Letlow, Tokuda Legislation Expands Charter School Access
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Julia Letlow (R-LA) and Congresswoman Jill Tokuda(D-HI) are introducing legislation to better assist states in expanding learning opportunities for students through charter schools.
The Empower Charter School Educators to Lead Act would provide states with more support for charter school development by providing more flexible use of existing federal funding to support the application process. Currently, states cannot use federal funding available from the Charter Schools Program (CSP) for the planning phase of new charter schools.
The legislation would make it easier for prospective applicants to overcome a lengthy and complex application process by allowing states to use up to 5% of their CSP grant funding for small planning grants for experienced educators applying to open charter schools.
“A quality education is the silver bullet for our students to learn, grow, and thrive in our future workforce. By providing more support for charter schools, we can ensure that every child has a learning environment that sets them up for success,” said Congresswoman Julia Letlow.
“When educators have the tools and freedom to meet their students’ unique needs, kids do better. Public charter schools play a vital role in helping our students succeed by offering more flexible, innovative, and personalized learning environments,” said Rep. Tokuda. “That’s why I’m proud to join Rep. Letlow in reintroducing the Empower Charter School Educators to Lead Act, to cut through the red tape that makes it hard to open new public charter schools. This bill helps unlock funding and resources for educators who want to bring high-quality, enriching educational opportunities to their communities, especially in rural areas like Hawai‘i."
“Charter schools have become a popular option for many families and it’s easy to see why—high graduation rates and test scores in both reading and math. In some areas, demand for charter schools outpaces the number of spots available, leaving students to depend on a lottery system to escape underperforming school systems. This legislation will offer support to new charter school applications and help increase the number of charter schools to meet the educational demands of families,” said Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI).
“Starting a new charter school from scratch is very hard,” said Starlee Coleman, President & CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. “The application process takes years, and it often requires teachers and school administrators who want to start new schools to leave their jobs to focus full time on their new school application. That is a financial burden many educators simply cannot take on. This change to the CSP law will allow existing federal funds to be used to support experienced educators in realizing their dream of starting a school that will serve their community.”
Original cosponsors of the legislation include Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA), Rep. Ed Case (D-HI), and Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ).