II

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1380

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 regarding

charter schools.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

NOVEMBER 5, 1997

Mr. COATS (for himself, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. D’AMATO, and Mr. KERREY)

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the

Committee on Labor and Human Resources

A BILL

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act

of 1965 regarding 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 Expan5 sion Act of 1997’’.

6 SEC. 2. INNOVATIVE CHARTER SCHOOLS.

7 Title VI of the Elementary and Secondary Education

8 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7301 et seq.) is amended—

9 (1) in section 6201(a) (20 U.S.C. 7331(a))—
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1 (A) in paragraph (1)(C), by striking ‘‘and’’

2 after the semicolon;

3 (B) by redesignating paragraph (2) as

4 paragraph (3); and

5 (C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the

6 following:

7 ‘‘(2) support for planning, designing, and initial

8 implementation of charter schools as described in

9 part C of title X; and’’; and

10 (2) in section 6301(b) (20 U.S.C. 7351(b))—

11 (A) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘and’’

12 after the semicolon;

13 (B) by redesignating paragraph (8) as

14 paragraph (9); and

15 (C) by inserting after paragraph (7) the

16 following:

17 ‘‘(8) planning, designing, and initial implemen18 tation of charter schools as described in part C of

19 title X; and’’.

20 SEC. 3. CHARTER SCHOOLS.

21 (a) PURPOSE.—Section 10301(b) of the Elementary

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

23 8061(b)) is amended—

24 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ after

25 the semicolon;
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1 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period and

2 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

4 ‘‘(3) expanding the number of high-quality

5 charter schools available to students across the Na6 tion.’’.

7 (b) CRITERIA FOR PRIORITY TREATMENT.—Section

8 10302 of such Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8062) is amended

9 by adding at the end the following:

10 ‘‘(e) PRIORITY TREATMENT.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—

12 ‘‘(A) FISCAL YEARS 1998, 1999, AND 2000.—

13 In awarding grants under this part for any of

14 the fiscal years 1998, 1999, and 2000 from

15 funds appropriated under section 10311 that

16 are in excess of $51,000,000 for the fiscal year,

17 the Secretary shall give priority to States to the

18 extent that the States meet 1 or more of the

19 criteria described in paragraph (2).

20 ‘‘(B) SUCCEEDING FISCAL YEARS.—In

21 awarding grants under this part for fiscal year

22 2001 or any succeeding fiscal year from any

23 funds appropriated under section 10311, the

24 Secretary shall give priority to States to the ex-
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1 tent that the States meet 1 or more of the cri2 teria described in paragraph (2).

3 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY CRITERIA.—The criteria referred

4 to in paragraph (1) are as follows:

5 ‘‘(A) The State has demonstrated signifi6 cant progress in increasing the number of char7 ter schools in the period prior to the period for

8 which a State educational agency or eligible ap9 plicant applies for a grant under this part.

10 ‘‘(B) The State law regarding charter

11 schools—

12 ‘‘(i) provides for at least 1 authorized

13 public chartering agency that is not a local

14 educational agency for each individual or

15 entity seeking to operate a charter school

16 pursuant to such State law; or

17 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a State in which

18 local educational agencies are the only au19 thorized public chartering agencies, allows

20 for an appeals process for the denial of an

21 application for a charter school.

22 ‘‘(C) The State law regarding charter

23 schools provides for the automatic waiver of

24 most State and local education laws and regula-
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1 tions, except those laws and regulations related

2 to health, safety, and civil rights.

3 ‘‘(D) The State law regarding charter

4 schools provides for periodic review and evalua5 tion by the authorized public chartering agency

6 of each charter school to determine whether the

7 charter school is meeting or exceeding the aca8 demic performance requirements and goals for

9 charter schools as set forth under State law or

10 the school’s charter.

11 ‘‘(f) AMOUNT CRITERIA.—In determining the amount

12 of a grant to be awarded under this part to a State edu13 cational agency, the Secretary shall take into consider14 ation the number of charter schools that will be created

15 under this part in the State.’’.

16 (c) APPLICATIONS.—Section 10303(b) of such Act

17 (20 U.S.C. 8063(b)) is amended—

18 (1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para19 graph (3); and

20 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the follow21 ing:

22 ‘‘(2) describe how the State educational agen23 cy—

24 ‘‘(A) will inform each charter school in the

25 State regarding—
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1 ‘‘(i) Federal funds that the charter

2 school is eligible to receive; and

3 ‘‘(ii) Federal programs in which the

4 charter school may participate;

5 ‘‘(B) will ensure that each charter school

6 in the State receives the charter school’s com7 mensurate share of Federal education funds

8 that are allocated by formula; and

9 ‘‘(C) will disseminate best or promising

10 practices of charter schools to each local edu11 cational agency in the State; and’’.

12 (d) NATIONAL ACTIVITIES.—Section 10305 of such

13 Act (20 U.S.C. 8065) is amended to read as follows:

14 ‘‘SEC. 10305. NATIONAL ACTIVITIES.

15 ‘‘The Secretary shall reserve for each fiscal year the

16 lesser of 5 percent of the amount appropriated to carry

17 out this part for the fiscal year or $5,000,000, to carry

18 out the following activities:

19 ‘‘(1) To provide charter schools, either directly

20 or through State educational agencies, with—

21 ‘‘(A) information regarding—

22 ‘‘(i) Federal funds that charter

23 schools are eligible to receive; and

24 ‘‘(ii) other Federal programs in which

25 charter schools may participate; and
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1 ‘‘(B) assistance in applying for Federal

2 education funds that are allocated by formula,

3 including assistance with filing deadlines and

4 submission of applications.

