‘‘(4) A multi-year financial and operating model 
for the eligible entity, including a description of how 
the operation of the charter schools to be replicated 
or expanded will be sustained after the grant under 
this section has ended. 
‘‘(5) A description of how the eligible entity will 
inform all students in the community, including chil-
dren with disabilities, students who are English 
learners, and other educationally disadvantaged stu-
dents, about the charter schools to be replicated or 
expanded with funding under this section. 
‘‘(6) For each charter school currently operated 
or managed by the eligible entity— 
‘‘(A) student assessment results for all stu-
dents and for each category of students de-
scribed in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v); and 
‘‘(B) attendance and student retention 
rates for the most recently completed school 
year and, if applicable, the most recent avail-
able 4-year adjusted cohort graduate rate and 
extended-year adjusted cohort graduation rate 
(as such rates were calculated on the day before 
enactment of the Charter School Accountability 
Act of 2015). 
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‘‘(7) Information on any significant compliance 
issues encountered, within the last 3 years, by any 
school operated or managed by the eligible entity, in-
cluding in the areas of student safety and financial 
management. 
‘‘(8) An assurance that the eligibly entity will 
comply with the requirements of— 
‘‘(A) section 5103(f)(3); and 
‘‘(B) section 5103(g). 
‘‘(d) SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall se-
lect eligible entities to receive grants under this section, 
on the basis of the quality of— 
‘‘(1) the selection criteria described in section 
5103(h); 
‘‘(2) the eligible entity’s financial and operating 
model, including the quality of the eligible entity’s 
plan for sustaining the operation of the charter 
schools to be replicated or expanded after the grant 
under this section has ended; 
‘‘(3) a determination that the eligible entity has 
not operated or managed a significant proportion of 
charter schools that— 
‘‘(A) have been closed; 
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‘‘(B) have had a school charter revoked 
due to problems with statutory or regulatory 
compliance; or 
‘‘(C) have had the school’s affiliation with 
the eligible entity revoked; and 
‘‘(4) a determination that the eligible entity has 
not experienced significant problems with statutory 
or regulatory compliance that could lead to the rev-
ocation of a school’s charter. 
‘‘(e) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec-
tion, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities 
that operate or manage charter schools that, in the aggre-
gate, serve students at least 60 percent of whom are eligi-
ble for a free or reduced price lunch under the Richard 
B. Russell National School Lunch Act. 
‘‘(f) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Except as otherwise 
provided in this section, grants awarded under this section 
shall have the same terms and conditions as grants award-
ed to eligible State educational agencies under section 
5103. 
‘‘SEC. 5104. FACILITIES FINANCING ASSISTANCE. 
‘‘(a) GRANTS TO ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From the amount reserved 
under section 5102(b)(1), the Secretary shall use 
not less than 50 percent to award not less than 3 
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grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities 
that have the highest-quality applications approved 
under subsection (d) to demonstrate innovative 
methods of helping charter schools to address the 
cost of acquiring, constructing, and renovating facili-
ties by enhancing the availability of loans or bond fi-
nancing. 
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE
ENTITY
DEFINED.—For the 
purposes of this section, the term ‘eligible entity’ 
means an entity with at least an upper medium 
grade credit rating, which shall be— 
‘‘(A) a public entity, such as a State or 
local governmental entity; 
‘‘(B) a private nonprofit entity; or 
‘‘(C) a consortium of entities described in 
subparagraphs (A) and (B). 
‘‘(b) GRANTEE SELECTION.—The Secretary shall 
evaluate each application submitted under subsection (d), 
and shall determine whether the application is sufficient 
to merit approval. 
‘‘(c) GRANT CHARACTERISTICS.—Grants under sub-
section (a) shall be of a sufficient size, scope, and quality 
so as to ensure an effective demonstration of an innovative 
means of enhancing credit for the financing of charter 
school acquisition, construction, or renovation. 
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‘‘(d) APPLICATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity desiring 
to receive a grant under this section shall submit an 
application to the Secretary in such form as the Sec-
retary may reasonably require. 
‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—An application submitted 
under paragraph (1) shall contain— 
‘‘(A) a statement identifying the activities 
that the eligible entity proposes to carry out 
with funds received under subsection (a), in-
cluding how the eligible entity will determine 
which charter schools will receive assistance, 
and how much and what types of assistance 
charter schools will receive; 
‘‘(B) a description of the involvement of 
charter schools in the application’s development 
and the design of the proposed activities; 
‘‘(C) a description of the eligible entity’s 
expertise in capital market financing; 
‘‘(D) a description of how the proposed ac-
tivities will leverage the maximum amount of 
private-sector financing capital relative to the 
amount of government funding used and other-
wise enhance credit available to charter schools, 
including how the entity will offer a combina-
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tion of rates and terms more favorable than the 
rates and terms that a charter school could re-
ceive without assistance from the entity under 
this section; 
‘‘(E) a description of how the eligible enti-
ty possesses sufficient expertise in education to 
evaluate the likelihood of success of a charter 
school program for which facilities financing is 
sought; and 
‘‘(F) in the case of an application sub-
mitted by a State governmental entity, a de-
scription of the actions that the entity has 
taken, or will take, to ensure that charter 
schools within the State receive the funding 
that charter schools need to have adequate fa-
cilities. 
‘‘(e) CHARTER SCHOOL OBJECTIVES.—An eligible 
entity receiving a grant under this section shall use the 
funds deposited in the reserve account established under 
subsection (f) to assist one or more charter schools to ac-
cess private sector capital to accomplish one or more of 
the following objectives: 
‘‘(1) The acquisition (by purchase, lease, dona-
tion, or otherwise) of an interest (including an inter-
est held by a third party for the benefit of a charter 
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school) in improved or unimproved real property 
that is necessary to commence or continue the oper-
ation of a charter school. 
‘‘(2) The construction of new facilities, includ-
ing predevelopment costs, or the renovation, repair, 
or alteration of existing facilities, necessary to com-
mence or continue the operation of a charter school. 
‘‘(3) The predevelopment costs required to as-
sess sites for purposes of paragraph (1) or (2) and 
which are necessary to commence or continue the 
operation of a charter school. 
‘‘(f) RESERVE ACCOUNT.— 
‘‘(1) USE OF FUNDS.—To assist charter schools 
in accomplishing the objectives described in sub-
section (e), an eligible entity receiving a grant under 
subsection (a) shall, in accordance with State and 
local law, directly or indirectly, alone or in collabora-
tion with others, deposit the funds received under 
subsection (a) (other than funds used for adminis-
trative costs in accordance with subsection (g)) in a 
reserve account established and maintained by the 
eligible entity for this purpose. Amounts deposited in 
such account shall be used by the eligible entity for 
one or more of the following purposes: 
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‘‘(A) Guaranteeing, insuring, and rein-
suring bonds, notes, evidences of debt, loans, 
and interests therein, the proceeds of which are 
used for an objective described in subsection 
(e). 
‘‘(B) Guaranteeing and insuring leases of 
personal and real property for an objective de-
scribed in such subsection. 
‘‘(C) Facilitating financing by identifying 
potential lending sources, encouraging private 
lending, and other similar activities that di-
rectly promote lending to, or for the benefit of, 
charter schools. 
‘‘(D) Facilitating the issuance of bonds by 
charter schools, or by other public entities for 
the benefit of charter schools, by providing 
technical, administrative, and other appropriate 
assistance (including the recruitment of bond 
counsel, underwriters, and potential investors 
and the consolidation of multiple charter school 
projects within a single bond issue). 
‘‘(2) INVESTMENT.—Funds received under this 
section and deposited in the reserve account estab-
lished under paragraph (1) shall be invested in obli-
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gations issued or guaranteed by the United States or 
a State, or in other similarly low-risk securities. 
‘‘(3) REINVESTMENT OF EARNINGS.—Any earn-
ings on funds received under subsection (a) shall be 
deposited in the reserve account established under 
paragraph (1) and used in accordance with this sub-
section. 
