I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1525 
To provide high-quality public charter school options for students by enabling 
such public charter schools to expand and replicate. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 13, 2011 
Mr. POLIS (for himself, Mr. HOLT, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. 
PAULSEN, Mr. HIMES, and Mr. COFFMAN of Colorado) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 
Workforce 
A BILL 
To provide high-quality public charter school options for stu-
dents by enabling such public charter schools to expand 
and replicate. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘All Students Achieving 
through Reform Act of 2011’’ or ‘‘All-STAR Act of 2011’’. 
SEC. 2. CHARTER SCHOOL EXPANSION AND REPLICATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart 1 of part B of title V of 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 7221 et seq.) is amended— 
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(1) by striking section 5212; 
(2) by redesignating section 5210 as section 
5211; and 
(3) by inserting after section 5209 the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘SEC. 5210. CHARTER SCHOOL EXPANSION AND REPLICA-
TION. 
‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section to 
support State efforts to expand and replicate high-quality 
public charter schools to enable such schools to serve addi-
tional students, with a priority to serve those students who 
attend identified schools or schools with a low graduation 
rate. 
‘‘(b) SUPPORT FOR PROVEN CHARTER SCHOOLS AND 
INCREASING THE SUPPLY OF HIGH-QUALITY CHARTER 
SCHOOLS.— 
‘‘(1) 
GRANTS
AUTHORIZED.—From 
the 
amounts appropriated under section 5200 for any 
fiscal year, the Secretary shall award grants, on a 
competitive basis, to eligible entities to enable the el-
igible entities to make subgrants to eligible public 
charter schools under subsection (e)(1) and carry 
out the other activities described in subsection (e), 
in order to allow the eligible public charter schools 
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to serve additional students through the expansion 
and replication of such schools. 
‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF GRANTS.—In determining the 
grant amount to be awarded under this subsection 
to an eligible entity, the Secretary shall consider— 
‘‘(A) the number of eligible public charter 
schools under the jurisdiction or in the service 
area of the eligible entity that are operating; 
‘‘(B) the number of openings for new stu-
dents that could be created in such schools with 
such grant; 
‘‘(C) the number of students eligible for 
free or reduced price lunches under the Richard 
B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 
U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) who are on waiting lists 
for charter schools under the jurisdiction or in 
the service area of the eligible entity, and other 
information with respect to charter schools in 
such jurisdiction or the service area that sug-
gest the interest of parents in charter school 
enrollment for their children; 
‘‘(D) the number of students attending 
identified schools or schools with a low gradua-
tion rate in the State or area where an eligible 
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entity intends to replicate or expand eligible 
public charter schools; and 
‘‘(E) the success of the eligible entity in 
overseeing public charter schools and the likeli-
hood of continued or increased success because 
of the grant under this section. 
‘‘(3) DURATION OF GRANTS.—A grant under 
this section shall be for a period of not more than 
3 years, except that an eligible entity receiving such 
grant may, at the discretion of the Secretary, con-
tinue to expend grant funds after the end of the 
grant period. An eligible entity that received a grant 
under this section may still be eligible to receive a 
grant under this section. 
‘‘(c) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) APPLICATION
REQUIREMENTS.—To be 
considered for a grant under this section, an eligible 
entity shall submit an application to the Secretary at 
such time, in such manner, and containing such in-
formation as the Secretary may require. 
‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The application described in 
paragraph (1) shall include, at a minimum, the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(A) RECORD OF SUCCESS.—Documenta-
tion of the record of success of the eligible enti-
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ty in overseeing or operating public charter 
schools, including— 
‘‘(i) the performance of public charter 
school students on the academic assess-
ments described in section 1111(b)(3) of 
the State where such schools are located, 
including, if available, a measurement of 
academic, longitudinal growth on such as-
sessments (as defined by the Secretary or 
State law) for all students schoolwide and 
as disaggregated by— 
‘‘(I) economic disadvantage; 
‘‘(II) race and ethnicity; 
‘‘(III) disability status; and 
‘‘(IV) status as a student with 
limited English proficiency; 
‘‘(ii) demonstrated success in closing 
historic achievement gaps for the sub-
groups of students described in clause (i); 
‘‘(iii) the status of such schools under 
section 1116 in making adequate yearly 
progress or as identified schools; and 
‘‘(iv) in the case of public charter 
schools that are secondary schools, the 
high school graduation rates and rates of 
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college acceptance, enrollment, and persist-
ence of students, where possible. 
