For example, unlike  traditional public schools that are part of a larger LEA, consisting of  multiple schools, some states establish charter schools as their own LEA. There are two types of federal grants—formula and discretionary—which  differ in their grant application and award process. Charter schools that are part of a  larger school district receive federal discretionary grant payments from  their school district, if the school district wins a grant competition and if  the school district has made provision for charter schools in the grant  application. Few Charter Schools Apply For Federal Discretionary Grants Despite Being Potentially Eligible

		In School Year 2008-2009, Approximately 7 Percent of Charter Schools Applied for Federal Discretionary Grants

Although charter schools were potentially eligible for a variety of federal  discretionary grants administered across several agencies in school year  2008-2009, most did not apply for them. According  to our survey, approximately 8 percent of charter schools designated as  their own LEA applied for grants, compared to an estimated 2 percent for  schools that are part of a larger LEA. On the other hand, charter  schools that are part of a larger LEA may not have applied for  discretionary grants because they were not eligible to apply if the grant did  not designate a public school or a nonprofit organization as an eligible  applicant. We identified 47 federal discretionary grant  programs for which charter schools are potentially eligible. With respect to a lack of resources, our survey results were often  supported by comments from charter school officials. Moreover, approximately 45  percent of the charter school officials that indicated that a lack of  awareness about federal programs was a major reason they did not apply  for grants, also reported that they periodically receive information about  discretionary grant opportunities from the U.S. Department of Education. Several charter school officials we surveyed expressed a desire for an  improved means of learning about grant opportunities that address their  school’s needs. Education Has Taken Steps to Encourage Charter Schools to Apply For Grants, But All Charter Schools May Not Be Reached

		Education Has Clarified Charter Schools’ Eligibility in some Grant Announcements

According to our review of Federal Register notices, Education has  inserted language clarifying charter school LEA eligibility into grant  announcements for 17 of the 33 discretionary grant programs for which  charter schools are potentially eligible. However, none of the officials we interviewed reported that Education has  taken steps to clarify grant eligibility for charter schools that are part of a  larger LEA and wish to apply for grants for which individual public  schools are eligible. Most of the other agencies with programs for which charter schools may  be eligible did not take any actions that would assist charter school  applicants, such as including language in grant announcements that  explicitly identifies charter school LEAs as eligible applicants, according  to agency officials. Education’s primary  mechanisms for publicizing grant opportunities include the Federal  Register, http://grants.gov, and Education’s Forecast of Grant  Opportunities. Education also prepared Accessing Federal Programs: a Guidebook for  Charter School Operators and Developers for charter schools but the  guidebook is not posted on the CSP’s Web page on Education’s Web site,  http://www.ed.gov. Specifically, to ensure that all discretionary grant notices for programs for  which charter schools are potentially eligible explicitly recognize charter  schools’ eligibility, Education intends to add text to all of the department’s  pertinent discretionary grant announcements stating that charter schools  meeting the relevant eligibility criterion are eligible to apply for the grant. The study was framed  around two questions: (1) To what extent do charter schools apply for  federal discretionary grant programs and what challenges do they face, if  any, in doing so? (2) What role has the U.S. Department of Education  played in helping charter schools establish their eligibility for federal  programs? We used separate sources of data for each study question, including a  survey of a stratified random sample of 640 charter school officials; site  visit interviews with officials in school districts, charter schools, charter  school associations, and state education agencies in New York, Ohio, and  Florida; two lists of governmentwide K-12 education programs for which  charter schools are potentially eligible; a survey of federal officials  responsible for the K-12 education programs; and interviews with  Department of Education officials having oversight responsibility for the  K-12 education programs and their counterparts in 9 other federal  agencies. Open-ended questions were used to guide discussions and topics included    actions, if any, taken to assist charter school applicants in applying for the  program(s); the number of charter schools that have applied for the program(s), if any,  and the outcome of their applications; identified challenges that charter schools face when applying for the  program(s) and reasons charter schools may not apply for the program(s);    mechanisms used to notify charter schools about grant opportunities; and    actions, if any, taken to follow up on then-Secretary Spellings’ 2006 letter  to federal department and agency heads concerning a governmentwide  initiative to ensure charter schools’ eligibility for federal programs.
Why GAO Did This Study

The number of charter schools is growing, spurred by demand for innovation and federal incentives, such as the Race to the Top Fund, which favors states supportive of charter schools. However, states often define charter schools differently than traditional public schools. Some charter schools operate as a school district, while others are part of a school district and some are for-profit entities. These differences could complicate eligibility determination for federal administrators. GAO was asked: (1) To what extent do charter schools apply for federal discretionary grant programs and what challenges do they face, if any, in doing so? (2) What role has the U.S. Department of Education played in helping charter schools establish their eligibility for federal discretionary grant programs? GAO identified grant programs governmentwide for which charter schools are eligible to apply, surveyed a stratified random sample of charter school officials, and interviewed federal agency officials. We also visited charter schools, school districts, charter school associations, and state educational agencies in 3 states.

What GAO Found

Based on our survey of charter schools, approximately 7 percent of all charter schools applied for federal discretionary grants during school year 2008-2009, the most recent information about grant applications available at the time of our survey. The types of charter schools that applied differed. For example, 8 percent of charter schools designated as their own local educational agency (LEA) applied for grants compared to 2 percent of schools that are part of a larger school district or LEA. Based on their responses to our survey, some of the schools that are part of a larger school district believed they needed an LEA designation to be eligible for federal discretionary grants and did not apply because of their charter school status. We identified 47 discretionary grant programs for which charter schools are potentially eligible. Both charter schools designated as their own LEA and individual charter schools were potentially eligible for the majority of the 47 programs. The Department of Education administered 33 of the 47 programs. Given the range of application rates in 2008-2009, some charter schools may be unaware that they can apply directly for these grant programs. On the other hand, charter schools that are part of a larger LEA were not eligible to apply for grants that did not designate a public school or a nonprofit organization as an eligible applicant and may not have applied for that reason. In addition to a lack of resources and a lack of experienced and knowledgeable staff available to prepare competitive grant applications, officials also indicated their lack of awareness about the grant opportunities available to charter schools was a major reason their school infrequently applied for discretionary grants. Several officials we surveyed expressed a desire for an improved means of learning about grant opportunities that address their school's needs. While the Department of Education has taken steps to encourage charter schools to apply for grants, information about opportunities may not reach all charter schools. Education has inserted language into grant announcements of 17 of the department's 33 grant programs for which charter schools are potentially eligible in order to explicitly alert those charter schools authorized as LEAs of their eligibility to apply for grants. Of the programs for which surveyed charter schools applied, most included such language in their grant announcements. Education has not taken steps to clarify grant eligibility for charter schools that are part of a larger LEA. As public charter schools, these schools could apply for grants for which individual public schools are eligible. Although Education uses multiple methods to publicize grant opportunities, such as the Federal Register, http://grants.gov , and Education's Forecast of Grant Opportunities, these mechanisms are directed toward all schools and do not target outreach to charter schools. Furthermore, for 16 of the 33 grant programs for which charter schools are potentially eligible, grant announcements sent to potential applicants through these mechanisms do not explicitly identify charter schools as eligible applicants Education has published a guidebook to accessing federal programs for charter schools, but charter schools cannot access it through the Charter School Program's Web page on Education's Web site.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that Education clarify grant opportunities for charter schools, highlight charter schools' eligibility in relevant grant announcements, and post its grant application guidance for charter schools on its Web site. Education agreed with our recommendations.