Description
The purposes of the Charter School Program, as stated in the
federal authorizing statute, is to
- improve the United States education system and education opportunities for all people in the United States by supporting innovation in public education in public school settings that prepare students to compete and contribute to the global economy and a stronger nation;
- provide financial assistance for the planning, program design, and initial implementation of charter schools;
- increase the number of high-quality charter schools available to students across the United States;
- evaluate the impact of charter schools on student achievement, families, and communities, and share best practices between charter schools and other public schools;
- encourage states to provide support to charter schools for facilities financing in an amount more nearly commensurate to the amount states typically provide for traditional public schools;
- expand opportunities for children with disabilities, English learners, and other traditionally underserved students to attend charter schools and meet the challenging state academic standards;
- support efforts to strengthen the charter school authorizing process to improve performance management, including transparency, oversight and monitoring (including financial audits), and evaluation of such schools; and
- support quality, accountability, and transparency in the operational performance of all authorized public chartering agencies, including state educational agencies, local educational agencies, and other authorizing entities.
Program Office
Office of Education Choice and Family Engagement
Eligible Applicants
An eligible applicant must meet one of the criteria below.
- A new charter school that has received approval from its chartering sponsor (authorizer) to open in the 2025–26 or 2026–27 school year may submit a subgrant application for this funding round (see Appendix A, Definition of Terms Used of the Request for Proposals document).
- A charter school that meets the federal definition of a charter school and is in the first year of operation may apply for an implementation-only subgrant for up to 24 months.
- A new charter school that has not yet received an approval/denial determination from its sponsor (authorizer) may also submit a subgrant application. However, to receive subgrant funds, the charter school must be officially approved by a sponsor (authorizer). Funds will not be awarded until the granting of a charter is confirmed.
Total Funding Available
Approximately $7 Million
Funding Detail
Maximum award of $1,000,000 for Targeted applicants and $850,000 for Typical applicants.
Project Term
36 months for Planning and Implementation subgrants
24 months for Implementation-only subgrants
Application Due Date
March 14, 2025
Technical Assistance Session
The SCDE Charter School Program provided a pre-application technical assistance session on January 15, 2025. Email
Charterschool@ed.sc.gov for access to the recording.
Documents
Request for Proposals (DOCX, 1.49mb – 12/16/2024)
Online Application
Budget Forecast and Narrative (XLSX, 46kb – 12/16/2024)
Program Web Page
Charter Schools Program
