The Opportunity Trust: Charter School Program (Missouri)

The Expanding Opportunities: Missouri Charter School Program (CSP) is a U.S. Department of Education grant of $35.5 million awarded to help Missouri expand opportunities for students to attend quality charter public schools.

Missouri’s CSP program has three objectives:

• Increase the number of quality Missouri charter public school seats, especially for our most educationally disadvantaged students.
• Support quality charter school authorizing in Missouri, through the dissemination and support of best authorizer practices statewide.
• Codify and share lessons from high-performing charter public schools across the education ecosystem.

We invite all eligible charter schools in Missouri to apply for this transformative subgrant and join us in advancing educational opportunities for our students. To learn more, read below or visit our CSP Portal, today!

Grant applicants must conform to the federal definition of a public charter school in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESSA) to be eligible for grant funds under the CSP.

Traditional school districts that are charter authorizers, like St. Louis Public Schools and Kansas City Public Schools, are eligible to apply for funding alongside charter public schools seeking to expand or launch.

Eligibility overview:

• New and existing high-quality charter public schools across the State of Missouri
• K-12 grades are eligible for CSP funding
• Awards are divided into three types:
  • New Schools – a new charter public school
  • Expanding Schools – the addition of one or more grades to an existing charter public school
  • Replicating Schools – a new charter public school, or a new campus of a high-quality charter public school, based on the educational model of an existing high-quality charter public school

‍

Cycle 3 Key Dates:

• February 21, 2025 CSP: Cycle 3 - Request for Applications (RFA) Opens
• April 4, 2025 - CSP: Cycle 3 Request for Application (RFA) Submission Deadline
• May 9, 2025 - CSP: Cycle 3 Awardees Announced
• May 12, 2025 - CSP: Cycle 3 Fiscal Year Begins

‍