Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Empower Charter School Educators to Lead Act”.
Empower Charter School Educators to Lead Act
A BILL
To modify the program of grants to support high-quality charter schools.
Sec. 2 Grants to support high-quality charter schools
Section 4303 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7221b) is amended—
in subsection (b)—
in paragraph (1)(C), by striking “and” after the semicolon;
in paragraph (2)—
by inserting “which may include assistance in locating and accessing a facility and funding a revolving loan fund or a similar mechanism for expenses under subsection (h) prior to an eligible applicant receiving reimbursement,” after “paragraph (1),”; and
by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(3) provide pre-charter planning subgrants (in amounts of no more than $100,000 per prospective applicant) to charter school developers that have not yet submitted an application for a charter to an authorized public chartering agency, or to nonprofit or public entities for the provision of financial support to such developers, provided that such developers—
“(A) are led by educators—
“(i) with not less than 54 months of school-based experience (which may include experience in teaching in or administering after school or summer school programs); and
“(ii) that have demonstrated leadership competencies and success with students, as determined by the State entity; and
“(B) have successfully completed the development of an initial plan for opening a public charter school, as evidenced by a description of the educational needs of the community in which the proposed charter school will be located and how the planned charter school will be suited to meet those needs.”
in subsection (c)(1)—
in subparagraph (A), by striking “90 percent” and inserting “80 percent”;
in subparagraph (B)—
by striking “not less than 7 percent” and inserting “not more than 10 percent”; and
by striking “and” after the semicolon;
by redesignating subparagraph (C) as subparagraph (D);
in subparagraph (D), as redesignated by subparagraph (C), by striking “3 percent” and inserting “5 percent”; and
by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following:
“(C) reserve not more than 5 percent of such funds to carry out the activities described in subsection (b)(3); and”