U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA) on Nov. 15 proposed bipartisan legislation that would modify a federal program of grants to support the development of high-quality charter schools.
Rep. Letlow sponsored the Empower Charter School Educators to Lead Act, H.R. 6418, alongside lead original cosponsor U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda (D-HI) to authorize state entities that receive grants through the Charter Schools Program (CSP) to use a portion of their funding to support the application process and development of new charter schools, according to a bill summary provided by the lawmakers.
“Charter schools provide children with excellent opportunities in education,” Rep. Letlow said. “I’m proud to introduce this critical legislation with my colleagues … to support high-quality charter school developers so we can continue to expand learning opportunities for our students.”
Specifically, H.R. 6418 would authorize state entities to make pre-planning awards of up to $100,000 to the prospective charter applicants; allow them to use up to 5 percent of their CSP grant funds for their pre-planning awards; and increase the cap on the percentage of state entities grant funds that can be used for state technical assistance and quality improvement from 7 percent to 10 percent, the summary says.
Additionally, H.R. 6418 would confirm that states’ technical assistance activities may include assistance to charter schools for locating and accessing a facility, states the summary.
“All of our students deserve the best when it comes to their education, and who knows better than our teachers,” said Rep. Tokuda. “That’s why I’m proud to join Rep. Letlow in introducing the Empowering Educators to Lead Act, which would provide more equitable access to pre-planning resources for educators looking to start public charter schools.”
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools has endorsed the measure, which is the companion bill to the same-named bill led by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) in his chamber.