Charter schools are public schools of choice that are created in accordance with state laws and are publicly funded and tuition free. They are operated according to the terms of charters or contracts granted by public chartering agencies, such as local educational agencies (LEAs) or state boards of education. The terms of charters typically provide charter school operators with increased autonomy over the operation of schools, often including exemption from, or flexibility in the application of, many of the state or local regulations otherwise applicable to public schools. This increased autonomy is often granted in exchange for the expectation of increased accountability for results or outcomes. Depending on the specific state law, charter schools may operate as their own LEA or as part of a traditional LEA. Funding for charter schools is normally provided on a per-pupil basis. As opposed to having neighborhood school catchment areas, enrollment in charter schools is normally open to applicants on an LEA-wide or even statewide basis, and parents must actively choose to enroll their children in charter schools. If more students apply for admission to a charter school than can be accommodated, students are normally admitted on the basis of a lottery. The first charter school opened its doors in Minnesota in 1992, following the enactment of the first state charter school law in 1991. Other states followed suit with California, Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, and New Mexico enacting charter school laws in 1992 and 1993. By 1999, 36 states and the District of Columbia had charter school laws. Currently, 42 states and the District of Columbia have charter school laws permitting the authorization of charter schools. The growth in the number of charter schools and the number of students attending charter schools has been commensurate with the increase in the number of charter school state laws. For example, during the 2000-2001 school year, 1,941 charter schools were in operation, serving about 459,000 students. Five years later, 3,689 charter schools were in operation, serving just over 1 million students. During the 2012-2013 school year, there were 6,004 charter schools in operation, accounting for 6.3% of all public schools. These schools served approximately 2.3 million students, accounting for 4.6% of all public school students. Under Title V-B-1 and V-B-2 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), federal support is provided to assist with the opening of new charter schools and for the funding of charter school facilities. Title V-B-1 authorizes the Charter Schools Program, the Per-Pupil Facilities Aid program (more commonly referred to as the State Charter School Facilities Incentive Grants Program), and national activities. Title V-B-2 authorizes the Credit Enhancement Initiatives to Assist Charter School Facility Acquisition, Construction, and Renovation program (more commonly known as the Credit Enhancement program). During the 112 th and 113 th Congresses, Congress has actively pursued both a comprehensive reauthorization of the ESEA, which would include amending and reauthorizing the Title V-B charter school programs, and stand alone legislation to amend and reauthorize the Title V-B programs independent of a comprehensive ESEA reauthorization. Most recently, the House Education and Workforce Committee ordered reported the Success and Opportunity through Quality Charter Schools Act ( H.R. 10 ) by a vote of 36-3 on April 8, 2014. The bill would amend and reauthorize the Title V-B charter school programs. This report is divided into three main parts. The first part examines the federal programs authorized under Title V-B of the ESEA that provide support to public charter schools. Each of the aforementioned programs is considered as is the national activities component of the Charter Schools Program. The second part of the report provides data on program appropriations. The third part of the report provides an overview of recent congressional efforts to reauthorize the charter school programs. The Appendix provides a brief legislative history of the federal charter school programs. Congress enacted the first federal charter school program in the mid-1990s, three years after the passage of the first state charter school law. The Charter Schools Program was initially authorized in 1994 under Title X, Part C of the ESEA with the enactment of the Improving America's Schools Act (IASA; P.L. 103-382 ). The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB; P.L. 107-110 ) subsequently created the two charter school facilities support programs included in current law—State Charter School Facilities Incentive Grants and Credit Enhancement for Charter School Facilities Program. (The Appendix provides a more detailed legislative history of the charter school programs authorized under the ESEA.) The charter school programs are authorized under Title V-B-1 and Title V-B-2 of the ESEA. Title V-B-1 authorizes the Charter Schools Program, national activities, and State Charter School Facilities Incentive Grants. Title V-B-2 authorizes the Credit Enhancement Program. The statutory purpose of Title V-B-1 is to increase national understanding of charter schools by providing funding for the planning, program design, and initial implementation of charter schools; evaluating the effects of such schools, including the effects of charter schools on students, student academic achievement, parents, and staff; expanding the number of "high-quality" charter schools; and encouraging states to provide support to charter schools for facilities financing in an amount that is similar to the amount provided to traditional public schools. The statutory purpose of Title V-B-2 is to provide grants to eligible entities to enable them to demonstrate "innovative credit enhancement initiatives" that will assist charter schools in acquiring, constructing, and renovating facilities. This part of the report provides an overview of each of the three charter school programs included in Title V-B of the ESEA. It also discusses national activities that are authorized under Title V-B-1. It concludes with a discussion of substantive changes that have been made to these programs through annual appropriations acts since FY2010. Several charter school programs and activities are authorized under Title V-B-1. The Charter Schools Program, which provides grants to state educational agencies (SEAs) or, if a state's SEA chooses not to apply for a grant, charter school developers, to support the planning, program design, and initial implementation of public charter schools. Funds may also be used to provide dissemination grants to successful charter schools. The Secretary of Education is authorized to reserve funds for national activities, such as evaluation, technical assistance, and dissemination of best practices. Under the Per-Pupil Facilities Aid Program (more commonly referred to as the State Charter School Facilities Incentive Grants Program), the Secretary provides competitive grants to states to pay the federal share of establishing or enhancing, and administering, a program which will provide facilities assistance to charter schools on a per-pupil basis. Funding for Title V-B-1 programs and activities is provided through an overall appropriation for the Charter Schools Program. The first $200 million appropriated for the Charter Schools Program is reserved for grants to states and eligible applicants for the planning, design, and initial implementation of public charter schools; for the dissemination of information about charter schools; for state revolving loan funds; and for national activities. The next $100 million appropriated is reserved for the State Charter School Facilities Incentive Grants Program, in which competitive grants are awarded to states for the purpose of establishing and administering programs dedicated to funding charter school facilities, in whole or in part, on a per-pupil basis. Fifty percent of funds appropriated in excess of $300 million are reserved for each of the two programs. In addition, the Secretary is permitted to reserve the greater of 5% or $5 million of the annual amount appropriated for Title V-B-1 for national activities, except that the Secretary is prohibited from reserving more than $8 million. However, recent appropriations acts have altered how funds provided for the Charter Schools Programs are shared among other Title V-B programs. For more information on these changes, see the subsequent section on "Substantive Changes to Program Authorizing Legislation Made through Annual Appropriations Acts." The Charter Schools Program authorized by Title V-B-1 provides competitive grants to support the planning, program design, and initial implementation of charter schools, and the dissemination of information on charter schools. For the purposes of the program, Section 5210 defines a charter school as a public school that is exempt from significant state and local rules that inhibit autonomy; is created by a developer as a public school or converted from a traditional public school, and is operated under public direction; operates in pursuit of a specific set of educational objectives established by the school and agreed to by the chartering agency; provides elementary and/or secondary education; is nonsectarian; does not charge tuition; complies with various federal laws, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and civil rights laws; uses a lottery to admit students if oversubscribed; agrees to comply with federal and state audit requirements that apply to other public schools; meets federal, state, and local health and safety requirements; operates in accordance with state law; and has a written performance contract that addresses student performance and state assessments. Under this program, state educational agencies (SEAs) in states with charter school laws may apply for grants. SEAs subsequently make competitive grants to new charter schools. If the SEA in a state that has a charter school law does not opt to apply for a grant, a charter school developer may apply directly to the U.S. Department of Education (ED) for a grant.