American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
The U.S. Department of Education Releases Race to the Top Guidelines (Thursday, November 19):
The U.S. Department of Education recently released it’s final Race to the Top (R2T) guidelines and official application. Major points outlined in the R2T documents support both broad based education reform and charter schools. Along with hundreds of other organizations, the Alliance submitted comments on the proposed guidelines in order to make sure charter schools were appropriately included in the finale application. A brief analysis of the documents can be found here at the Charter Blog. The Alliance also convened a conference call to help charter school operators and advocates understand how best to position themselves to take advantage of this opportunity. Download an audio file of the conference call. Click here to read a complete overview of the R2T.
Take action: Show your support for charter schools as an essential component of the Race to the Top Fund (R2T) by writing your elected officials today.
Funding Allocations:
On February 17, the landmark American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was signed into law by President Barack Obama. Here is an initial analysis of what states can expect to receive from the ARRP’s formula driven education funding, and here are details on the initial release of funds.
Application Process for U.S. Department of Education’s Investing in Innovation (i3) Grants under the ARRA Opens (Thursday, March 12)
The U.S. Department of Education published the final application package for the Investing in Innovation Fund (i3) in the Federal Register thereby announcing and opening the grant competition. Applications are due on May 11, 2010. The Alliance provides a complete overview of the final package details including eligibility, types of grants, grant periods and priorities, key definitions and steps for applicants to follow.
Download the (i3) Final Application Overview PDF file.
Take action to support the i3 fund here.
Alliance Submits Comments on the U.S. Department of Education’s proposed requirements for Investing in Innovation (i3) Grants under the ARRA (Monday, November 9):
The Alliance submitted formal comments on the Department of Education's statement of proposed requirements for the Investing in Innovation Fund (i3) competitive grants under the ARRA of 2009.
The Alliance strongly supports the U.S. Department of Education's efforts to use the i3 fund to scale significant education reforms and find the next generation of notable educational innovations. The current draft is a commendable start, but we do believe it can be improved further. Recommendations made by the Alliance are aimed at ensuring that the i3 supports true innovation and encourages the replication and expansion of the best charter school models.
Download the PDF copy of our complete comments here.
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Alliance Submits Comments on the U.S. Department of Education’s proposed requirements for School Improvement Grants under the ARRA (Friday, September 25):
The Alliance submitted formal comments on the Department of Education's statement of proposed requirements for School Improvement Grants under the ARRA of 2009.
The proposal outlines an ambitious school-turnaround strategy. The Alliance applauds its commitment to improving our nation’s lowest performing public schools, but hopes the Department will look supportively on a simultaneous strategy of starting new, high-quality charter schools while working to turn around or close our lowest performing public schools.
Recommendations made by the Alliance are aimed at ensuring that public charter schools maintain their autonomy, flexibility, and accountability and are given access to school facilities that allow educators to implement the charter model with integrity.
Download the PDF copy of our complete comments here.
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Alliance Submits Comments on Race to the Top Draft Priorities, Requirements, Definitions and Selection Criteria Overview (Wednesday, July 29):
The U.S. Department of Education formally released its proposed priorities for the Race to the Top Fund authorized under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). These priorities prominently feature public charter schools as an effective reform that states need to embrace to increase their chances of winning an R2T grant. The final version of the priorities can be found here.
The Department of Education has published these draft priorities enabling the public to comment before they are finalized. When finalized, these priorities will outline the qualifications and requirements for winning a R2T Grant. On Wednesday, August 26 the National Alliance submitted formal comments on behalf of the charter school movement in support of the strong references in the draft to the role of charter schools and criteria around states supporting high-quality charter school movements. It is now more important than ever that the public take action to support or oppose elements with which they agree or disagree by August 28th, 2009.
Click here to read a complete overview of the R2T.
Read the Alliance statement on the draft guidelines here.
Take action: Show your support for charter schools as an essential component of the Race to the Top Fund (R2T) by writing your elected officials today.Back to Top »
U.S. Secretary of Education Announces New Education Programs and Releases Non- Regulatory Guidance (Saturday, April 1):
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced that $44 billion was available for states, districts, and schools from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA): $32.6 billion from the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF) ($26.6 billion solely dedicated for education and $6 billion for general government service support, which can include education) and $11.4 billion in Title I, IDEA, Vocational Rehabilitation, and Independent Living programs administered by the Department. Non- Regulatory Guidance for each of these programs accompanied the announcement. Read key Alliance recommendations incorporated into the guidance by the Department here.
