Empower Charter School Educators to Lead Act was reported by committee and awaits a floor vote

Empower Charter School Educators to Lead Act This bill makes changes to the Charter Schools Program (CSP), which authorizes competitive grants to state entities (e.g., state educational agencies and state charter school boards) to support high-quality charter schools. Specifically, the bill allows state entities to use up to 5% of their CSP grant funds to make pre-charter planning subgrants to certain prospective charter applicants. The bill specifies that state entities may also (1) fund a revolving loan fund or similar mechanisms for the expenses of eligible applicants prior to receiving CSP subgrants, and (2) provide assistance to eligible applicants in locating and accessing a charter school facility. Under the current CSP, state entities must use at least 7% of their CSP grant funds to provide technical assistance to eligible applicants and authorized public chartering agencies. The bill instead allows state entities to use not more than 10% of these funds for technical assistance.