Utah Charter Schools Program (CSP)
we're jumping for joy!
Utah Charter Schools Program-State Entity Grant (CSP-SE)
In September 2024, UAPCS was awarded a Department of Education Charter Schools Program- State Entity Grant. This award amount is $44M + over the next 5 years. Awards are granted to state entities, like UAPCS, who then provide subgrants to eligible applicants for new charter schools or expanding and replicating existing high-quality schools.
See the FAQs below to find out more!
2025 CSP Grant Cycle
If your school is interested in applying for a subgrant in this first round, we strongly encourage you to attend the April 14th webinar. This funding opportunity is available for schools planning to open no later than August 2026, as the implementation phase may be 18 months or less. Register for the webinars to receive the Zoom link.
If your school is not planning to open until August 2027, we recommend considering the second round of CSP subgrant awards next year.
In the upcoming webinars we will discuss the grant details, outline the application process, review goals and objectives, and guide you in designing your CSP budget.
April 14, 2025 | 5:30-6:30pm - Request for Applications (RFA) Orientation
April 21, 2025 | 5:30-6:30pm - Budget Support
Anyone working with the Grant must attend, including school applicant board members and administration teams.
Dates to Remember:
- Training #1: RFA Orientation Webinar, April 14, 2025
- Letter of Intent/Eligibility Check Deadline: April 18, 2025 by 5:00pm (MDT)
- Training #2: Budget Support Webinar: April 21, 2025
- RFA Published and Application Window Opens: April 21, 2025 following the webinar.
- UAPCS Virtual Office Hours: Monday-Friday, 1:00-4:00pm (April-June)
- RFA Submission Deadline: June 2, 2025 by 5:00pm (MDT)
- Peer Review Window: June 5-26, 2025
- Applicant Capacity Interviews: July 7-8, 2025 (Time TBD) All board and administrative team members, or anyone who will be working in the grant expected to participate.
- Internal Review Period: July 9-11, 2025
- Award Announcements & Phone Calls: July 15, 2025
- Post-Award Webinar: July 21, 2025, 5:30pm via Zoom. All board and administrative team members, or anyone who will be working in the grant must attend.
Subgrant Types & Available Funding for this first subgrant cycle:
New School Subgrants – 1 award, $2,000,000
Replication Subgrants – 1 award, $2,000,000
Expansion Subgrants – 1 award, $2,000,000
FAQ
Over the next 5 years, we will use this grant to help 20 new charter schools, or new campuses of existing charter schools, open. As part of that effort, we will expand our director incubator program, and provide more technical assistance to charter school applicants and charter schools.
The terms of the federal CSP program prevent UAPCS from distributing these funds to expand existing buildings. Nor may we use these funds to pay for any building. Rather, this grant is only to help new charter schools, and new campuses of existing charter schools, open successfully.
This grant is designed to help new schools open strong. So recipients can use the grant to hire a director, lease office space, purchase curriculum, get training for teachers and other key employees, buy school furniture, computers, software, etc. In other states which have received a similar grant, recipients have also purchased a new bus, an option that Utah grant recipients will also have. In the next few months, UAPCS will publish a detailed guide outlining how grant recipients will be able to use these funds.
Join us via Zoom for the following:
- April 14, 2025 @ 5:30 pm for the Request for Applications (RFA) Orientation Webinar*
- April 21, 2024 @ 5:30 pm for the Budget Support Webinar*
*A majority of the the applying school's board members and administrative team must be present.
Letter of intent and eligibility check deadline is April 18, 2025 by 5pm.
Request for Application published and application window opens April 21, 2025 following the Budget Support Webinar.
Available Funds for Subgrants
The current funding amount available to be awarded in April 2025 for Utah’s Charter School Growth Initiative subgrants is $6,000,000, which will be divided into two categories and awarded based on the applicants' perceived ability to carry out one of the following eligible subgrant activities (per ESEA § 4303(b)(1) requirements):
a) Open and prepare for the operation of new charter schools;
b) Open and prepare for the operation of replicated high-quality charter schools; or
c) Expand high-quality charter schools.
Subgrants will be funded for up to 42 months, including a maximum 18-month planning period and a 24-month implementation period. No subgrant can exceed 42 months. Awards are competitive, and continuation funding depends on meeting grant goals, making satisfactory progress, and adhering to reporting and compliance requirements.