U.S. Department of Education Overview of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Tuesday, March 24):
Today, the U.S. Department of Education released a new PowerPoint overview of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). While much of the information we have already covered, there are some new points that are of importance to the charter community.
First, ED confirmed that LEAs can use the funds for any activity authorized under the ESEA, which includes impact aid. This is something we broached with them several weeks ago, click here for more. This means that charter schools which are their own LEA will have fungible dollars which can support both modernization and new construction of facilities. The amount an LEA receives will likely not be enough to cover all costs associated with new construction, but it could be enough to help with financing new construction. We will have more on this in the next several days.
Additionally, the overview clarifies that ARRA funding is to be tracked separately from current federal, state, and local monies and additional transparency and reporting requirements will be attached to the ARRA funding. Lastly, more thorough guidance is expected in the next several weeks as the Department prepares to release the first batch of stimulus funding as early as the end of March/beginning of April.
New American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Resource (Friday, March 20):
State Breakdown of ARRA Funding by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. See how stimulus funds have been allocated in each state and catch up on the latest information on how your state is administering its ARRA funding. Take action to ensure that charter schools in your state receive equal access. Visit http://action.publiccharters.org/site/PageNavigator/ARRA_overview
Fact Sheets (Monday, March 16): Over the weekend, the U.S. Department of Education released four new fact sheets on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), for an overview of the documents click here. While the fact sheets are not traditional guidance documents, they begin to show how states can spend the ARRA funding and provide a more complete picture of the timeline for distributing the funds. More guidance is expected soon, and to ensure that charter schools are treated fairly in the forthcoming documents, please click here to tell Secretary Duncan that charter schools deserve equitable funding. To download the individual fact sheets, please here here: ARRA overview fact sheet; Title I Part A fact sheet, IDEA Part B fact sheet, and the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund fact sheet.
First, and of interest to many, the Department has formalized the distribution schedule for ARRA funds:
- State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF): By the end of March, governors will be able to apply for 67% of SFSF funds. The Department will release these funds to governors two weeks after abbreviated applications are received. Governors may ask for up to 90% of funds if necessary to immediately prevent education layoffs. Between July 1 and September 30, the Department will distribute the remaining portion of the SFSF to states. To receive the remaining portion of SFSF funding, states will be required to complete more detailed applications outlining plans for addressing the assurances required.
- Title I, Part A: The Department will award 50% of each state’s Title I, Part A recovery funds by the end of March 2009. The other 50% will be distributed by October 1, 2009. IDEA Part B: 50% of IDEA Part B ARRA funds will be distributed to State Education Agencies (SEAs) by the end of March 2009. The other 50% will be distributed by October 1, 2009.
- McKinney-Vento and Impact Aid: All funds will be available by the end of March, 2009.
- Teacher Incentive Fund, Teacher Quality Enhancement Grants, and State Wide Data System Grants: Funds will be made available beginning in fall of 2009 all through a competitive grant process.
Second, there will be two grant competitions for “Race to the Top Funds” (Incentive Grants and Innovation Fund). The guidelines and applications for these funds will be posted as soon as possible, but the first distribution of these funds won’t be until the fall of 2009 with the remaining funds distributed through a second competition in the spring of 2010. Third, and critically important, more specific guidance on all the programs is forthcoming still.
Help Create More Charter School Options! (Wednesday, Mar. 11):
Over the last year, leaders of both the Republican and Democratic parties have loudly embraced public charter schools. But, when President Obama addressed the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Legislative Conference we saw the most powerful endorsement of charter schools yet. His call for not only supporting public charter schools but taking action to prevent punitive policies that currently limit their growth was a clarion call recognizing the federal government must do more to expand high quality public school options for parents and children around the country.
