Sacramento, CA—The Charter Schools Division of the California Department of Education (CDE) has posted a request for applications (RFA) for the Public Charter School Grant Program (PCSGP). The PCSGP provides funding to support planning, implementation, replication, and/or expansion of “high quality” charter schools. The post indicates that $6 million are available for 2020-23 grant cycle.
The 2020-21 PCSGP RFA includes surprising and impactful new restrictions on program eligibility. The restrictions dramatically reduce the number of charter organizations eligible to apply for the program, particularly for Replication and Expansion grants and particularly for charter school operators serving high concentrations of educationally disadvantaged students. These changes are described below.