Federal Grants Boost Alabama, Louisiana Charters

The U.S. Department of Education awarded two Alabama recipients a combined $45 million: about $30 million to the Alabama Public Charter School Commission (including roughly $27 million in five-year subgrants to create 23 new charter schools) and $15.4 million to New Schools for Alabama for facility credit enhancement. The APCSC says the awards will help open 23 schools across five counties, expand a sector that currently operates about 17 campuses (with three more planned), serve more than 10,000 educationally disadvantaged students, and support hundreds of educators. Louisiana received $13.5 million to expand charter access and finance programs aimed at improving literacy, math, attendance, and college- and career-readiness through a competitive, outcomes-focused grant process. These awards, which include subgrants, facility support, and programmatic initiatives, are part of a broader federal push — including a roughly $500 million national package — to scale charter options and increase school choice nationwide.