I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2616
To amend titles VI and X of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965 to improve and expand charter schools.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 6, 1997
Mr. RIGGS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Education and the Workforce
A BILL
To amend titles VI and X of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 to improve and expand charter
schools.
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 ‘‘Charter Schools
Amendments Act of 1997’’.
SEC 2. INNOVATIVE CHARTER SCHOOLS.
(a) Title VI of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7301 et seq.) is amended—
(1) in section 6201(a)—
(A) in paragraph (1)(C), by striking ‘‘and’’
after the semicolon;
(B) by redesignating paragraph (2) as
paragraph (3); and
(C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the
following:
‘‘(2) support for planning, designing, and initial
implementation of charter schools as described in
part C of title X; and’’; and
(2) in section 6301(b)—
(A) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘and’’
after the semicolon;
(B) by redesignating paragraph (8) as
paragraph (9); and
(C) by inserting after paragraph (7) the
following:
‘‘(8) planning, designing, and initial implemen-
tation of charter schools as described in part C of
title X; and’’.
SEC. 3. CHARTER SCHOOLS.
Part C of title X of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 is amended to read as follows:
‘‘PART C—PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS
‘‘SEC. 10301. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
‘‘(1) enhancement of parent and student choices
among public schools can assist in promoting com-
prehensive educational reform and give more stu-
dents the opportunity to learn to challenging State
content standards and challenging State student
performance standards, if sufficiently diverse and
high-quality choices, and genuine opportunities to
take advantage of such choices, are available to all
students;
‘‘(2) useful examples of such choices can come
from States and communities that experiment with
methods of offering teachers and other educators,
parents, and other members of the public the oppor-
tunity to design and implement new public schools
and to transform existing public schools;
‘‘(3) charter schools are a mechanism for test-
ing a variety of educational approaches and should,
therefore, be exempted from restrictive rules and
regulations if the leadership of such schools commits
to attaining specific and ambitious educational re-
sults for educationally disadvantaged students con-
sistent with challenging State content standards and
challenging State student performance standards for
all students;
‘‘(4) charter schools, as such schools have been
implemented in a few States, can embody the nec-
essary mixture of enhanced choice, exemption from
restrictive regulations, and a focus on learning
gains;
‘‘(5) charter schools, including charter schools
that are schools-within-schools, can help reduce
school size, which reduction can have a significant
effect on student achievement;
‘‘(6) the Federal Government should test, evalu-
ate, and disseminate information on a variety of
charter school models in order to help demonstrate
the benefits of this promising educational reform;
and
‘‘(7) there is a strong documented need for
cash-flow assistance to charter schools that are
starting up, because State and local operating reve-
nue streams are not immediately available.
‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this part are—
‘‘(1) to provide financial assistance for the plan-
ning, design, initial implementation of charter
schools; and
‘‘(2) to facilitate the ability of States and local-
ities to increase the number of charter schools in the
Nation to not less than 3,000 by the year 2000.
‘‘SEC. 10302. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may award grants
to State educational agencies having applications approved
pursuant to section 10303 to enable such agencies to con-
duct a charter school grant program in accordance with
this part.
‘‘(b) SPECIAL RULE.—If a State educational agency
elects not to participate in the program authorized by this
part or does not have an application approved under sec-
tion 10303, the Secretary may award a grant to an eligible
applicant that serves such State and has an application
approved pursuant to section 10303.
‘‘(c) PROGRAM PERIODS.—
‘‘(1) GRANTS TO STATES.—
‘‘(A) INITIAL GRANTS.—Grants awarded to
State educational agencies under this part for
planning, design, or initial implementation of
charter schools, shall be awarded for a period of
not more than 5 years.
‘‘(B) EXTENSION.—Any eligible applicant
that has received a grant or subgrant under
this part prior to October 1, 1997, shall be eli-
gible to receive an additional grant for a period
not to exceed 2 years in accordance with this
section.
