Retrofitting Bureaucracy: Factors Influencing Charter Schools' Access to Federal Entitlement Programs

Charter school laws and successful charter schools have been identified as key elements of bold initiatives to turn around chronically low-achieving public schools. Yet, charter schools operate in a policy space that was not constructed for them, a space in which public schools are primarily a state responsibility, but are markedly influenced by both federal and local policies, programs, and practices. Eighteen years after the nation's first charter law was passed, policymakers still struggle to fit charter schools into the rules and regulations of a traditional and multi-layered public education system. For years, anecdotal evidence has suggested that, in practice, charter schools do not have equal access to federal funding. When combined with disparate state and local funding formulas, charter schools face a documented and significant lack of parity in funding. These dollars are particularly vital for charter schools serving large proportions of students at risk due to poverty or a diagnosed disability that qualifies them for special education and related services. This report aims to help state departments of education, regional comprehensive centers, national content centers, school districts, and individual charter schools navigate challenges associated with readily accessing federal entitlement grants. The following questions guided the inquiry: (1) How do state charter school statutes define the legal status of charter schools for the purposes of accessing federal entitlement programs (i.e., Title I-A and IDEA Part B)?; (2) How do charter schools access entitlement funds?; (3) To what degree are charter schools perceived to be receiving commensurate federal entitlement funds relative to traditional public schools?; (4) What challenges/strategies influence access to federal entitlement funds?; and (5) How are charter schools held accountable for their use of federal entitlement dollars? In this paper, the manner in which charter schools access federal entitlement funding and implications for access associated with legal status as a legally autonomous single-school local education agency (LEA) or part of an existing LEA is explored. A scan of statutory language in state charter school laws that could affect access to federal entitlement dollars was conducted. The literature on charter schools was reviewed to discern evidence related to charter schools' access to federal funding. Interviews were conducted with select individuals in a small sample of states to document factors influencing how charter schools are accessing federal entitlement dollars. The research did not reveal evidence of charter schools currently or systematically being denied access to federal entitlement dollars. And while the paths are different, degree of access does not appear to be influenced by whether charter schools are independent LEAs or part of an existing LEA. However, in some states, charter schools appear to remain somewhat marginalized within the state public education bureaucracy, at times having to fight to receive their equitable share of federal, state, and local dollars. Two appendices are included: (1) Charter Statute Language Pertaining to ESEA Grant; and (2) Charter Statue Language Pertaining to IDEA Grants.