5 ‘‘(2) To provide for the completion of the 4-year

6 national study (which began in 1995) of charter

7 schools.

8 ‘‘(3) To provide—

9 ‘‘(A) information to applicants for assist10 ance under this part;

11 ‘‘(B) assistance to applicants for assistance

12 under this part with the preparation of applica13 tions under section 10303;

14 ‘‘(C) assistance in the planning and start15 up of charter schools;

16 ‘‘(D) training and technical assistance to

17 existing charter schools;

18 ‘‘(E) information to applicants and charter

19 schools regarding gaining access to private cap20 ital to support charter schools; and

21 ‘‘(F) for the dissemination of best or prom22 ising practices in charter schools to other public

23 schools.’’.
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1 (e) COMMENSURATE TREATMENT; RECORDS TRANS2 FER; PAPERWORK REDUCTION.—Part C of title X of such

3 Act (20 U.S.C. 8061 et seq.) is amended—

4 (1) by redesignating sections 10306 and 10307

5 as sections 10310 and 10311, respectively; and

6 (2) by inserting after section 10305 the follow7 ing:

8 ‘‘SEC. 10306. FEDERAL FORMULA ALLOCATION DURING

9 FIRST YEAR AND FOR SUCCESSIVE ENROLL10 MENT EXPANSIONS.

11 ‘‘For purposes of the allocation to schools by the

12 States or their agencies of funds under part A of title I,

13 and any other Federal funds which the Secretary allocates

14 to States on a formula basis, the Secretary and each State

15 educational agency shall take such measures not later

16 than 6 months after the date of enactment of the Charter

17 School Expansion Act of 1997 as are necessary to ensure

18 that every charter school receives the Federal funding for

19 which the charter school is eligible not later than 5 months

20 after the charter school first opens, notwithstanding the

21 fact that the identity and characteristics of the students

22 enrolling in that charter school are not fully and com23 pletely determined until that charter school actually opens.

24 The measures similarly shall ensure that every charter

25 school expanding its enrollment in any subsequent year
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1 of operation receives the Federal funding for which the

2 charter school is eligible not later than 5 months after

3 such expansion.

4 ‘‘SEC. 10307. SOLICITATION OF INPUT FROM CHARTER

5 SCHOOL OPERATORS.

6 ‘‘To the extent practicable, the Secretary shall ensure

7 that administrators, teachers, and other individuals di8 rectly involved in the operation of charter schools are con9 sulted in the development of any rules or regulations re10 quired to implement this part, as well as in the develop11 ment of any rules or regulations relevant to charter

12 schools that are required to implement part A of title I

13 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965

14 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.), the Individuals with Disabilities

15 Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.), or any other pro16 gram administered by the Secretary that provides edu17 cation funds to charter schools or regulates the activities

18 of charter schools.

19 ‘‘SEC. 10308. RECORDS TRANSFER.

20 ‘‘State educational agencies and local educational

21 agencies, to the extent practicable, shall ensure that a stu22 dent’s records and, if applicable, a student’s individualized

23 education program as defined in section 602(11) of the

24 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C.

25 1401(11)), are transferred to a charter school upon the
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1 transfer of the student to the charter school, in accordance

2 with applicable State law.

3 ‘‘SEC. 10309. PAPERWORK REDUCTION.

4 ‘‘To the extent practicable, the Secretary and each

5 authorized public chartering agency shall ensure that im6 plementation of this part results in a minimum of paper7 work for any eligible applicant or charter school.’’.

8 (f) PART C DEFINITIONS.—Section 10310(1) of such

9 Act (as redesignated by subsection (e)(1)) (20 U.S.C.

10 8066(1)) is amended—

11 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘an ena12 bling statute’’ and inserting ‘‘a specific State statute

13 authorizing the granting of charters to schools’’;

14 (2) in subparagraph (H), by inserting ‘‘is a

15 school to which parents choose to send their chil16 dren, and that’’ before ‘‘admits’’;

17 (3) in subparagraph (J), by striking ‘‘and’’

18 after the semicolon;

19 (4) in subparagraph (K), by striking the period

20 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

21 (5) by adding at the end the following:

22 ‘‘(L) has a written performance contract

23 with the authorized public chartering agency in

24 the State.’’.
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1 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section

2 10311 of such Act (as redesignated by subsection (e)(1))

3 (20 U.S.C. 8067) is amended by striking ‘‘$15,000,000

4 for fiscal year 1995’’ and inserting ‘‘$100,000,000 for fis5 cal year 1998’’.

6 (h) TITLE XIV DEFINITIONS.—Section 14101 of

7 such Act (20 U.S.C. 8801) is amended—

8 (1) in paragraph (14), by inserting ‘‘, including

9 a public elementary charter school,’’ after ‘‘residen10 tial school’’; and

11 (2) in paragraph (25), by inserting ‘‘, including

12 a public secondary charter school,’’ after ‘‘residential

13 school’’.

14 (i) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The matter preced15 ing paragraph (1) of section 10304(e) of such Act (20

16 U.S.C. 8064(e)) is amended by striking ‘‘10306(1)’’ and

17 inserting ‘‘10310(1)’’.

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