The US Department of Education is currently crafting guidance around the distribution and usage of funds from the newly authorized American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Guidance is critically important because it will lay out the "rules of the road" for State Departments of Education when they are distributing this money to public schools. Right now, the federal government has an unprecedented opportunity to embrace the President’s call by ensuring the ARRA's funds go to support truly meaningful education reforms like public charter schools.
Take Action now to ensure ARRA funds support public charter schools!
A new 40-page summary on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is now available for downloading. The document provides information on the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, formula funding, discretionary grants, finance provisions and work by the Alliance to assist state associations. Download it here.
Update on Charters and the ARRA (Friday, Feb. 20):
An in-depth overview of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s (ARRA) State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, including the State Incentive Grants and Innovation Fund is now available. The document also includes information on the main education programs that are receiving increased funding, highlighting the way each of these program’s funding is distributed (grants vs. direct formula), and specific information about each of the tax related programs that received new allocations.
Click here to listen to the recorded audio of the conference call held Friday, Feb. 20
Update on Charters and the ARRA (Thursday, Feb. 19):
The landmark American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has been signed into law by President Barack Obama. Click on this link for an initial analysis that outlines what states can expect to receive from the ARRP’s formula driven education funding.
Explanation of LEA Title 1 Allocations
As you may have seen, there are also estimates that take the analysis down to the Local Education Agency (LEA) level. However, for technical reasons, these analyses from the U.S. Department of Education do not list charter schools. This omission DOES NOT mean charter schools will not receive funding, especially those that are their own LEAs. Instead, it is a result of the way the Education Department determines Title I funding, which is the main avenue for which education funds in the stimulus bill will be distributed.
Here’s how it works:
• The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) makes Title I state level allocations based off census data mapping the population of a state, specifically those ages 5 – 17 who are living in poverty.
• This data is then mapped to school districts, with the federal government making its Title I LEA estimates based off this information. DOE’s list of LEAs does not consider LEA boundary changes, newly created eligible LEAs, and charter school LEAs.
• Once a state education agency (SEA) receives its Title I allocation, it changes the DOE’s Title I LEA estimates to reflect the actual LEA universe in the state by considering LEA boundary changes, newly created eligible LEAs, and charter school LEAs.
• SEAs should be able to provide any state charter leader the state’s Title I allocation, and state charter leaders should be able to work with their respective state Title I offices to determine the amount of funding charter schools will receive from the funds.Update on the signing of the ARRA (Tuesday, Feb. 17):
In Denver, President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, providing $798 million in spending and tax cuts. The U.S. Department of Education will receive significant new funding, including monies that will benefit public charter schools and their programs. Read the latest details here.
Update on New Senate Bill (Monday, Feb. 9):
Over the weekend, three Republican Senators (Arlen Specter - PA, Susan Collins – ME, and Olympia Snow - ME) reached a compromise with the Democratic Caucus enabling the Senate to move forward with its version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan. Click here for a fulll update on what happened.
National Alliance Federal Policy Team analysis of ARRP Senate Bill (Friday, Jan. 30):
On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee released and marked up its version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan (ARRP), the $825 billion economic stimulus bill. Some aspects are similar to the House bill introduced earlier in January, click here to read a complete analysis of how the Senate bill differs from the House bill.
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National Alliance for Public Charter Schools President and CEO Nelson Smith issued the following statement (Thursday, Jan. 29):
"In passing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan yesterday, the House included significant funding for school modernization, renovation and repairs, and saw to it that public charter schools – like all public schools – would have equal opportunity to benefit from the funds. It strongly reflects the reform provisions sought by the Obama Administration, and we urge the Senate to act swiftly to pass similar legislation so that the two may be reconciled and a final bill is moved quickly to the President. There are literally thousands of repair and renovation projects waiting to be undertaken at public schools – both traditional and charter – all across the country, and similar legislation – ensuring equal access for all public schools to these funds - is all that’s needed now to get these jobs done."
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National Alliance Federal Policy Team analysis of ARRP House Bill (Friday, Jan. 16):
Yesterday, the Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee released its version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan, the economic stimulus bill called for by President-elect Obama. Totaling over $825 billion, including $141 billion on education spending (K-12 and Higher Education combined), this massive spending bill will soon be sent to conference committee. Read a complete analysis of the bill here.