‘‘(g) LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—An 
eligible entity may use not more than 2.5 percent of the 
funds received under subsection (a) for the administrative 
costs of carrying out its responsibilities under this section 
(excluding subsection (k)). 
‘‘(h) AUDITS AND REPORTS.— 
‘‘(1) FINANCIAL
RECORD
MAINTENANCE
AND 
AUDIT.—The financial records of each eligible entity 
receiving a grant under subsection (a) shall be main-
tained in accordance with generally accepted ac-
counting principles and shall be subject to an annual 
audit by an independent public accountant. 
‘‘(2) REPORTS.— 
‘‘(A) GRANTEE ANNUAL REPORTS.—Each 
eligible entity receiving a grant under sub-
section (a) annually shall submit to the Sec-
retary a report of the entity’s operations and 
activities under this section. 
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‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—Each annual report 
submitted under subparagraph (A) shall in-
clude— 
‘‘(i) a copy of the most recent finan-
cial statements, and any accompanying 
opinion on such statements, prepared by 
the independent public accountant review-
ing the financial records of the eligible en-
tity; 
‘‘(ii) a copy of any report made on an 
audit of the financial records of the eligible 
entity that was conducted under paragraph 
(1) during the reporting period; 
‘‘(iii) an evaluation by the eligible en-
tity of the effectiveness of its use of the 
Federal funds provided under subsection 
(a) in leveraging private funds; 
‘‘(iv) a listing and description of the 
charter schools served during the reporting 
period, including the amount of funds used 
by each school, the type of project facili-
tated by the grant, and the type of assist-
ance provided to the charter schools; 
‘‘(v) a description of the activities car-
ried out by the eligible entity to assist 
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charter schools in meeting the objectives 
set forth in subsection (e); and 
‘‘(vi) a description of the characteris-
tics of lenders and other financial institu-
tions participating in the activities carried 
out by the eligible entity under this section 
(excluding subsection (k)) during the re-
porting period. 
‘‘(C) SECRETARIAL
REPORT.—The Sec-
retary shall review the reports submitted under 
subparagraph (A) and shall provide a com-
prehensive annual report to Congress on the ac-
tivities conducted under this section (excluding 
subsection (k)). 
‘‘(i) NO FULL FAITH AND CREDIT FOR GRANTEE 
OBLIGATION.—No financial obligation of an eligible entity 
entered into pursuant to this section (such as an obliga-
tion under a guarantee, bond, note, evidence of debt, or 
loan) shall be an obligation of, or guaranteed in any re-
spect by, the United States. The full faith and credit of 
the United States is not pledged to the payment of funds 
which may be required to be paid under any obligation 
made by an eligible entity pursuant to any provision of 
this section. 
‘‘(j) RECOVERY OF FUNDS.— 
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‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in accord-
ance with chapter 37 of title 31, United States 
Code, shall collect— 
‘‘(A) all of the funds in a reserve account 
established by an eligible entity under sub-
section (f)(1) if the Secretary determines, not 
earlier than 2 years after the date on which the 
eligible entity first received funds under this 
section (excluding subsection (k)), that the eli-
gible entity has failed to make substantial 
progress in carrying out the purposes described 
in subsection (f)(1); or 
‘‘(B) all or a portion of the funds in a re-
serve account established by an eligible entity 
under subsection (f)(1) if the Secretary deter-
mines that the eligible entity has permanently 
ceased to use all or a portion of the funds in 
such account to accomplish any purpose de-
scribed in such subsection. 
‘‘(2) EXERCISE OF AUTHORITY.—The Secretary 
shall not exercise the authority provided in para-
graph (1) to collect from any eligible entity any 
funds that are being properly used to achieve one or 
more of the purposes described in subsection (f)(1). 
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‘‘(3) PROCEDURES.—The provisions of sections 
451, 452, and 458 of the General Education Provi-
sions Act shall apply to the recovery of funds under 
paragraph (1). 
