 

11 State— 

12 ‘‘(i) review and render a decision with13 in 120 days of receipt of the application 

14 for a charter school (whether a new school 

15 or a conversion); and 

16 ‘‘(ii) submit to the State educational 

17 agency the charter school authorizer’s rec18 ommendation regarding approval of char19 ter school applicants, in order to allow the 

20 State educational agency to conduct an ex21 pedited review to determine if the approval 

22 described in clause (i) will violate the cap 

23 on the number of public charter schools in 

24 operation in the State. 


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1 ‘‘(4) DEVELOPER.—The term ‘developer’ means 

2 an individual or group of individuals (including a 

3 public or private nonprofit organization), which may 

4 include teachers, administrators and other school 

5 staff, parents, or other members of the local commu6 nity in which a charter school project will be carried 

7 out. 

8 ‘‘(5) DISTRICTWIDE MULTI-YEAR SCHOOL

9 PLAN.—The term ‘districtwide multi-year school 

10 plan’ means a plan that— 

11 ‘‘(A) is developed and regularly updated, 

12 with meaningful public input from across the 

13 local educational agency; and 

14 ‘‘(B) takes into consideration projected de15 mographic changes, criteria for new school 

16 openings or closings, and equitable geographic 

17 distribution of schools and students to ensure 

18 that all students have access to schools in their 

19 communities and a range of specialized pro20 grams. 

21 ‘‘(6) EDUCATION MANAGEMENT ORGANIZA22 TION.—The term ‘education management organiza23 tion’ means a for-profit or nonprofit organization 

24 that operates or manages multiple charter schools by 


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1 centralizing or sharing certain functions or re2 sources. 

3 ‘‘(7) ELIGIBLE APPLICANT.—The term ‘eligible 

4 applicant’ means a developer that has— 

5 ‘‘(A) applied to a charter school authorizer 

6 to operate a charter school; and 

7 ‘‘(B) provided adequate and timely notice 

8 to that charter school authorizer. 

9 ‘‘(8) HIGH-QUALITY CHARTER SCHOOL.—The 

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

11 school that— 

12 ‘‘(A) shows evidence of strong academic re13 sults, which may include strong student aca14 demic growth, as determined by a State; 

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

16 of student safety, financial management, or 

17 statutory or regulatory compliance; 

18 ‘‘(C) has demonstrated success in signifi19 cantly increasing student academic achieve20 ment, including— 

21 ‘‘(i) graduation rates, where applica22 ble, for all students served by the charter 

23 school; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) graduation rates, where applica25 ble, for each of the categories of students 


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1 described in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v), ex2 cept that such demonstration is not re3 quired in a case in which the number of 

4 students in a group is insufficient to yield 

5 statistically reliable information or the re6 sults would reveal personally identifiable 

7 information about an individual student; 

8 ‘‘(D) has demonstrated community involve9 ment during the development and operation of 

10 the school; and 

11 ‘‘(E) has had 3 successful consecutive an12 nual audits that have not indicated fiscal dif13 ficulties, as determined by typical accounting 

14 standards. 

15 ‘‘SEC. 5111. TRANSITION ARRANGEMENTS. 

16 ‘‘No new Federal grants under this part shall be 

17 awarded for a period of one year following the date of en18 actment of the Charter School Accountability Act of 2015, 

19 at which time the definition of eligible State educational 

20 agency under this part shall take effect. 

21 ‘‘SEC. 5112. CAPS. 

22 ‘‘In awarding grants under this part, the Secretary 

23 may neither disadvantage nor advantage eligible State 

24 educational agency applicants based on whether the 

25 State— 


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1 ‘‘(1) has a cap on the number of charter schools 

2 in the State; or 

3 ‘‘(2) expresses an intention to adopt such State 

4 charter school caps. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 5113. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

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

7 this part such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 

8 2016 and for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.’’. 

Æ 


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