‘‘(2) GRANTS TO ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.—
‘‘(A) INITIAL
GRANTS.—Grants awarded
by the Secretary to eligible applicants or sub-
grants awarded by State educational agencies
to eligible applicants under this part shall be
awarded for planning, design, or initial imple-
mentation of charter schools, for a period of not
to exceed more than 5 years, of which the eligi-
ble applicant may use—
‘‘(i) not more than 2.5 years for plan-
ning and program design; and
‘‘(ii) not more than 4 years for the
initial implementation of a charter school.
‘‘(B) EXTENSION.—Any eligible applicant
that has received a grant of subgrant under this
part prior to October 1, 1997, shall be eligible
to receive an additional grant for a period not
to exceed 2 years in accordance with this sec-
tion.
‘‘(d) LIMITATION.—The Secretary shall not award
more than one grant and State educational agencies shall
not award more than one subgrant under this part to sup-
port a particular charter school.
‘‘(e) PRIORITY AND REQUIREMENTS.—
‘‘(1) PRIORITY.—
‘‘(A) FISCAL YEARS 1998, 1999, AND 2000.—
In awarding grants under this part for any of
the fiscal years 1998, 1999, and 2000 from
funds appropriated under section 10310 that
are in excess of $51,000,000 for the fiscal year,
the Secretary shall give priority to State edu-
cational agencies in accordance with subpara-
graph (C).
‘‘(B) SUCCEEDING
FISCAL
YEARS.—In
awarding grants under this part for fiscal year
2001 or any succeeding fiscal year from any
funds appropriated under section 10310, the
Secretary shall consider the number of charter
schools in such State and shall give priority to
State educational agencies in accordance with
subparagraph (C).
‘‘(C) 
PRIORITY
ORDER.—In 
awarding
grants under subparagraphs A and B, the Sec-
retary shall, in the order listed, give priority to
a State that—
‘‘(i) meets all requirements of para-
graph (2);
‘‘(ii) meets 2 requirements of para-
graph (2); and
‘‘(iii) meets 1 requirement of para-
graph (2).
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The requirements re-
ferred to in paragraph (1)(C) are as follows:
‘‘(A) The State law regarding charter
schools provides that for the purposes of allot-
ting funds by formula for Federal education
programs each charter school is treated in a fis-
cally autonomous manner;
‘‘(B) The State law regarding charter
schools provides that not less than 1 chartering
authority in the State allows for an increase in
the number of charter schools from 1 year to
the next year; and
‘‘(C) The State law regarding charter
schools provides for periodic review and evalua-
tion by the authorized public chartering agency
of each charter school to determine whether the
school is meeting or exceeding the academic
performance requirements and goals for charter
schools as set forth under State law or the
school’s charter.
‘‘SEC. 10303. APPLICATIONS.
‘‘(a) APPLICATIONS FROM STATE AGENCIES.—Each
State educational agency desiring a grant from the Sec-
retary under this part shall submit to the Secretary an
application at such time, in such manner, and containing
or accompanied by such information as the Secretary may
require.
