Charter Schools Program (CSP) Start-up Grants

The RFP will be posted to P-12 Funding Opportunities .

Legislative Authority: Charter School Program, authorized by Title IV, Part C of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)

Purpose of Grant: To provide funding to new charter schools to support planning, program design and initial implementation.

Project Period: September 1, 2025 - August 31, 2028

Eligible Applicants: Charter school education corporations operating a new charter school that is authorized by either the Board of Regents or the SUNY Board of Trustees. The education corporation will apply on behalf of a charter school it operates.

Amount of Funding: $28,000,000 with no more than 14 grants to be awarded. Funding beyond Year One will be contingent upon the State Legislature appropriating funds and the grantee demonstrating progress toward meeting the goals and objectives of its grant project.

Application Due Date and Submission Instructions: Applicants are requested to submit their application electronically. The required documents, as listed in the Application Checklist section of this RFP, must be received via online form no later than July 31, 2025. Applications are due by 5:00 PM Eastern Time.

Questions and Answers: Questions regarding the request must be submitted via online form no later than the close of business July 2, 2025 . A Questions and Answers summary will be posted to NYSED’s Funding Opportunities website no later than July 10, 2025.

Prequalification Requirement: Proposals received from nonprofit applicants that are not prequalified in the Statewide Financial System (SFS) by 5:00 PM on the proposal due date of July 31, 2025, cannot be evaluated. Such proposals will be disqualified from further consideration. Please see the “Prequalification Requirement” section for additional information.

Non-Mandatory Notice of Intent: The Notice of Intent (NOI) is not a requirement for submitting a complete application by the application date; however, NYSED strongly encourages all prospective applicants to submit an NOI to ensure a timely and thorough review and rating process. A non-profit applicant’s NOI will also help to facilitate timely review of their prequalification materials. Please send the NOI via this online form . Include your organization’s legal name and NYS Vendor ID. The Procurement No. is 52. The due date is July 17, 2025.