‘‘(B) PLAN.—A plan for— 
‘‘(i) replicating and expanding eligible 
public charter schools operated or overseen 
by the eligible entity; 
‘‘(ii) identifying eligible public charter 
schools, or networks of eligible public char-
ter schools, to receive subgrants under this 
section; 
‘‘(iii) increasing the number of open-
ings in eligible public charter schools for 
students attending identified schools and 
schools with a low graduation rate; 
‘‘(iv) ensuring that eligible public 
charter schools receiving a subgrant under 
this section enroll students through a ran-
dom lottery for admission, unless the char-
ter school is using the subgrant to expand 
the school to serve additional grades, in 
which case such school may reserve seats 
in the additional grades for— 
‘‘(I) each student enrolled in the 
grade preceding each such additional 
grade; 
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‘‘(II) siblings of students enrolled 
in the charter school, if such siblings 
desire to enroll in such grade; and 
‘‘(III) children of the charter 
school’s founders, staff, or employees; 
‘‘(v)(I) in the case of an eligible entity 
described in subparagraph (A) or (C) of 
subsection (k)(4), the manner in which the 
eligible entity will work with identified 
schools and schools with a low graduation 
rate that are eligible to enroll students in 
a 
public 
charter 
school 
receiving 
a 
subgrant under this section and that are 
under the eligible entity’s jurisdiction, and 
the local educational agencies serving such 
schools, to— 
‘‘(aa) engage in community out-
reach, provide information in a lan-
guage that the parents can under-
stand, and communicate with parents 
of students at identified schools and 
schools with a low graduation rate 
who are eligible to attend a public 
charter school receiving a subgrant 
under this section about the oppor-
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and Privacy Act of 1974’), the best prac-
tices, programs, or strategies learned by 
awarding subgrants to eligible public char-
ter schools under this section, with par-
ticular emphasis on the best practices with 
respect to— 
‘‘(I) focusing on closing the 
achievement gap; or 
‘‘(II) successfully addressing the 
education needs of low-income stu-
dents; and 
‘‘(vii) in the case of an eligible entity 
described in subsection (k)(4)(D)— 
‘‘(I) supporting the short-term 
and long-term success of the proposed 
project, by— 
‘‘(aa) developing a multi- 
year 
financial 
and 
operating 
model for the eligible entity; and 
‘‘(bb) including, with the 
plan, 
evidence 
of 
the 
dem-
onstrated commitment of current 
partners, as of the time of the 
application, for the proposed 
project and of broad support 
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from stakeholders critical to the 
project’s long-term success; 
‘‘(II) 
closing 
public 
charter 
schools that do not meet acceptable 
standards of performance; and 
‘‘(III) achieving the objectives of 
the proposed project on time and 
within budget, which shall include the 
use of clearly defined responsibilities, 
timelines, and milestones for accom-
plishing project tasks. 
‘‘(C) CHARTER
SCHOOL
INFORMATION.— 
The number of— 
‘‘(i) eligible public charter schools that 
are operating in the State in which the eli-
gible entity intends to award subgrants 
under this section; 
‘‘(ii) public charter schools approved 
to open or likely to open during the grant 
period in such State; 
‘‘(iii) available openings in eligible 
public charter schools in such State that 
could be created through the replication or 
expansion of such schools if the grant is 
awarded to the eligible entity; 
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‘‘(iv) students on public charter school 
waiting lists (if such lists are available) 
in— 
‘‘(I) the State in which the eligi-
ble entity intends to award subgrants 
under this section; and 
‘‘(II) each local educational agen-
cy serving an eligible public charter 
school that may receive a subgrant 
under this section from the eligible 
entity; and 
‘‘(v) students, and the percentage of 
students, in a local educational agency who 
are attending eligible public charter schools 
that may receive a subgrant under this 
section from the eligible entity. 
