(The Center Square) – New charter schools in Arizona are expected to be developed as a result of new federal taxpayer funding from the United States Department of Education.
The state received a $34.8 million cut of the over $143 million awarded through the Expanding Opportunities Through Quality Charter Schools Program. Although the funding came from fiscal year 2024, it will be doled out in portions each year through 2029. The first two years will have a roughly $8.7 million budget, roughly $10 million in year three, and $5 million and $2.8 million in years four and five, respectively.
Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne said the funds will go toward creating more charter schools in areas where students are “educationally disadvantaged.”
“I am extremely pleased that we have received this federal grant that will create 24 new high-quality charter schools and help another 23 existing schools with models and practices that result in academic growth. I want to commend the department staff who competed for this funding. Their work has resulted in the state receiving the largest recipient of this grant, per capita, in the country,” Horne stated.
“Arizona is the leader in the country on school choice and charters are a major component of that. These dollars will serve a vital purpose in making sure that an estimated 10,000 students in traditionally underserved areas will have a chance to select a high-quality charter school. Every student in every part of our state, urban or rural, rich or poor, deserves this opportunity and I am very pleased to be a part of this effort.”
There are roughly 560 charter schools in the Grand Canyon State with an about 231,000 students enrolled, according to the Arizona Charter Schools Association. State law requires Arizona schools to be “open enrollment,” making charter schools a relatively common option for some families in the state.
The California Department of Education, Colorado League of Charter Schools, New York State Education Department, Utah Association of Public Charter Schools and Rhode Island Department of Education also received grant funding from the program this year. New York and California got the highest amounts with $121 million and $94 million, respectively.
