Wisconsin Dept of Public Instruction Funds 20% of Charter School Startup Grants

After previously funding 83% of charter school startup grant applications, the Wisconsin Dept of Public Instruction has funded only 20% of this year's applications. According to review documents, many of the rejected applicants had governance issues or questions about autonomy. This year the department more closely monitored whether applicants met the federal definition of "charter school" and were in fact, "eligible applicants."

Last year CDE funded nine of 17 startup grant applications during Tier One. CDE also requires applicants to submit an Eligibility Form, which must be approved before a grant application is accepted.

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