‘‘(4) CONSTRUCTION.—This subsection shall 
not be construed to impair or affect the authority of 
the Secretary to recover funds under part D of the 
General Education Provisions Act. 
‘‘(k) PER-PUPIL FACILITIES AID PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF PER-PUPIL FACILITIES AID 
PROGRAM.—In this subsection, the term ‘per-pupil 
facilities aid program’ means a program in which a 
State makes payments, on a per-pupil basis, to char-
ter schools to provide the schools with financing— 
‘‘(A) that is dedicated solely for funding 
charter school facilities; or 
‘‘(B) a portion of which is dedicated for 
funding charter school facilities. 
‘‘(2) GRANTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—From the amount re-
served under section 5102(b)(1) and remaining 
after the Secretary makes grants under sub-
section (a), the Secretary shall make grants, on 
a competitive basis, to States to pay for the 
Federal share of the cost of establishing or en-
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hancing, and administering, per-pupil facilities 
aid programs. 
‘‘(B) PERIOD.—The Secretary shall award 
grants under this subsection for periods of not 
more than 5 years. 
‘‘(C) 
FEDERAL
SHARE.—The 
Federal 
share of the cost described in subparagraph (A) 
for a per-pupil facilities aid program shall be 
not more than— 
‘‘(i) 90 percent of the cost, for the 
first fiscal year for which the program re-
ceives assistance under this subsection; 
‘‘(ii) 80 percent for the second such 
year; 
‘‘(iii) 60 percent for the third such 
year; 
‘‘(iv) 40 percent for the fourth such 
year; and 
‘‘(v) 20 percent for the fifth such 
year. 
‘‘(D) STATE SHARE.—A State receiving a 
grant under this subsection may partner with 1 
or more organizations, and such organizations 
may provide not more than 50 percent of the 
State share of the cost of establishing or en-
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hancing, and administering, the per-pupil facili-
ties aid program. 
‘‘(E) MULTIPLE
GRANTS.—A State may 
receive more than 1 grant under this sub-
section, so long as the amount of such grant 
funds provided to charter schools increases with 
each successive grant. 
‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State that receives 
a grant under this subsection shall use the 
funds made available through the grant to es-
tablish or enhance, and administer, a per-pupil 
facilities aid program for charter schools in the 
State of the applicant. 
‘‘(B) EVALUATIONS; TECHNICAL
ASSIST-
ANCE; 
DISSEMINATION.—From the amount 
made available to a State through a grant 
under this subsection for a fiscal year, the State 
may reserve not more than 5 percent to carry 
out evaluations, to provide technical assistance, 
and to disseminate information. 
‘‘(C) SUPPLEMENT, 
NOT
SUPPLANT.— 
Funds made available under this subsection 
shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, 
State and local public funds expended to pro-
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vide per-pupil facilities aid programs, operations 
financing programs, or other programs, for 
charter schools. 
‘‘(4) REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(A) 
VOLUNTARY
PARTICIPATION.—No 
State may be required to participate in a pro-
gram carried out under this subsection. 
‘‘(B) STATE LAW.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to 
receive a grant under this subsection, a 
State shall establish or enhance, and ad-
minister, a per-pupil facilities aid program 
for charter schools in the State, that— 
‘‘(I) is specified in State law; and 
‘‘(II) provides annual financing, 
on a per-pupil basis, for charter 
school facilities. 
‘‘(ii) SPECIAL RULE.—A State that is 
required under State law to provide its 
charter schools with access to adequate fa-
cility space may be eligible to receive a 
grant under this subsection if the State 
agrees to use the funds to develop a per- 
pupil facilities aid program consistent with 
the requirements of this subsection. 
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‘‘(5) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible to receive a 
grant under this subsection, a State shall submit an 
application to the Secretary at such time, in such 
manner, and containing such information as the Sec-
retary may require. 
