Charter School Facilities Program
In 2002, Assembly Bill (AB) 14 created the Charter School Facilities Program (CSFP). Through the passage of Propositions 47, 55 and 1D, $900 million has been made available for the new construction of charter school facilities or the rehabilitation of existing school district facilities for charter school use. This program allows charter schools that provide site based instruction to access State facility funding directly or through the school district where the project will be physically located.
The CSFP permits a charter school, or school district filing on behalf of a charter school, to apply for a preliminary apportionment (reservation of funds) for new construction projects and rehabilitation of district owned existing facilities that are at least 15 years old. If the application is successful, the charter school that applies independently would receive the funding. In the event that a school district applies on behalf of a charter school, the district would receive the funding. To qualify for funding, a charter school must be deemed financially sound by the California School Finance Authority (CSFA).
The preliminary apportionment for a CSFP project must be converted within a four-year period to an adjusted grant apportionment meeting all the School Facility Program (SFP) criteria, unless a one-year extension is granted.
The School Facility Program Handbook (PDF) contains detailed information on CSFP funding in Section 6.
Funding Available
At the August 2011 meeting, the State Allocation Board (SAB) made $94.2 million in cash proceeds available for disbursal of CSFP advance fund releases for design and/or site acquisition. Charter schools that received a preliminary apportionment from either the Proposition 55 or Proposition 1D filing rounds were eligible to request these funds. The deadline to submit a request for advance funding was May 2, 2012; however, at the June 2012 meeting, the SAB extended the deadline to December 27, 2012. The SAB also approved the use of the remaining funds for full grant apportionments, not just for design or site apportionments. All project timelines have been reinstated, regardless if funds were requested or not. Any funds remaining after the December 27, 2012 deadline will be for use at the discretion of the SAB.
On May 15, 2012, regulatory amendments went into effect allowing the High Performance Incentive (HPI) grant to be requested for a CSFP rehabilitation project.
CSFP Fund Release Checklist (PDF)
Reinstatement of Project Timelines
At the October 2011 meeting, the SAB took action to reinstate the statutory timeline requirement for submitting a complete funding application for all projects that were previously frozen or declared inactive, for projects that accessed all available advances for design and/or site acquisition costs. Charter schools with reinstated timelines need to submit a complete funding application, to convert the preliminary apportionment to a final apportionment, no later than their specified deadline. The charter school may request a one-time, one-year extension prior to the deadline, subject to SAB approval. If the deadline is not met, the project must be rescinded.
Please Note: The deadlines to convert a preliminary apportionment to a final apportionment for Proposition 55 funded CSFP projects are approaching in 2013. These deadlines include the optional one-year extension. A complete list, with deadlines, of the Proposition 55 funded CSFP projects that do not have a converted preliminary apportionments is available here.
Conversion Application Submittal Requirements (PDF)
See CSFP Frequently Asked Questions
See all CSFP forms.