S.Amdt. 6466

This amendment, submitted by Mr. Cornyn and Mr. Booker, aims to change Section 4303 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide support for high-quality charter schools.

Purpose and Changes

The amendment seeks to add and modify the following:

• Technical and Financial Assistance: It allows for providing technical assistance to eligible applicants and chartering agencies. It also lets State entities, at their discretion, fund revolving loan funds or help applicants find and access facilities.

• Pre-Charter Planning Subgrants: It adds the ability to provide subgrants of up to $100,000 to charter school developers. To qualify, developers must:

  • Intend to apply to a chartering agency or nonprofit/public entities for support.
  • Be led by educators with at least 54 months of school-based experience and demonstrated leadership success.
  • Complete an initial plan that describes the community's educational needs and how the school will meet them.

• Funding Adjustments: The amendment changes the percentage of fund allocations, including:

  • Changing "90 percent" to "80 percent" in subsection (c)(1)(A).
  • Changing "not less than 7 percent" to "not more than 10 percent" in subsection (c)(1)(B).
  • Changing "3 percent" to "5 percent" in the redesignated subparagraph (D).
  • Reserving up to 5 percent of funds for the pre-charter planning subgrants.

• Clarifications: It updates several sections of the text to specify that certain rules and references apply specifically to "subsection (b)(1)" rather than the entire section.