“The federal Charter Schools Program has turned out to be one of the larger and more successful examples of government-supported research and development in the K-12 realm, in ways that have fostered considerable innovation,” writes K-12 policy expert Chester E. Finn, Jr. This year’s National Charter School Week celebrates the 30th anniversary of that Program’s first funding awards to charter schools in 1995. Nearly half of today’s charter schools have received Program funds.
The Charter Schools Program was created with the passage of the Improving America’s Schools Act, which “New Democrat” President Bill Clinton signed into law on October 20, 1994. The bipartisan Act was approved in the U.S House of Representatives by a vote of 289 to 128 and in the U.S. Senate by a vote of 94 to 6.
The program now provides federal financial assistance to open new public charter schools, expand existing high-quality schools, and increase access to school facilities. Current federal funding has reached $440 million, up from $4.5 million in 1995. The Trump administration has proposed increasing federal support to $500 million for the next funding year.
