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.
Teacher 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 or teacher residency positions in public charter schools. Grant amounts are limited to $7,500 per teacher 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.
The SOAR Act Grant is authorized by the District of Columbia School Incentive Act Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act of 2003, 84.370C, Public Law 108-199). OSSE currently administers $17.5 million in SOAR funding.
Contact Us
For questions or additional information, please email OPCSFS.Funding@dc.gov.
The Scholarships for Opportunity and Results (SOAR) Act grant program is administered by OSSE’s Office of Federal Programs and Strategic Funding (OPCSFS) within the Division of Systems and Supports, K-12.
[Date Posted: Jan. 23, 2023]