U.S. Department of Education Awards Charter School Grants to Increase Public School Options

The U.S. Department of Education recently announced the award of charter school grants to state education agencies in New Hampshire and Rhode Island, as well as in ten other states, to increase public school options in those states.

The $256 million in this year's funding is designed to assist in the planning and implementation of public charter schools and dissemination of their successful practices through the Charter Schools Program. (President Barack Obama's fiscal year 2011 budget request includes a $54 million increase in the Charter Schools Program, bringing the total to $310 million.)

The purpose of the Charter Schools Program is to increase financial support for the startup and expansion of these public schools, to build a better national understanding of the public charter school model, and to increase the number of high-quality public charter schools across the nation.

For more information about the Charter Schools Program, a program of the Education Department's Office of Innovation and Improvement, please visit:

U.S. Department of Education: Charter Schools Program

Charter schooling began in 1991 with an enticing promise: new public schools - with the freedom to be better and held accountable for results - could offer excellent choices for families and stimulate the entire public school system to improve. Now, more than 15 years later, charter schools are no longer an idea but also a reality. There are now over 4,300 schools in 40 states and the District of Columbia, serving more than 1.2 million students -about 3 percent of all public school children. And there is still a demand - tens of thousands of families are on waiting lists to enroll in charters

Although there has been rapid growth and considerable success, the charter sector is standing at a crossroads. While many charter schools are performing at the highest levels, some struggle to provide the quality education our students deserve. The U.S. Department of Education believes that charter schools can do much better, fulfilling their promise as an engine of educational innovation and quality for students across the country.

In order to engage the charter school community in a discussion of various issues related to charter schools, the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Innovation and Improvement held a National Charter School Policy Forum in May 2008. The event gathered nearly 100 leaders from throughout the charter sector (including charter school operators, leaders of charter support organizations, researchers, policy experts, and philanthropists and other funders) to share lessons learned and outline future directions for the charter sector.

To access the Education Department’s report on this forum, please visit:

U.S. Dept.of Ed: A Commitment to Quality National Charter School Policy Forum Report (2008)