I 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 10 
To amend the charter school program under the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 1, 2014 
Mr. KLINE (for himself and Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
the Workforce 
A BILL 
To amend the charter school program under the Elementary 
and Secondary Education Act of 1965. 
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 ‘‘Success and Oppor-
tunity through Quality Charter Schools Act’’. 
SEC. 2. REFERENCES. 
Except as otherwise specifically provided, whenever in 
this Act a section or other provision is amended or re-
pealed, such amendment or repeal shall be considered to 
be made to that section or other provision of the Elemen-
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tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
6301 et seq.). 
SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 
Section 5201 (20 U.S.C. 7221) is amended to read 
as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 5201. PURPOSE. 
‘‘It is the purpose of this subpart to— 
‘‘(1) improve the United States education sys-
tem and education opportunities for all Americans 
by supporting innovation in public education in pub-
lic school settings that prepare students to compete 
and contribute to the global economy; 
‘‘(2) provide financial assistance for the plan-
ning, program design, and initial implementation of 
charter schools; 
‘‘(3) expand the number of high-quality charter 
schools available to students across the Nation; 
‘‘(4) evaluate the impact of such schools on stu-
dent achievement, families, and communities, and 
share best practices between charter schools and 
other public schools; 
‘‘(5) encourage States to provide support to 
charter schools for facilities financing in an amount 
more nearly commensurate to the amount the States 
have typically provided for traditional public schools; 
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‘‘(6) improve student services to increase oppor-
tunities for students with disabilities, limited 
English proficient students, and other traditionally 
underserved students to attend charter schools and 
meet challenging State academic achievement stand-
ards; 
‘‘(7) support efforts to strengthen the charter 
school authorizing process to improve performance 
management, 
including 
transparency, 
oversight, 
monitoring, and evaluation of such schools; and 
‘‘(8) support quality accountability and trans-
parency in the operational performance of all au-
thorized public chartering agencies, which include 
State educational agencies, local educational agen-
cies, and other authorizing entities.’’. 
SEC. 4. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 
Section 5202 (20 U.S.C. 7221a) is amended to read 
as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 5202. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—This subpart authorizes the Sec-
retary to carry out a charter school program that supports 
charter schools that serve elementary school and sec-
ondary school students by— 
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‘‘(1) supporting the startup of charter schools, 
and the replication and expansion of high-quality 
charter schools; 
‘‘(2) assisting charter schools in accessing cred-
it to acquire and renovate facilities for school use; 
and 
‘‘(3) carrying out national activities to sup-
port— 
‘‘(A) charter school development; 
‘‘(B) the dissemination of best practices of 
charter schools for all schools; 
‘‘(C) the evaluation of the impact of the 
program on schools participating in the pro-
gram; and 
‘‘(D) stronger charter school authorizing. 
‘‘(b) FUNDING
ALLOTMENT.—From the amount 
made available under section 5211 for a fiscal year, the 
Secretary shall— 
‘‘(1) reserve 15 percent to support charter 
school facilities assistance under section 5204; 
‘‘(2) reserve not more than 10 percent to carry 
out national activities under section 5205; and 
‘‘(3) use the remaining amount after the Sec-
retary reserves funds under paragraphs (1) and (2) 
to carry out section 5203. 
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‘‘(c) PRIOR GRANTS AND SUBGRANTS.—The recipi-
ent of a grant or subgrant under this subpart or subpart 
2, as such subpart was in effect on the day before the 
date of enactment of the Success and Opportunity through 
Quality Charter Schools Act, shall continue to receive 
funds in accordance with the terms and conditions of such 
grant or subgrant.’’. 
SEC. 5. GRANTS TO SUPPORT HIGH-QUALITY CHARTER 
SCHOOLS. 
Section 5203 (20 U.S.C. 7221b) is amended to read 
as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 5203. GRANTS TO SUPPORT HIGH-QUALITY CHARTER 
SCHOOLS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—From the amount reserved 
under section 5202(b)(3), the Secretary shall award 
grants to State entities having applications approved pur-
suant to subsection (f) to enable such entities to— 
‘‘(1) award subgrants to eligible applicants for 
opening and preparing to operate— 
‘‘(A) new charter schools; 
‘‘(B) replicated, high-quality charter school 
models; or 
‘‘(C) 
expanded, 
high-quality 
charter 
schools; and 
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‘‘(2) provide technical assistance to eligible ap-
plicants and authorized public chartering agencies in 
carrying out the activities described in paragraph (1) 
and work with authorized public chartering agencies 
in the State to improve authorizing quality. 
‘‘(b) STATE USES OF FUNDS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State entity receiving a 
grant under this section shall— 
‘‘(A) use not less than 90 percent of the 
grant funds to award subgrants to eligible ap-
plicants, in accordance with the quality charter 
school program described in the State entity’s 
application approved pursuant to subsection (f), 
for the purposes described in subparagraphs 
(A) through (C) of subsection (a)(1); 
‘‘(B) reserve not less than 7 percent of 
such funds to carry out the activities described 
in subsection (a)(2); and 
‘‘(C) reserve not more than 3 percent of 
such funds for administrative costs which may 
include technical assistance. 