‘‘(D) TRADITIONAL
PUBLIC
SCHOOL
IN-
FORMATION.—In the case of an eligible entity 
that is a State educational agency or local edu-
cational agency, a list of the identified schools 
and schools with a low graduation rate under 
the jurisdiction of the eligible entity, including 
the name and location of each such school, the 
number and percentage of students under the 
jurisdiction of the eligible entity who are at-
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tending such school, and such demographic and 
socioeconomic information as the Secretary may 
require. 
‘‘(E) ASSURANCE.—In the case of an eligi-
ble entity described in subsection (k)(4)(A), an 
assurance that the eligible entity will include in 
the 
notifications 
provided 
under 
section 
1116(c)(6) to parents of each student enrolled 
in a school served by a local educational agency 
identified for school improvement or corrective 
action under paragraph (1) or (7) of section 
1116(c), information (in a language that the 
parents can understand) about the eligible pub-
lic charter schools receiving subgrants under 
this section. 
‘‘(3) MODIFICATIONS.—The Secretary may 
modify or waive any information requirement under 
paragraph (2)(C) for an eligible entity that dem-
onstrates that the eligible entity cannot reasonably 
obtain the information. 
‘‘(d) PRIORITIES FOR AWARDING GRANTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In awarding grants under 
this section, the Secretary shall give priority to eligi-
ble entities that— 
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‘‘(A) serve or plan to serve a large percent-
age of low-income students from identified 
schools or public schools with a low graduation 
rate; 
‘‘(B) oversee or plan to oversee one or 
more eligible public charter schools; 
‘‘(C) provide evidence of effective moni-
toring of the academic success of students who 
attend public charter schools under the jurisdic-
tion of the eligible entity; 
‘‘(D) in the case of eligible entities that are 
local educational agencies under State law, have 
a 
cooperative 
agreement 
under 
section 
1116(b)(11); and 
‘‘(E) are under the jurisdiction of, or plan 
to award subgrants under this section in, a 
State that— 
‘‘(i) ensures that all public charter 
schools (including such schools served by a 
local educational agency and such schools 
considered to be a local educational agency 
under State law) receive, in a timely man-
ner, the Federal, State, and local funds to 
which such schools are entitled under ap-
plicable law; 
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‘‘(ii) does not have a cap that restricts 
the growth of public charter schools in the 
State; 
‘‘(iii) provides funding (such as cap-
ital aid distributed through a formula or 
access to revenue generated bonds, and in-
cluding funding for school facilities) on a 
per-pupil basis to public charter schools 
commensurate with the amount of funding 
(including funding for school facilities) 
provided to traditional public schools; 
‘‘(iv) provides strong evidence of sup-
port for public charter schools and has in 
place innovative policies that support aca-
demically successful charter school growth; 
‘‘(v) authorizes public charter schools 
to offer early childhood education pro-
grams, including prekindergarten, in ac-
cordance with State law; 
‘‘(vi) authorizes all public charter 
schools to serve as school food authorities; 
‘‘(vii) ensures that each public charter 
school in the State— 
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‘‘(I) has a high degree of auton-
omy over the public charter school’s 
budget and expenditures; 
‘‘(II) has a written performance 
contract with an authorized public 
chartering agency that ensures that 
the school has an independent gov-
erning board with a high degree of 
autonomy; and 
‘‘(III) in the case of an eligible 
public charter school receiving a 
subgrant under this section, amends 
its charter to reflect the growth activi-
ties described in subsection (e); 
‘‘(viii) has an appeals process for the 
denial of an application for a charter 
school; 
‘‘(ix) provides that an authorized pub-
lic chartering agency that is not a local 
educational agency, such as a State char-
tering board, is available for each indi-
vidual or entity seeking to operate a char-
ter school pursuant to such State law; 
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‘‘(bb) plan for identifying 
and successfully (in compliance 
with all applicable laws and regu-
lations) serving students with 
disabilities, students who are 
English language learners, stu-
dents who are academically be-
hind their peers, and gifted stu-
dents; and 
‘‘(cc) capacity and capability 
to successfully launch and subse-
quently operate a public charter 
school, including the backgrounds 
of the individuals applying to the 
agency to operate such school 
and any record of such individ-
uals operating a school; 
‘‘(III) the authorized public char-
tering agency’s policies for renewing, 
not renewing, and revoking a charter 
school’s charter, including the role of 
student academic achievement in such 
decisions; 
‘‘(IV) the authorized public char-
