Washington, D.C.- Nina Rees, president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools responds to the introduction to the omnibus appropriations spending bill, which includes a nearly 32 percent funding increase ($80 million) for the Charter Schools Program (CSP) for fiscal year 2016.
“The National Alliance is grateful that members of Congress from both sides of the aisle recognize the critical role charter schools play in strengthening public education in our country. The $80 million increase in funding for the Charter Schools Program is the highest level of funding in the history of the program, and will help serve the nearly one million student names currently on charter school wait lists nationwide who seek high-quality, innovative public schools.
“We thank Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Thad Cochran and subcommittee Chairman Roy Blunt as well as House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers and subcommittee Chairman Tom Cole for their incredible support of charter schools and the students and families that they serve.”
About the Charter Schools Program
The CSP is currently funded at $253.1 million and provides funds to help new charter schools open, replicate and expand the most successful charter school models, as well as support the financing of charter school facilities.
About Charter Schools
Charter schools are independent, public, and tuition-free schools that are given the freedom to be more innovative while being held accountable for advancing student achievement. Since 2010, many research studies have found that students in charter schools do better in school than their traditional school peers. For example, one study by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University found that charter schools do a better job teaching low income students, minority students, and students who are still learning English than traditional schools. Separate studies by the Center on Reinventing Public Education and Mathematica Policy Research have found that charter school students are more likely to graduate from high school, go on to college, stay in college and have higher earnings in early adulthood.
About the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools is the leading national nonprofit organization committed to advancing the public charter school movement. Our mission is to lead public education to unprecedented levels of academic achievement by fostering a strong charter movement. For more information, please visit www.publiccharters.org.
