Charter School Grant Opportunities
In 2017, the Tennessee legislature established a public charter school facilities program, pursuant to which State funds are allocated annually to charter schools to assist them with acquiring and improving their facilities. The legislature approved a one-time allocation of $15 million for FY25 to be awarded to schools through this competitive grant process. The application and schedule of events are provided below.
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Application Released | September 30, 2024 |
| Applicant written questions | Due 4:30 p.m. Central, October 9, 2024 |
| State responses to applicant questions | To be posted October 16, 2024 |
| Application Deadline | October 30, 2024 |
| Awards Announced | November 15, 2024 |
Communications concerning this request for applications should be directed to the following person designated as the solicitation coordinator:
Crystal McCarver, Senior Manager of Choice Grants
Division of Choice
(629) 259-0839
Charter School Program (CSP) Grant Cohort 2025 (for Newly Authorized Charter Schools)
The Charter School Program grant is a federal grant awarded to the Tennessee Department of Education by the United States Department of Education (USED). One of the objectives of this five-year federal grant is to “increase the number of high-quality charter schools available to students across the United States”. In order to support this objective, the department is excited to offer both planning and implementation and replication subgrants under the CSP program. This grant competition is available to either (1) newly authorized Tennessee charter school operators for the purpose of designing, planning, and implementing their new schools; OR to (2) existing Tennessee charter school operators who have schools currently operating the state of Tennessee that have demonstrated academic, financial and operational success, and will be able to utilize these funds to replicate their successful school model to serve a greater number of educationally disadvantaged students. The CSP Grant Cohort 2025 competition is now open. Review the resources below for additional information.
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| CSP Application Released | October 1, 2024 |
| CSP Application Due | November 1, 2024 |
| Awards Announced | December 6, 2024 |
| Planning Period | December 6 to School Opening*; OR 18 months prior to School Opening |
| Implementation Period | School Opening* to End of Year 2 of Operation |
Communications concerning this request for applications should be directed to the following person designated as the solicitation coordinator:
Crystal McCarver, Senior Manager of Choice Grants
Division of Choice
(629) 259-0839
CSP Grant Cohort 2024
The department awarded 11 grants for the 2024 cohort. The following schools received $750,000 for planning and implementation of a new charter school or replication of a successful model:
- American Classical Academy Jackson-Madison
- American Classical Rutherford
- ChattAcademy Community School
- Empower Memphis Career and College Prep
- Invictus Nashville Charter School
- Journey Northeast Academy
- Knoxville Preparatory School
- Rutherford Collegiate Prep
- Springs Public Schools Tennessee-Empower Academy
- Tennessee Career Academy
- Tennessee Nature Academy