Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Fostering Learning and Excellence in Charter Schools Act” or the “FLEX Act”.
Fostering Learning and Excellence in Charter Schools Act
A BILL
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 in order to provide for greater flexibility in the Federal programs supporting the planning and implementation of charter schools.
Sec. 2 Funding allotment
Section 4302 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7221a) is amended—
in subsection (a)(1)—
by striking “and” after “the replication of high-quality charter schools,”; and
by inserting “, and the addition or expansion of programs at high-quality charter schools” after “the expansion of high-quality charter schools”;
in subsection (b)—
in paragraph (1), by striking “12.5 percent” and inserting “at least 15 percent”;
in paragraph (2), by striking “22.5 percent” and inserting “at least 25 percent”; and
in paragraph (3), by striking “use the remaining” and all that follows through “paragraphs (1) and (2)” and inserting “reserve at least 30 percent”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(d) Remaining amounts—In the case of a remaining amount after the Secretary makes reservations of the amount made available under section 4311 for a fiscal year in accordance with paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subsection (b), the Secretary—
“(1) shall use all of such remaining amount to support charter school facilities assistance under section 4304, carry out national activities under section 4305, and carry out section 4303, as described in such paragraphs; and
“(2) may determine how to allocate such remaining amount to support or carry out, as applicable, the programs and activities described in each such section.”
Sec. 3 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)—
in subparagraph (B), by striking “or” at the end;
in subparagraph (C), by striking “and” at the end and inserting “or”; and
by inserting after subparagraph (C) the following:
“(D) support the addition or expansion of curricular or other offerings at a high-quality charter school (provided that such addition or expansion is designed and implemented in a manner that will enable additional students to enroll in and benefit from the school), such as through the adoption of—
“(i) new academic programs or delivery models;
“(ii) personalized learning; or
“(iii) a new curricular approach; and”
in paragraph (2), by inserting “, including costs to provide such assistance,” after “provide technical assistance”;
in subsection (c)—
in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting “, over the course of the grant period described in subsection (d)(1)(A)” after “shall”; and
in paragraph (3), by adding at the end the following:
“(C) Single-sex schools and services—Nothing in this part shall be construed to prohibit schools from providing educational services to students of a single sex.”
in subsection (d)—
in the heading of such subsection, by inserting “Advance Payments; ” after “Peer Review; ”;
in paragraph (1)(B), by striking “of which” and all that follows through “program design” and inserting “of which an eligible applicant may use not more than a period of time determined by the State entity (which may not exceed 2 years) for planning and program design”;
in paragraph (2), by striking “The Secretary, and each State entity awarding subgrants under this section, shall” and inserting “The Secretary shall, and each State entity awarding subgrants under this section may,”; and
by amending paragraph (3) to read as follows:
“(3) Advance payments—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary shall take such steps as are necessary to ensure that—
“(A) an eligible applicant awarded a subgrant by a State entity under this section may request advance payments of subgrant funds for the purposes described in subsection (b)(1), and upon such request, such State entity shall provide advance payments of such funds awarded to the eligible applicant in accordance with section 200.305(b)(1) of title 2, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations);
“(B) a State entity shall be provided with advance payments of grant funds in accordance with section 200.305(b)(1) of title 2, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations) in an amount sufficient to provide advance payments to an eligible applicant under subparagraph (A); and
“(C) mutually agreed upon funding techniques, such as those described in part 205.12 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations), are in place with States or State entities, as appropriate, to receive funds under this section in a manner that permits a State entity to receive advance payments of grant funds, and provide to eligible applicants advance payments of subgrant funds, in accordance with subparagraphs (A) and (B).”
in subsection (e)(1), by striking “is currently using” and inserting “has not obligated all funds received pursuant to”;
in subsection (f)—
in paragraph (1)—
in subparagraph (A)—
by amending clause (i) to read as follows:
“(i) support the opening, expansion, and strengthening of charter schools through the startup of new charter schools, the replication of high-quality charter schools, the expansion of high-quality charter schools, and the addition of programs in high-quality schools, which shall include an initial projection (which may not be used to determine a State entity’s allocation of subgrant funds if the State entity determines that an alternative allocation would better meet the purposes of this program) of—
“(I) the number of charter schools to be opened through the startup of new charter schools under the program;
“(II) the number of charter schools to be opened as a result of the replication of a high-quality charter school under the program; or
“(III) the number of high-quality charter schools to be expanded under the program;”
in subclause (II) of clause (vi), by striking “in a manner consistent with the eligible applicant’s application for such subgrant”;
in clause (xi), by inserting “in the case of a State entity described in subsection (a)(1) or (a)(3),” before “support”; and
in clause (xii)—
in subclause (I)—
by striking “(I)”; and
by striking “not described in subclause (II)” and inserting “described in paragraphs (1), (2), or (3) of subsection (a)”; and
by striking subclause (II);
in subparagraph (B)(iii), by striking “to develop or strengthen a cohesive strategy”;
in subparagraph (C)—
in clause (i)(VI), by striking “and” at the end;
in clause (ii), by inserting “and” at the end; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(iii) a description of whether and how, in lieu of requiring an application in accordance with clause (i), the State entity will opt to use an eligible applicant’s approved charter authorization application, provided that such charter authorization application was approved in accordance with relevant State law during the year preceding the date on which the State entity first accepts applications for such subgrants;”
by striking subparagraph (E); and
by redesignating subparagraphs (F) and (G) as subparagraphs (E) and (F), respectively; and
in paragraph (2)—
in subparagraph (F), by striking “and” at the end;
in subparagraph (G)(v), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(H) the State entity will ensure that each charter school receiving funds under the State entity’s program will address the transportation needs of their students.”