‘‘SEC. 5105. NATIONAL ACTIVITIES. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—From amounts reserved under 
section 5102(b)(2) the Secretary shall use such funds to— 
‘‘(1) disseminate technical assistance to eligible 
State educational agencies in awarding grants under 
section 5103; 
‘‘(2) disseminate best and promising practices 
regarding charter schools; 
‘‘(3) evaluate the impact of the charter school 
program carried out under this part on all students 
in charter and traditional public schools and on local 
communities and the overall strength and perform-
ance of their public schools; and 
‘‘(4) award grants, on a competitive basis, for 
the purpose of carrying out the activities described 
in section 5103(1)(b), to eligible applicants that de-
sire to open a charter school, replicate a high-quality 
charter school, or expand a high-quality charter 
school in— 
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‘‘(A) a State that did not apply for a grant 
under section 5103; or 
‘‘(B) a State that did not receive a grant 
under section 5103. 
‘‘(b) REPORT BY THE SECRETARY.—Not later than 
6 months after the date of enactment of the Charter 
School Accountability Act of 2015, the Secretary shall pre-
pare and submit to the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, the Committee on 
Education and the Workforce of the House of Representa-
tives, and the relevant appropriations committees of Con-
gress, and to the public via the Department’s website, a 
report— 
‘‘(1) responding to the March 9, 2010, final 
management information report of the Office of the 
Inspector General of the Department of Education, 
which expressed concern about findings of inad-
equate oversight by local educational agencies and 
charter school authorizers to ensure Federal funds 
are properly used and accounted for; 
‘‘(2) responding to the September 2012 report 
of the Office of the Inspector General of the Depart-
ment of Education entitled ‘‘The Office of Innova-
tion and Improvement’s Oversight and Monitoring of 
the Charter Schools Program’s Planning and Imple-
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mentation Grants Final Audit Report’’ finding that 
none of the 3 States whose charter schools programs 
that Office investigated adequately monitored the 
public charter schools that the States funded; and 
‘‘(3) describing actions the Department has 
taken to address the concerns described in such 
memorandum and final audit report.’’. 
SEC. 4. FORMULA ALLOCATION. 
Section 5106 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7221e), as redesignated by 
section 2(6), is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(c) NEW OR SIGNIFICANTLY EXPANDING CHARTER 
SCHOOLS.—For purposes of implementing the hold-harm-
less protections in sections 1122(c) and 1125A(g)(3) for 
a newly opened or significantly expanded charter school 
under subsection (a), a State educational agency shall cal-
culate a hold-harmless base for the prior year that, as ap-
plicable, reflects the new or significantly expanded enroll-
ment of the charter school.’’. 
SEC. 5. RECORDS TRANSFER. 
Section 5108 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7221g), as redesignated 
by section 2(6), is amended by inserting ‘‘as quickly as 
possible and’’ before ‘‘to the extent practicable’’. 
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SEC. 6. PAPERWORK REDUCTION. 
Section 5109 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7221f), as redesignated by 
section 2(6), is amended by striking ‘‘authorized public 
chartering agency shall ensure that implementation of this 
subpart’’ and inserting ‘‘charter school authorizer shall 
ensure that implementation of this part’’. 
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS; TRANSITION; CAPS; AUTHORIZATION 
OF APPROPORATIONS. 
Title V of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7201 et seq.) is further amended 
by striking sections 5110 and 5111 (20 U.S.C. 7221i; 
7221j), as redesignated by section 2(6) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘SEC. 5110. DEFINITIONS. 