‘‘(b) CONTENTS OF A STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY
APPLICATION.—Each application submitted pursuant to
subsection (a) shall—
‘‘(1) describe the objectives of the State edu-
cational agency’s charter school grant program and
a description of how such objectives will be fulfilled,
including steps taken by the State educational agen-
cy to inform teachers, parents, and communities of
the State educational agency’s charter school grant
program;
‘‘(2) describe how the State educational agency
will inform each charter school of available Federal
programs and funds that each such school is eligible
to receive and ensure that each such school receives
its commensurate share of Federal education funds
allocated by formula; and
‘‘(3) contain assurances that the State edu-
cational agency will require each eligible applicant
desiring to receive a subgrant to submit an applica-
tion to the State educational agency containing—
‘‘(A) a description of the educational pro-
gram to be implemented by the proposed char-
ter school, including—
‘‘(i) how the program will enable all
students to meet challenging State student
performance standards;
‘‘(ii) the grade levels or ages of chil-
dren to be served; and
‘‘(iii) the curriculum and instructional
practices to be used;
‘‘(B) a description of how the charter
school will be managed;
‘‘(C) a description of—
‘‘(i) the objectives of the charter
school; and
‘‘(ii) the methods by which the charter
school will determine its progress toward
achieving those objectives;
‘‘(D) a description of the administrative re-
lationship between the charter school and the
authorized public chartering agency;
‘‘(E) a description of how parents and
other members of the community will be in-
volved in the design and implementation of the
charter school;
‘‘(F) a description of how the authorized
public chartering agency will provide for contin-
ued operation of the school once the Federal
grant has expired, if such agency determines
that the school has met the objectives described
in subparagraph (C)(i);
‘‘(G) a request and justification for waivers
of any Federal statutory or regulatory provi-
sions that the applicant believes are necessary
for the successful operation of the charter
school, and a description of any State or local
rules, generally applicable to public schools,
that will be waived for, or otherwise not apply
to, the school;
‘‘(H) a description of how the subgrant
funds or grant funds, as appropriate, will be
used, including a description of how such funds
will be used in conjunction with other Federal
programs administered by the Secretary;
‘‘(I) a description of how students in the
community will be—
‘‘(i) 
informed 
about 
the 
charter
school; and
‘‘(ii) given an equal opportunity to at-
tend the charter school;
‘‘(J) an assurance that the eligible appli-
cant will annually provide the Secretary and the
State educational agency such information as
may be required to determine if the charter
school is making satisfactory progress toward
achieving the objectives described in subpara-
graph (C)(i);
‘‘(K) an assurance that the applicant will
cooperate with the Secretary and the State edu-
cational agency in evaluating the program as-
sisted under this part; and
‘‘(L) such other information and assur-
ances as the Secretary and the State edu-
cational agency may require.
‘‘(c) CONTENTS OF ELIGIBLE APPLICANT APPLICA-
TION.—Each eligible applicant desiring a grant pursuant
to section 10302 shall submit an application to the State
educational agency or Secretary, respectively, at such
time, in such manner, and accompanied by such informa-
tion as the State educational agency or Secretary, respec-
tively, may reasonably require.
‘‘(d) CONTENTS OF APPLICATION.—Each application
submitted pursuant to subsection (c) shall contain—
‘‘(1) the information and assurances described
in subparagraphs (A) through (L) of subsection
(b)(4), except that for purposes of this subsection
subparagraphs (J), (K), and (L) of such subsection
shall be applied by striking ‘‘and the State edu-
cational agency’’ each place such term appears; and
‘‘(2) assurances that the State educational
agency—
‘‘(A) will grant, or will obtain, waivers of
State statutory or regulatory requirements; and
‘‘(B) will assist each subgrantee in the
State in receiving a waiver under section
10304(e).
‘‘SEC. 10304. ADMINISTRATION.
‘‘(a) SELECTION
CRITERIA
FOR
STATE
EDU-
CATIONAL AGENCIES.—The Secretary shall award grants
to State educational agencies under this part on the basis
of the quality of the applications submitted under section
10303(b), after taking into consideration such factors
as—
‘‘(1) the contribution that the charter schools
grant program will make to assisting educationally
disadvantaged and other students to achieving State
content standards and State student performance
standards and, in general, a State’s education im-
provement plan;
‘‘(2) the degree of flexibility afforded by the
State educational agency to charter schools under
the State’s charter schools law;
‘‘(3) the ambitiousness of the objectives for the
State charter school grant program;
‘‘(4) the quality of the strategy for assessing
achievement of those objectives;
‘‘(5) the likelihood that the charter school grant
program will meet those objectives and improve edu-
cational results for students; and
‘‘(6) the number of charter schools created
under this part in the State.