in subsection (g)(1)—
by striking subparagraph (B);
by redesignating subparagraphs (C) through (E) as subparagraphs (B) through (D), respectively; and
in subparagraph (B), as so redesignated, by striking “meet those objectives and”;
in subsection (h)—
by amending paragraph (1)(B) to read as follows:
“(B) hiring and compensating teachers, school leaders, or specialized instructional support personnel.”
in paragraph (2)—
by inserting “academic subscriptions (including digital and online subscriptions),” after “training,”; and
by inserting “curricular support,” after “(including technology),”;
by amending paragraph (3) to read as follows:
“(3) In order to ensure that a school building complies with applicable statutes and regulations, carrying out necessary renovations, upgrades, or facilities repairs, or acquiring portable classrooms.”
in paragraph (4), by striking “one-time, startup”;
in paragraph (6), by striking “appropriate, non-sustained”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(7) Providing costs associated with operations and management of the charter school facility.”
in subsection (i)—
by striking “of the third year”; and
by striking “(or at the end of the second year of the grant period if the grant is less than 5 years), and at the end of such grant period”.
Sec. 4 National activities; grants to charter management organizations
Section 4305 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7221d) is amended—
by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
“(a) In general—From the amount reserved under section 4302(b)(2), the Secretary shall—
“(1) use not more than 10 percent of such funds to—
“(A) provide support and technical assistance to—
“(i) State entities in awarding subgrants under section 4303(b)(1); and
“(ii) eligible entities and States receiving grants under section 4304;
“(B) disseminate best practices regarding charter schools;
“(C) increase access to facilities (including funding and financing for facilities) for charter schools;
“(D) increase the number of available seats in charter schools through early-stage charter school planning;
“(E) increase the number of available seats in charter schools that—
“(i) are located in States that have enacted legislation within a period of 5 years prior to the award of a grant under this section for such purpose;
“(ii) serve rural students; and
“(iii) serve students with disabilities; and
“(F) evaluate the impact of the charter school program carried out under this part, including with respect to student achievement;
“(2) use not more than 15 percent of such funds to award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible applicants for the purpose of carrying out the activities described in section 4303(h) in a State that did not receive a grant under section 4303; and
“(3) after the uses described in paragraphs (1) and (2), use the remainder of such funds to award grants in accordance with subsection (b).”
in subsection (b)—
in paragraph (3)(B)—
in clause (ii)—
in subclause (I), by inserting “and” at the end;
in subclause (II), by striking “and” and the end; and
by striking subclause (III); and
in clause (iii), by striking “, which shall include a multi-year financial and operating model for the eligible entity”; and
in paragraph (5)—
in subparagraph (C)(ii), by striking “or” at the end;
in subparagraph (D), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; or”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(E) plan to operate or manage high-quality charter schools in—
“(i) States in which, as of the date on which the eligible entity submits an application under paragraph (3), the eligible entity does not operate or manage a charter school; or
“(ii) States with limited charter school options.”
Sec. 5 Solicitation of input from charter school operators
Section 4307 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7221f) is amended—
by striking “To the extent practicable, the Secretary” and inserting “The Secretary”;
by inserting “, prior to the issuance of a notice of proposed rulemaking,” after “are consulted”; and
by striking “this subpart” and inserting “this part”.
Sec. 6 Paperwork reduction and regulation
Section 4309 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7221h) is amended—
in the heading, by inserting “and regulation” at the end;
by striking “To the extent practicable, the” and inserting the following:
“(a) Paperwork reduction—The”
by striking “this subpart” and inserting “this part”;
by striking “or charter school” and inserting “, charter school, or State entity (as defined in section 4303)”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(b) Regulation—In meeting the requirement under subsection (a), the Secretary shall promulgate only such regulations as are necessary for the administration of this part and shall not impose additional nonstatutory requirements on those entities subject to the regulations.”
Sec. 7 Definitions
Section 4310(2)(D) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7221i(2)(D)) is amended by inserting “(which may include other educational programs, pursuant to State law)” after “education”.
Sec. 8 Applicability
In general— This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall apply with respect to grants awarded under sections 4303 and 4305 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7221b; 7221d) on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.
Exception— An entity that received a grant under a section described in subsection (a) prior to the date of the enactment of this Act for which the applicable grant period has not expired may elect to, for the remainder of such grant period, carry out such grant in accordance with this Act and the amendments made by this Act.