WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today National Alliance President and CEO Nina Rees released the following statement in response to the spending bill agreement reached by Congress:
“We applaud Congress for increasing funding for the federal Charter Schools Program (CSP), and are grateful that the CSP is one of a select number of K-12 education programs that received an increase in funds.
“The CSP provides support for the start-up, replication and expansion of public charter schools. CSP dollars provide the seed funding necessary to allow public charter schools to open or expand. Nearly all public charter schools across the nation have benefited from CSP funding. As such, the CSP has been an incredibly successful investment in public education. An increase in CSP funding means more high-quality public charter schools can open and grow a huge win for the families who are desperate for better public school options.
“While we are grateful that charter schools received this critical increase, even more funding is needed. Rigorous research consistently shows that public charter schools produce gains in learning especially for disadvantaged students. We look forward to working with members of Congress to ensure even more families can choose a high-performing public school for their children.”
About Public Charter Schools
Public 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 independent 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 sector. For more information, please visit our website at www.publiccharters.org.