‘‘(b) SELECTION CRITERIA FOR ELIGIBLE APPLI-
CANTS.—The Secretary shall award grants to eligible ap-
plicants under this part on the basis of the quality of the
applications submitted under section 10303(c), after tak-
ing into consideration such factors as—
(1) the quality of the proposed curriculum and
instructional practices;
‘‘(2) the degree of flexibility afforded by the
State educational agency and, if applicable, the local
educational agency to the charter school;
‘‘(3) the extent of community support for the
application;
‘‘(4) the ambitiousness of the objectives for the
charter school;
‘‘(5) the quality of the strategy for assessing
achievement of those objectives; and
‘‘(6) the likelihood that the charter school will
meet those objectives and improve educational re-
sults for students.
‘‘(c) PEER REVIEW.—The Secretary, and each State
educational agency receiving a grant under this part, shall
use a peer review process to review applications for assist-
ance under this part.
‘‘(d) DIVERSITY OF PROJECTS.—The Secretary and
each State educational agency receiving a grant under this
part, shall award subgrants under this part in a manner
that, to the extent possible, ensures that such grants and
subgrants—
‘‘(1) are distributed throughout different areas
of the Nation and each State, including urban and
rural areas; and
‘‘(2) will assist charter schools representing a
variety of educational approaches, such as ap-
proaches designed to reduce school size.
‘‘(e) WAIVERS.—The Secretary may waive any statu-
tory or regulatory requirement over which the Secretary
exercises administrative authority except any such require-
ment relating to the elements of a charter school described
in section 10306(1), if—
‘‘(1) the waiver is requested in an approved ap-
plication under this part; and
‘‘(2) the Secretary determines that granting
such a waiver will promote the purpose of this part.
‘‘(f) USE OF FUNDS.—
‘‘(1) STATE
EDUCATIONAL
AGENCIES.—Each
State educational agency receiving a grant under
this part shall use such grant funds to award sub-
grants to one or more eligible applicants in the State
to enable such applicant to plan and implement a
charter school in accordance with this part.
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.—Each eligible ap-
plicant receiving funds from the Secretary or a State
educational agency shall use such funds to plan and
implement a charter school in accordance with this
part.
‘‘(3) ALLOWABLE
ACTIVITIES
FOR
INITIAL
GRANTS.—An eligible applicant receiving an initial
grant or subgrant under section 10302(c)(2)(A) may
use the grant or subgrant funds only for—
‘‘(A) post-award planning and design of
the educational program, which may include—
‘‘(i) refinement of the desired edu-
cational results and of the methods for
measuring progress toward achieving those
results; and
‘‘(ii) 
professional 
development 
of
teachers and other staff who will work in
the charter school; and
‘‘(B) initial implementation of the charter
school, which may include—
‘‘(i) informing the community about
the school;
‘‘(ii) acquiring necessary equipment
and educational materials and supplies;
‘‘(iii) acquiring or developing curricu-
lum materials; and
‘‘(iv) other initial operational costs
that cannot be met from State or local
sources.
‘‘(4) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Each State
educational agency receiving a grant pursuant to
this part may reserve not more than 5 percent of
such grant funds for administrative expenses associ-
ated with the charter school grant program assisted
under this part.
‘‘SEC. 10305. NATIONAL ACTIVITIES.
‘‘The Secretary shall reserve for each fiscal year the
lesser of 5 percent of the amount appropriated to carry
out this part for the fiscal year or $5,000,000, to carry
out, giving highest priority to carrying paragraph (2), the
following:
‘‘(1) To provide charter schools, either directly
or through the State educational agency, with infor-
mation regarding available education funds that
such school is eligible to receive, and assistance in
applying for Federal education funds which are allo-
cated by formula, including filing deadlines and sub-
mission of applications; and
‘‘(2) To provide, through 1 or more contracts
using a competitive bidding process—
‘‘(i) charter schools with assistance in
accessing private capital;
‘‘(ii) pilot projects in a variety of States to
better understand and improve access to private
capital by charter schools; and
‘‘(iii) collection on a nationwide basis, of
information regarding successful programs that
access private capital for charter schools and
disseminate any such relevant information and
model descriptions to all charter schools.
