The Scholarships for Opportunity and Results (SOAR) Act grants support the public charter sector through a combination of formula and competitive grants to public charter local education agencies (LEAs) and nonprofit charter-support organizations. The Office of the State Superintendent of Education’s (OSSE’s) SOAR grant programs include the following:

   

Academic Quality Formula Grant

Public charter LEAs receive a per-pupil formula grant of no less than $50,000 annually to implement projects designed to have a direct and rapid impact of student achievement, either schoolwide or for specific subgroups of students.

Early Childhood Formula Grant

Public charter LEAs that enroll at least 40 percent 3- and 4-year-olds and meet Title I-A eligibility criteria receive a grant to assist with the implementation of supplementary activities that reinforce school readiness, including the development of literacy and mathematics skills.

Educator Pipeline Competitive Grant

Public charter LEAs or nonprofit organizations are eligible to apply for a grant to recruit, train and certify high-quality candidates new to teaching for teacher, teacher residency, or school leader positions in public charter schools. Grant amounts are limited to $10,00 per educator served under the grant.

Third-Party Competitive Grant

Nonprofit charter support organizations are eligible to apply for a grant to support public charter LEAs either directly, through direct service to students or professional development to teachers and school leaders, or indirectly, by enhancing the organizational capacity of charter LEAs by improving infrastructure related to data, fiscal management, board governance and/or overall school operations.

Facilities Competitive Grant

Public charter LEAs are eligible to apply for a grant to renovate their facility in order to increase the total number of seats and/or increase the quality of existing seats.