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June 12, 2008$33.6 Million Grant to Help Create More Charter Schools in Florida |
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From Education Newsfeed: U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Raymond Simon today announced the award of a $33.6 million grant to Florida to help it create more quality charter schools and increase school choices that parents have to provide to their children. Florida is one of five states receiving the competitive grants through the Department's Charter Schools Program (CSP), which supports states' efforts to plan, design, implement and disseminate information about charter schools. The other states receiving grants are Oregon, New York, Utah, and Idaho. Florida has a strong record of support for charter schools. More than 350 charter schools serve more than 100,000 students across the state, and Florida is now poised to focus on scaling up the best models. In awarding grants, the Department must give preference to states that provide chartering agencies that are not a local education agency, such as a state chartering board, that have demonstrated progress in increasing the number of high-quality schools that are held accountable for reaching clear and measurable objectives, and that give public charter schools a high degree of autonomy over their budgets and expenditures. Charter schools are independent public schools designed and operated by parents, educators, community leaders, education entrepreneurs and others with a contract, or charter, from a public agency, such as a local or state education agency or an institution of higher education. Exempt from many statutory and regulatory requirements, charter schools receive increased flexibility in exchange for increased accountability for improving academic achievement. The first U.S. charter school opened in 1992.
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