‘‘(1) CHARTER
SCHOOL.—The term ‘charter 
school’ means a public school that— 
‘‘(A) is afforded autonomy to test innova-
tive educational approaches, consistent with the 
provisions of this Act, which local educational 
agencies consider promising; 
‘‘(B) complies with the data collection, re-
porting, auditing, and disclosure provisions of 
this Act as well as those applicable to other 
public schools through other Federal, State, 
and local laws, regulations and policies; 
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‘‘(C) admits students on the basis of a lot-
tery, if more students apply for admission than 
can be accommodated; 
‘‘(D) in the case of a school that has an 
affiliated charter school (such as a school that 
is part of the same network of schools), auto-
matically enrolls students who are enrolled in 
the immediate prior grade level of the affiliated 
charter school and, for any additional student 
openings or student openings created through 
regular attrition in student enrollment in the 
affiliated charter school and the enrolling 
school, admits students on the basis of a lottery 
as described in subparagraph (C); 
‘‘(E) complies with the Age Discrimination 
Act of 1975 (42 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.), title VI 
of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 
2000d et seq.), title IX of the Education 
Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), 
section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 
(29 U.S.C. 794), the Americans with Disabil-
ities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), 
section 444 of the General Education Provi-
sions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g) (commonly re-
ferred to as the ‘Family Educational Rights 
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and Privacy Act of 1974’), and part B of the 
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 
U.S.C. 1411 et seq.); 
‘‘(F) meets all applicable Federal, State, 
and local health and safety requirements; 
‘‘(G) operates in accordance with State 
law; 
‘‘(H) has a written performance contract 
with a charter school authorizer that includes— 
‘‘(i) a description of how student per-
formance will be measured on the basis 
of— 
‘‘(I) State assessments that are 
required of other public schools; and 
‘‘(II) any other assessments that 
are mutually agreeable to the charter 
school authorizer and the charter 
school; 
‘‘(ii) a requirement that student aca-
demic achievement and growth, for the stu-
dents enrolled at the school as a whole and 
for each of the categories of students de-
scribed in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v) (except 
in a case in which the number of students 
in a group is insufficient to yield statis-
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tically reliable information or the results 
would reveal personally identifiable infor-
mation about an individual student) will be 
used as a primary factor in decisions about 
the renewal or revocation of the charter, in 
addition to other criteria, as appropriate; 
‘‘(iii) the student academic achieve-
ment and growth and student retention 
goals, and, in the case of a high school, 
graduation rate goals for the students en-
rolled at the school as a whole and for each 
of the categories of students described in 
section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v) (except in a case 
in which the number of students in a 
group is insufficient to yield statistically 
reliable information or the results would 
reveal personally identifiable information 
about an individual student), and any 
other goals to be achieved by the end of 
the contract period; and 
‘‘(iv) the obligations and responsibil-
ities of the charter school and the charter 
school authorizer; 
‘‘(I) does not charge tuition; 
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‘‘(J) is nonsectarian in its programs, ad-
missions policies, employment practices, and all 
other operations, and is not affiliated with a 
sectarian school or religious institution; 
‘‘(K) is created by a developer as a public 
school, or is adapted by a developer from an ex-
isting public school, and is operated under pub-
lic supervision and direction; 
‘‘(L) operates in pursuit of a specific set of 
educational 
objectives 
determined 
by 
the 
school’s developer and agreed to by the charter 
school authorizer; 
‘‘(M) provides 1 or more programs of ele-
mentary education, secondary education, or 
both, including early childhood education, and 
may also provide adult education, in accordance 
with State law; and 
‘‘(N) is governed by a separate and inde-
pendent board that exercises authority over 1 or 
more schools, including authority in the areas 
of governance, personnel, budget, schedule, and 
instructional program. 
‘‘(2) CHARTER MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION.— 
The term ‘charter management organization’ means 
a nonprofit organization that operates or manages 
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multiple charter schools by centralizing or sharing 
certain functions or resources. 
