Federal education dollars for charter schools—with federal oversight removed

What it does

This bill amends federal education law to create and expand grant programs that help states fund charter school facilities—including acquisition, leasing, renovation, and ongoing costs. States compete for federal grants (up to 60% of costs) and must match the remainder with non-federal funds or partner organizations. The bill also allows states to establish revolving loan funds for charter schools and removes certain federal reporting requirements for these grants.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core mechanism is a federal grant program to fund charter school facilities, but it simultaneously strips federal reporting and recording requirements that normally apply to federally funded projects, creating a subsidy with diminished public accountability.

• Section 3 amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to exempt charter school facility grants from federal interest recording and reporting requirements under 2 CFR 200.316 and 200.330, removing transparency obligations unrelated to the grant program's stated purpose.

What the text implies

• The 'no Federal interest' provision (Section 3) exempts charter school facility grants from standard federal reporting requirements, meaning the public and Congress will have reduced visibility into how federal dollars are deployed, which schools receive funding, and what outcomes result.
• By allowing non-federal partners (including private organizations) to provide the non-federal match, the bill may enable private entities to effectively subsidize charter school expansion while capturing operational or management contracts, blurring the line between public and private benefit.
• The revolving loan fund mechanism (Section 5) allows states to recycle grant money into loans to charter operators, potentially creating a self-perpetuating subsidy stream that is difficult to audit or terminate.
• Charter schools are not subject to the same governance, transparency, or accountability requirements as traditional public schools; this bill directs federal capital to that sector while reducing federal oversight, potentially widening the accountability gap.
• The bill prioritizes states with 'land use policies' that treat charter schools the same as traditional public schools and prohibit deed restrictions on surplus public property—effectively using federal incentives to reshape state and local land-use law in favor of charter expansion.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

The bill expands access to capital for charter school facilities, which may improve educational infrastructure in underserved areas; however, it channels federal education dollars to charter schools—which operate outside traditional public school governance—and explicitly shields these grants from federal transparency and accountability reporting, reducing public oversight of how taxpayer money is spent.

Who stands to gain

• charter school operators and networks
• private financing and lending organizations (through non-federal match and loan fund participation)
• real estate and facilities management firms serving charter schools

Named in the bill

U.S. Department of Education, State entities (education agencies), Charter schools, Local educational agencies, Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, 2 CFR 200 (federal grant reporting standards)

Where it stands

10 cosponsors: 6 Democrats, 3 Republicans, 1 Independents.

• Jan 15, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Jan 15, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Education and Workforce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce”
• Jan 21, 2026 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
• Jan 21, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 19 - 15”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

8 lobbying clients named this bill on 8 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $920,880 in lobbying spend. A filing names 4 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 88% of bills with at least one filing.

Juan Ciscomani, the sponsor, reported $1,708,777 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• AFL-CIO — $760,000 on 1 filing
• National Alliance for Public Charter Schools — $60,880 on 1 filing
• National Alliance for Public Charter Schools — $50,000 on 1 filing
• Charter School Lenders Coalition — $20,000 on 1 filing
• National Association of Charter School Authorizers — $20,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 21, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.