‘‘(3) To provide for the completion of the 4-year
national study (which began in 1995) of charter
schools and any related evaluations or studies.
‘‘(4)(A) To provide information to applicants
for assistance under this part;
‘‘(B) assistance to applicants for assistance
under this part with the preparation of applications
under section 10303;
‘‘(C) assistance in the planning and startup of
charter schools;
‘‘(D) ongoing training and technical assistance
to existing charter schools; and
‘‘(E) for the dissemination of best practices in
charter schools to other public schools.
‘‘SEC. 10306. PART A, TITLE I ALLOCATION DURING FIRST
YEAR AND FOR SUCCESSIVE ENROLLMENT
EXPANSIONS.
‘‘For purposes of the allocation to schools by the
states or their agencies of funds under part A of title I,
or of any other Federal educational assistance funds, the
Secretary shall take such measures not later than 6
months after the date of the enactment of this part as
are necessary to ensure that every charter school receives
its full share of funding in the calendar year in which it
first opens, notwithstanding the fact that the identity and
characteristics of the students enrolling in that school are
not fully and completely determined until that school actu-
ally opens. These measures shall similarly ensure that
every charter school expanding its enrollment in any sub-
sequent year of operation receives its full share of funding
during the calendar year of such expansion.
‘‘SEC. 10307. RECORDS TRANSFER.
‘‘State and local educational agencies, to the extent
practicable, shall ensure that a student’s records and if
applicable a student’s individualized education program as
defined in section 602(11) of the Individuals with Disabil-
ities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401(11)), are transferred
to the charter school upon transfer of a student to a char-
ter school in accordance with applicable State law.
‘‘SEC. 10308. PAPERWORK REDUCTION.
‘‘To the extent practicable, the Secretary and each
authorized public chartering agency, shall ensure that im-
plementation of this part results in a minimum of paper-
work for any eligible applicant or charter school.
‘‘SEC. 10309. DEFINITIONS.
‘‘As used in this part:
‘‘(1) The term ‘charter school’ means a public
school that—
‘‘(A) in accordance with a specific State
charter school statute, is exempted from signifi-
cant State or local rules that inhibit the flexible
operation and management of public schools,
but not from any rules relating to the other re-
quirements of this paragraph;
‘‘(B) 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;
‘‘(C) operates in pursuit of a specific set of
educational 
objectives 
determined 
by 
the
school’s developer and agreed to by the author-
ized public chartering agency;
‘‘(D) provides a program of elementary or
secondary education, or both;
‘‘(E) 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;
‘‘(F) does not charge tuition;
‘‘(G) complies with the Age Discrimination
Act of 1975, title VI of the Civil Rights Act of
1964, title IX of the Education Amendments of
1972, section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of
1973, and part B of the Individuals with Dis-
abilities Education Act;
‘‘(H) is a school to which parents choose to
send their children, and that admits students
on the basis of a lottery, if more students apply
for admission than can be accommodated;
‘‘(I) agrees to comply with the same Fed-
eral and State audit requirements as do other
elementary and secondary schools in the State,
unless such requirements are specifically waived
for the purpose of this program;
‘‘(J) meets all applicable Federal, State,
and local health and safety requirements;
‘‘(K) operates in accordance with State
law; and
‘‘(L) has a written performance contract
with the authorized public chartering agency in
the State.
‘‘(2) 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 community in which a
charter school project will be carried out.
‘‘(3) The term ‘eligible applicant’ means an au-
thorized public chartering agency participating in a
partnership with a developer to establish a charter
school in accordance with this part.
‘‘(4) The term ‘authorized public chartering
agency’ means a State educational agency, local edu-
cational agency, or other public entity that has the
authority pursuant to State law and approved by the
Secretary to authorize or approve a charter school.
‘‘SEC. 10310. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
‘‘For the purpose of carrying out this part, there are
authorized to be appropriated $100,000,000 for fiscal year
1998 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the
four succeeding fiscal years.’’.
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