‘‘(2) CONTRACTS AND GRANTS.—A State entity 
may use a grant received under this section to carry 
out the activities described in subparagraphs (A) 
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and (B) of paragraph (1) directly or through grants, 
contracts, or cooperative agreements. 
‘‘(3) RULE
OF
CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 
this Act shall prohibit the Secretary from awarding 
grants to States that use a weighted lottery to give 
slightly better chances for admission to all or a sub-
set of educationally disadvantaged students if the 
use of weighted lotteries in favor of such students is 
not prohibited by State law, and such State law is 
consistent with laws described in section 5210(1)(G). 
‘‘(c) PROGRAM PERIODS; PEER REVIEW; GRANT 
NUMBER AND AMOUNT; DIVERSITY OF PROJECTS; WAIV-
ERS.— 
‘‘(1) PROGRAM PERIODS.— 
‘‘(A) GRANTS.—A grant awarded by the 
Secretary to a State entity under this section 
shall be for a period of not more than 5 years. 
‘‘(B) SUBGRANTS.—A subgrant awarded 
by a State entity under this section shall be for 
a period of not more than 5 years, of which an 
eligible applicant may use not more than 18 
months for planning and program design. 
‘‘(2) PEER REVIEW.—The Secretary, and each 
State entity receiving a grant under this section, 
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shall use a peer review process to review applications 
for assistance under this section. 
‘‘(3) GRANT AWARDS.—The Secretary shall— 
‘‘(A) for each fiscal year for which funds 
are appropriated under section 5211— 
‘‘(i) award not less than 3 grants 
under this section; 
‘‘(ii) wholly fund each grant awarded 
under this section, without making con-
tinuation awards; and 
‘‘(iii) fully obligate the funds appro-
priated for the purpose of awarding grants 
under this section in the fiscal year for 
which such grants are awarded; and 
‘‘(B) midway through the grant period of 
each grant awarded under this section to a 
State entity, review the grant to determine 
whether the State entity will meet the agreed 
upon uses of funds in the State entity’s applica-
tion, and if not, reallot the grant funds that will 
not be used to other State entities during the 
succeeding grant competition under this section. 
‘‘(4) DIVERSITY OF PROJECTS.—Each State en-
tity receiving a grant under this section shall award 
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subgrants under this section in a manner that, to 
the extent possible, ensures that such subgrants— 
‘‘(A) are distributed throughout different 
areas, including urban, suburban, and rural 
areas; and 
‘‘(B) will assist charter schools rep-
resenting a variety of educational approaches. 
‘‘(5) WAIVERS.—The Secretary may waive any 
statutory or regulatory requirement over which the 
Secretary exercises administrative authority except 
any such requirement relating to the elements of a 
charter school described in section 5210(1), if— 
‘‘(A) the waiver is requested in an ap-
proved application under this section; and 
‘‘(B) the Secretary determines that grant-
ing such a waiver will promote the purpose of 
this subpart. 
‘‘(d) LIMITATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) GRANTS.—A State entity may not receive 
more than 1 grant under this section for a 5-year 
period. 
‘‘(2) SUBGRANTS.—An eligible applicant may 
not receive more than 1 subgrant under this section 
per individual charter school for a 5-year period, un-
less the eligible applicant demonstrates to the State 
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entity not less than 3 years of improved educational 
results in the areas described in subparagraphs (A) 
and (D) of section 5210(6) for students enrolled in 
such charter school. 
‘‘(e) APPLICATIONS.—A State entity desiring to re-
ceive a grant under this section shall submit an application 
to the Secretary at such time and in such manner as the 
Secretary may require. The application shall include the 
following: 
‘‘(1) DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM.—A descrip-
tion of the State entity’s objectives under this sec-
tion and how the objectives of the program will be 
carried out, including a description— 
‘‘(A) of how the State entity— 
‘‘(i) will support the opening of new 
charter schools, replicated, high-quality 
charter school models, and expanded, high- 
quality charter schools, and a description 
of the proposed number of each type of 
charter school or model to be opened under 
the State entity’s program; 
‘‘(ii) 
will 
inform 
eligible 
charter 
schools, developers, and authorized public 
chartering agencies of the availability of 
funds under the program; 
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‘‘(F) of how the State entity will support 
diverse charter school models, including models 
that serve rural communities. 
‘‘(2) ASSURANCES.—Assurances, including a 
description of how the assurances will be met, 
that— 
‘‘(A) each charter school receiving funds 
under the State entity’s program will have a 
high degree of autonomy over budget and oper-
ations; 
‘‘(B) the State entity will support charter 
schools in meeting the educational needs of 
their students as described in paragraph 
(1)(A)(x); 
‘‘(C) the State entity will ensure that the 
authorized public chartering agency of any 
charter school that receives funds under the 
State entity’s program— 
‘‘(i) adequately monitors each charter 
school in recruiting, enrolling, and meeting 
the needs of all students, including stu-
dents with disabilities and English learn-
ers; and 
‘‘(ii) ensures that each charter school 
solicits and considers input from parents 
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