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Fact Sheets

The Success and Opportunity through Quality Charter Schools Act

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 1, 2014
 
THE PROBLEM:

Charter schools empower parents to play a more active role in their child’s education, open doors for teachers to pioneer fresh teaching methods, encourage state and local innovation, and help students escape underperforming schools. Despite high demand and an estimated one million students' names on charter school wait lists, barriers to quality charter school growth exist.
  • The federal government supports the opening of public charter schools through competitive grants issued by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act’s Charter Schools Program. However, the current Charter School Program lacks the authorization to support funding for the startup, replication or expansion of quality charter schools.

  • Few provisions exist to address charter school quality and support successful charter school authorizations.

  • Many charter schools also face difficulty in securing facilities to house their schools, and, once they do, often have difficulty obtaining the funds necessary to build or rehabilitate facilities.

THE SOLUTION:

As we work to improve the nation’s education system and raise student achievement levels, much can be gained from expanding access to quality charter schools. That’s why House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) and Ranking Member George Miller (D-CA) introduced the Success and Opportunity through Quality Charter Schools Act (H.R. 10). This important legislation will strengthen the Charter School Program and allow successful charter school models to be replicated nationwide.

THE SUCCESS AND OPPORTUNITY THROUGH QUALITY CHARTER SCHOOLS ACT:

  • Promotes state efforts to develop and expand charter schools.

  • Improves the Charter School Program authorizing to support the replication and expansion of successful charter models.

  • Supports the sharing of best practices between charters and traditional public schools.

  • Encourages charter schools to reach out to special populations, including at-risk students, students with disabilities, and English learners.

The Success and Opportunity through Quality Charter Schools Act will facilitate the establishment of quality charter schools and support choice, innovation, and excellence in education.

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