tering agency’s transparent, timely, 
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and effective process for closing down 
academically unsuccessful public char-
ter schools; 
‘‘(V) the academic performance 
of each operating public charter 
school authorized or approved by the 
authorized public chartering agency, 
including the information reported by 
the State in the State annual report 
card under section 1111(h)(1)(C) for 
such school; 
‘‘(VI) the status of the author-
ized public chartering agency’s charter 
school portfolio, by identifying all 
charter schools served by the public 
chartering agency in the categories of 
approved (but not yet open), oper-
ating, renewed, transferred, revoked, 
not renewed, voluntarily closed, or 
never opened; 
‘‘(VII) the authorizing functions 
provided by the authorized public 
chartering agency to the public char-
ter schools it serves, including the 
agency’s operating costs and expenses 
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as detailed through annually audited 
financial statements that conform 
with generally accepted accounting 
principles; and 
‘‘(VIII) the services purchased 
(such as accounting, transportation, 
and data management and analysis) 
from the authorized public chartering 
agency by the public charter schools 
authorized or approved by such agen-
cy, including an itemized accounting 
of the actual costs of such services; 
and 
‘‘(xii) have or will have (within 1 year 
after receiving a grant under this section) 
a State policy and process for overseeing 
and reviewing the effectiveness and quality 
of the State’s authorized public chartering 
agencies, including— 
‘‘(I) a process for reviewing and 
evaluating the performance of the au-
thorized public chartering agencies in 
authorizing 
or 
approving 
charter 
schools, including a process that en-
ables the authorized public chartering 
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agencies to respond to any State con-
cerns; and 
‘‘(II) any other necessary policies 
to ensure effective charter school au-
thorizing in the State in accordance 
with the principles of quality charter 
school authorizing, as determined by 
the State in consultation with the 
charter school community and stake-
holders. 
‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL PRIORITIES.—In addition to 
giving priority for grants under this section to eligi-
ble entities that meet the requirements of paragraph 
(1), the Secretary may also give priority to eligible 
entities that— 
‘‘(A) provide online-learning blended with 
learning in a physical school building; or 
‘‘(B) propose to replicate or expand a 
model that serves students with disabilities and 
students with status as students with limited 
English proficiency at rates comparable to the 
rates of such students served in the local edu-
cational agencies serving the schools of the eli-
gible entities. 
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‘‘(3) SPECIAL
RULE.—In awarding grants 
under this section, the Secretary may determine how 
the priorities described in paragraph (1) and (2) will 
apply to the different types of eligible entities de-
fined in subsection (k)(4). 
‘‘(e) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity receiving a 
grant under this section shall use the grant funds to award 
subgrants in accordance with paragraph (1), and may use 
such funds to establish a reserve account in accordance 
with paragraph (2) or to cover administrative tasks, dis-
semination activities, and outreach in accordance with 
paragraph (3). 
‘‘(1) SUBGRANTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity shall 
use grant funds under this section to award 
subgrants, in such amount as the eligible entity 
determines is appropriate, to eligible public 
charter schools to replicate or expand such 
schools. 
‘‘(B) APPLICATION.—An eligible public 
charter school desiring to receive a subgrant 
under this subsection shall submit an applica-
tion to the eligible entity at such time, in such 
manner, and containing such information as the 
eligible entity may require. 
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‘‘(C) USES OF FUNDS.—An eligible public 
charter school receiving a subgrant under this 
subsection shall use the subgrant funds to pro-
vide for an increase in the school’s enrollment 
of students through the replication or expansion 
of the school, which may include use of funds 
to— 
‘‘(i) support the physical expansion of 
school buildings, including financing the 
development of new buildings and cam-
puses to meet increased enrollment needs; 
‘‘(ii) pay costs associated with hiring 
additional teachers to serve additional stu-
dents; 
‘‘(iii) provide transportation to addi-
tional students to and from the school, in-
cluding providing transportation to stu-
dents who transfer to the school under a 
cooperative agreement established under 
section 1116(b)(11); 
‘‘(iv) purchase instructional materials, 
implement teacher and principal profes-
sional development programs, and hire ad-
ditional non-teaching staff; and 
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