Charter School Grant Programs

The Schools of Choice unit at CDE and The Colorado League of Charter Schools have collaborated and aligned on the decision to have the League apply for and, if awarded, manage the Charter Schools Program State Entities Grant for Colorado. As a result, CDE’s management of the Colorado Charter School Program will end on September 30, 2024. If you have any questions, please contact soc@cde.state.co.us or visit our transition webpage for more information. We appreciate your understanding and flexibility as we work together for a smooth transition.

2024-2029 CSP State Facilities Incentive Grant

The Colorado Department of Education (CDE) submitted an application to the U.S. Department of Education in July 2024 for funding from the Expanding Opportunity Through Quality Charter Schools Program - State Charter Schools Facilities Incentive Grant (SFIG) Program. If awarded, the Schools of Choice (SOC) unit at CDE would administer a project called the Charter School Facilities Assistance Project (CSFAP). More information will be released in October if CDE is awarded this new funding source to support our Colorado charter schools. Below is some information from the application abstract.

Most Colorado charter schools have access to the Charter Capital Assistance Program (CCAP) and will be encouraged to apply to CSFAP. Participation in the new training program will be encouraged for all charter executives, financial officers, authorizers, and boards.

Goals

# 1 – Enhance the State's Charter Capital Assistance Program

Colorado will disseminate $35,525,000 of Federal funds to eligible charter schools through a sub-grant structure. Parallel to sub-awards provided under CSFAP, Colorado will continue to administer CCAP, the state aid program, using existing structures but also by adding no less than $28,336,627 in state aid over the same period.

#2 – Strengthen State Capacity for High-Quality School Facilities Management and Decision-making

CDE will create a certification program to incentivize charter leaders to participate in high-quality training on charter school finance topics deemed critical for school success. CDE will also implement a dynamic management plan to ensure accountability for results and to accelerate awareness, learning, and information sharing across organizational and stakeholder channels.

Expected Outcomes and Contributions

Outcomes: Successful outcomes will include: timely reimbursement of all grant funds; increases in the number of schools meeting the Federal definition of a charter school; increases in the number of charter schools that have received a facility assessment, establishment of a facility finance certification program, and increases in the number of active stakeholders earning the new certification.
Research, Policy, and Practice: The project will strengthen data quality related to charter school facility conditions as well as make available more actionable data and analysis about public school facilities spending across the state and where needs for support exist.

Activities

Primary Activities

Enhancing State Funding: The project will distribute $35,525,000 in federal matching funds as new sub-grants over five years. Colorado policymakers increased state funding with an additional $65.5M from the state - increasing per-student facility funding by ~ $145 annually.
Facility Finance Certification Program: A training program guided by an advisory board inclusive of industry experts to build expertise in school facility finance.
Grant Management and Evaluation: CDE staff will manage the grant through a robust structure inclusive of program staff, a cross-departmental core team, and a stakeholder accountability committee.

Subrecipient Activities

School Facility Improvements: Sub-grants will be awarded to charter schools for facility acquisition, maintenance, and renovation.
Professional Development: Charter school leaders will be encouraged to participate in the Charter School Facility Finance Certification Program.

2018-2023 CSP State Entities Grant

Through September 30, 2024, CDE administered the Colorado Charter School Program most recently funded through the 2018 State Entities (SE) grant. Below are resources for exiting sub-grant participants and also more information regarding the goals and projects from the SE grant.

Goals

# 1 – Increase the number of high quality charter school options and the number of students who attend them

CDE will continue to emphasize high standards for charter applications, and will provide technical assistance to school designers with a goal of issuing 45 sub-grant awards over the life of the grant program. During the duration of the grant, the SOC office will invest heavily in charter school developer coaching, charter sector research, best practice dissemination, and sub-grant competition preparation. Grants will be awarded to new, replicating, or significantly expanding charter schools for planning, program design, and implementation of the school or expansion project

#2 – Raise educational outcomes for all charter school students by increasing capacity among authorizers and charter school leaders to increase quality charter school programs and to successfully address access and equity gaps among educationally disadvantaged students

CDE will direct training and support services to existing charter schools, authorizers and the broader parent and stakeholder community. To supplement this direct support, CDE will also contract with the Colorado Charter School Institute and other high quality education partners to extend technical assistance and best practice dissemination activities throughout the state. CDE is committed to engaging in meaningful topic-based research to better understand effective means of improving educational opportunities and outcomes for traditionally underserved student populations and the provision of resulting guidance to charter schools and their authorizers to address access and equity challenges.

More information on the Colorado Charter School Program

Links and Resources for Current Sub-grantees

2023-2025 CCSP Grant Budget Worksheet (Sample Budget FY22-23)
CCSP Grants Fiscal Interim/Annual Financial Report Submission Form (Smartsheet)
CCSP Grant Budget Revision Submission Form (Smartsheet)
CCSP Final Grant Report Template (For schools exiting the grant as of 9/30/2024)

2023-2024 CCSP Grant Application and Renewal Process with Required Documents
2018-2023 Charter School Program: State Entities Grant
CCSP Grant Progress Report Template (For Implementation Year 2 Schools operating in 2023-2024)
Weighted Lottery Factsheet

CCSP Archives

Other CDE Grants and Awards

Charter Schools applying for grants in CDE's Grant Administration Implementation and Navigation System (GAINS) should use the Charter School GAINS Access Form. Please note that, although Charter Schools will be able to login and submit their own applications through GAINS, the school still needs to identify an LEA Fiscal Representative and LEA Authorized Representative from their authoring school district of Charter School Institute.

Grant Program Admin.

Grant Forecast

GAINS Login

Other Opportunities

Grant Writing Technical Assistance

Resources on best practices for grant writing are below:

Please note: We are currently updating our website for improved accessibility and navigation and as a result, some links may be broken and resources unavailable. Please email soc@cde.state.co.us if you come across a broken link or needed resource. Thank you for your patience. Para solicitar servicios de traducción en español de los documentos en esta página, comuníquese con la oficina de School of Choice por correo electrónico a SOC@cde.state.co.us.