Charter Schools Program
The Charter Schools Program (CSP) is a competitive, national grant program eligible to state entities. Through this program, Mississippi First will subgrant 90% of funds to eligible charter school applicants to open new charter schools and/or replicate or expand high-quality charter schools.
The Charter Schools Program (CSP)–State Entities grant is authorized under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) (20 U.S.C. 7221-7221j). Prior to the enactment of the ESSA, the ESEA, as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), authorized the Secretary to make awards to state educational agencies (SEAs) to enable them to conduct charter school subgrant programs in their states. The CSP State Entities grant is under the new law and has different eligibility requirements, priorities, definitions, application requirements, and selection criteria.
The major purposes of the CSP are to expand opportunities for all students, particularly traditionally underserved students, to attend charter schools and meet challenging state academic standards; provide financial assistance for the planning, program design, and initial implementation of public charter schools; increase the number of high-quality charter schools available to students across the United States; evaluate the impact of charter schools on student achievement, families, and communities; share best practices between charter schools and other public schools; encourage states to provide facilities support to charter schools; and support efforts to strengthen the charter school authorizing process.
The CSP grants to State Entities (84.282A) is a competitive grant program that enables state entities (including nonprofit charter school associations) to award subgrants to eligible applicants in their state to open and prepare for the operation of new charter schools and to replicate and expand high-quality charter schools. Grant funds must also be used by the state entity to provide technical assistance to eligible applicants and authorized public chartering agencies in opening and preparing for the operation of new charter schools, or replicating or expanding high-quality charter schools; and to work with authorized public chartering agencies to improve authorizing quality, including developing capacity for, and conducting, fiscal oversight and auditing of charter schools.
Request for Proposals or Quotes and Calls for Assistance
As part of this grant, Mississippi First is hiring several experts to support the improvement of charter school policy in Mississippi.
Peer Reviewers
We are seeking to build a pool of peer reviewers that we can work with over the five-year grant term.
Financial Systems Expert
We are requesting proposals for an expert in charter school financial policy to develop best practice financial standards, policies, procedures, and tools, including audit guidance, for Mississippi charter schools. [CLOSED]
Contract awarded to Afton Partners in conjunction with EdOps
CSP Coordinator
Reporting to the Associate Director of Special Projects, the Charter Schools Program (CSP) Coordinator assists Mississippi First in managing the CSP grant.
For any additional information about the Charter Schools Program grant and the subgrant programs Mississippi First will administer, please follow us on social media and subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to know of any updates.