The No Child Left Behind Act supports the growing and highly popular charter school movement. Charter schools are public schools largely free to innovate, often providing more effective programs and choice to underserved groups of students. President Bush's proposed FY 2004 budget provides significant support to help these schools, including:
- $220 million for Charter Schools Grants, which would support approximately 1,800 new and existing charter schools. The $20 million increase would initiate a new Per-Pupil Facilities Aid program, which will provide funds to states to assist charter schools in obtaining facilities. Federal funds will match funds for state programs that make payments, on a per-pupil basis, to fund charter schools facilities.
- $100 million for the second year of the Credit Enhancement for Charter School Facilities program, which would assist charter schools in acquiring, leasing, and renovating school facilities. A major obstacle to the creation of charter schools is their limited ability to obtain suitable academic facilities. This program would support competitive grants to public and nonprofit entities to help charter schools finance their facilities through such means as providing loan guarantees, insuring debt, and other activities to encourage private lending.
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NCLB Extra Credit is a regular look at the No Child Left Behind Act, President Bush's landmark education reform initiative passed with bipartisan support in Congress.
If you would like the NCLB Extra Credit emailed to you, please send a request to Geoff Goodman at NoChildLeftBehindUpdate@ed.gov or call (202) 205-9191.
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Last Modified: 08/23/2003
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