Charter School Accountability Act of 2015

Charter School Accountability Act of 2015

This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to replace the charter school grant program, through which states receive formula-based grants, with a competitive grant program.

The Department of Education (ED) shall award grants to: (1) support the start up of charter schools that have been thoroughly vetted for quality and local impact, and (2) replicate or expand high-quality charter schools.

To be eligible to receive grant funding, a state must:

• have legally binding rules related to fiduciary duties and conflicts of interest of charter school officers, directors, managers, and employees;
• require all charter schools to annually conduct and publicly disclose independent audits;
• provide that charter schools are covered by the state's open meetings and open records laws to the same extent as public schools are covered by those laws;
• have policies in effect that hold charter school authorizers accountable for monitoring a charter school's educational performance and financial operations; and
• require a charter school to make certain public disclosures related to its operation and funding.

The bill also revises the per-pupil facilities aid program, through which ED makes competitive matching grants to states to provide per-pupil financing to charter schools for facility acquisition, construction, and renovation. Specifically, a state may: (1) partner with one or more organizations to provide up to half of the state share of program funding, and (2) receive more than one program grant under specified circumstances.

ED must conduct specified national activities, including awarding competitive grants directly to charter school developers in states that have not applied for or received charter school grants.