‘‘(3) CHARTER
SCHOOL
AUTHORIZER.—The 
term ‘charter school authorizer’ means a local edu-
cational agency or other public entity that has au-
thority pursuant to State law and has been approved 
by the Secretary to authorize and approve a charter 
school, and that shall— 
‘‘(A) develop and update regularly a dis-
trictwide multi-year school plan; 
‘‘(B) monitor and assist charter schools in 
complying with applicable requirements, includ-
ing data collection and public disclosure re-
quirements and participation in the develop-
ment of the districtwide multi-year school plan; 
‘‘(C) establish criteria and processes that 
the charter school authorizer will use in moni-
toring the performance of each charter school 
authorized by the charter school authorizer, in-
cluding interventions and any actions leading 
up to the revocation of a school’s charter if the 
charter school authorizer finds that such a rev-
ocation is necessary to protect the public inter-
est; 
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‘‘(D) review the application and hold 
meaningful public hearings to gather input 
from the public and parents on applications to 
establish a charter school or convert another 
school to a public charter school; 
‘‘(E) provide a statement on the impact of 
the charter school within the local educational 
agency; and 
‘‘(F) in the case of a State with a cap on 
the number of public charter schools in the 
State— 
‘‘(i) review and render a decision with-
in 120 days of receipt of the application 
for a charter school (whether a new school 
or a conversion); and 
‘‘(ii) submit to the State educational 
agency the charter school authorizer’s rec-
ommendation regarding approval of char-
ter school applicants, in order to allow the 
State educational agency to conduct an ex-
pedited review to determine if the approval 
described in clause (i) will violate the cap 
on the number of public charter schools in 
operation in the State. 
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‘‘(4) DEVELOPER.—The term ‘developer’ means 
an individual or group of individuals (including a 
public or private nonprofit organization), which may 
include teachers, administrators and other school 
staff, parents, or other members of the local commu-
nity in which a charter school project will be carried 
out. 
‘‘(5) 
DISTRICTWIDE
MULTI-YEAR
SCHOOL 
PLAN.—The term ‘districtwide multi-year school 
plan’ means a plan that— 
‘‘(A) is developed and regularly updated, 
with meaningful public input from across the 
local educational agency; and 
‘‘(B) takes into consideration projected de-
mographic changes, criteria for new school 
openings or closings, and equitable geographic 
distribution of schools and students to ensure 
that all students have access to schools in their 
communities and a range of specialized pro-
grams. 
‘‘(6) EDUCATION
MANAGEMENT
ORGANIZA-
TION.—The term ‘education management organiza-
tion’ means a for-profit or nonprofit organization 
that operates or manages multiple charter schools by 
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centralizing or sharing certain functions or re-
sources. 
‘‘(7) ELIGIBLE APPLICANT.—The term ‘eligible 
applicant’ means a developer that has— 
‘‘(A) applied to a charter school authorizer 
to operate a charter school; and 
‘‘(B) provided adequate and timely notice 
to that charter school authorizer. 
‘‘(8) HIGH-QUALITY
CHARTER
SCHOOL.—The 
term ‘high-quality charter school’ means a charter 
school that— 
‘‘(A) shows evidence of strong academic re-
sults, which may include strong student aca-
demic growth, as determined by a State; 
‘‘(B) has no significant issues in the areas 
of student safety, financial management, or 
statutory or regulatory compliance; 
‘‘(C) has demonstrated success in signifi-
cantly increasing student academic achieve-
ment, including— 
‘‘(i) graduation rates, where applica-
ble, for all students served by the charter 
school; and 
‘‘(ii) graduation rates, where applica-
ble, for each of the categories of students 
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described in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v), ex-
cept that such demonstration is not re-
quired in a case in which the number of 
students in a group is insufficient to yield 
statistically reliable information or the re-
sults would reveal personally identifiable 
information about an individual student; 
‘‘(D) has demonstrated community involve-
ment during the development and operation of 
the school; and 
‘‘(E) has had 3 successful consecutive an-
nual audits that have not indicated fiscal dif-
ficulties, as determined by typical accounting 
standards. 
‘‘SEC. 5111. TRANSITION ARRANGEMENTS. 
‘‘No new Federal grants under this part shall be 
awarded for a period of one year following the date of en-
actment of the Charter School Accountability Act of 2015, 
at which time the definition of eligible State educational 
agency under this part shall take effect. 
‘‘SEC. 5112. CAPS. 
‘‘In awarding grants under this part, the Secretary 
may neither disadvantage nor advantage eligible State 
educational agency applicants based on whether the 
State— 
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‘‘(1) has a cap on the number of charter schools 
in the State; or 
‘‘(2) expresses an intention to adopt such State 
charter school caps. 
‘‘SEC. 5113. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
this part such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 
2016 and for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.’’. 
Æ 
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