S. 1795 — Empower Charter School Educators to Lead Act

This section revises grant requirements for State entities under the Charter Schools Program (i.e., competitive grants from the Secretary of Education to State educational agencies, State charter school boards, governors, or charter school support organizations to enable subgrants for opening or preparing new or replicated high-quality charter schools and expanding existing ones). Specifically, it (1) expands authorized State entity activities to include, at discretion, funding revolving loan funds or similar mechanisms for pre-reimbursement expenses under subsection (h) and assisting eligible applicants in locating and accessing facilities; (2) requires State entities to provide pre-charter planning subgrants of no more than $100,000 per prospective applicant to charter school developers led by educators with at least 54 months of school-based experience (which may include after-school or summer programs), demonstrated leadership competencies and student success (as determined by the State entity), and an initial plan addressing identified community educational needs; and (3) revises minimum and maximum reservations of grant funds to (A) not less than 80 percent (from 90 percent) for subgrants to open, replicate, or expand charter schools; (B) not more than 10 percent (from not less than 7 percent) for technical assistance and improved authorizing quality; (C) not more than 5 percent for pre-charter planning subgrants; and (D) not more than 5 percent (from 3 percent) for administrative costs. (Thus, State entities gain flexibility for facility-related support and early-stage planning while reducing the minimum for core subgrants.) It also makes conforming changes throughout the section to specify that certain requirements apply only to subgrants under subsection (b)(1).