3.0.0 4328 2026-06-05T21:35:05Z 2026-06-05T21:35:05Z Senate S S 2026-04-16 119 https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/4328 sshr00 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Senate Standing Referred To 2026-04-16T19:23:31Z FLEX Act 119 7082 HR 2026-05-13 Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 566. Related bill CRS 2026-04-16 sshr00 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Senate Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. IntroReferral 2026-04-16 Introduced in Senate IntroReferral 10000 9 Library of Congress M001244 Sen. Moody, Ashley [R-FL] Ashley Moody R FL N B001305 Sen. Budd, Ted [R-NC] Ted Budd R NC 2026-04-16 True T000278 Sen. Tuberville, Tommy [R-AL] Tommy Tuberville R AL 2026-04-16 True Education Education 2026-05-12T20:14:09Z 00 2026-04-16 Introduced in Senate 2026-06-05T21:34:40Z Fostering Learning and Excellence in Charter Schools Act or the FLEX Act

This bill expands and revises the Charter Schools Program (CSP), including by expanding the allowable uses of CSP funds.

Current law authorizes competitive grants to state entities (e.g., state educational agencies and state charter school boards) and, through them, subgrants to eligible applicants (i.e., charter school developers) to enable them to open and prepare for the operation of a new charter school or replicate or expand an existing high-quality charter school. 

The bill allows subgrants to also be used for adding or expanding programs or other offerings at these schools, such as through the adoption of new academic programs or delivery models, personalized learning, or a new curricular approach. New offerings must enable additional students to enroll in and benefit from the school.

Eligible applicants may also use CSP funds for activities such as 

  • hiring and compensating teachers and other school staff (currently, this may only occur during the planning period);
  • carrying out necessary renovations, upgrades, or facility repairs, or acquiring portable classrooms; and
  • providing transportation to students (currently, only one-time, start-up transportation costs are permitted).

Eligible applicants may request and receive advance payments of subgrants.

Among other requirements, the Department of Education must (1) use CSP funds for additional activities (e.g., increasing the number of available seats in charter schools that serve rural students and students with disabilities), and (2) consult with charter school operators prior to issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking relevant to charter schools.

]]> FLEX Act Display Title 45 FLEX Act 2026-04-30T04:53:23Z Short Title(s) as Introduced 101 FLEX Act 2026-04-30T04:53:22Z Introduced in Senate IS Short Title(s) as Introduced 101 Fostering Learning and Excellence in Charter Schools Act 2026-04-30T04:53:22Z Introduced in Senate IS Official Title as Introduced 6 A bill to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 in order to provide for greater flexibility in the Federal programs supporting the planning and implementation of charter schools. 2026-04-30T04:48:41Z Introduced in Senate IS Introduced in Senate 2026-04-16T04:00:00Z https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-119s4328is/xml/BILLS-119s4328is.xml 2026-04-16 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress This file contains bill summaries and statuses for federal legislation. A bill summary describes the most significant provisions of a piece of legislation and details the effects the legislative text may have on current law and federal programs. Bill summaries are authored by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. As stated in Public Law 91-510 (2 USC 166 (d)(6)), one of the duties of CRS is "to prepare summaries and digests of bills and resolutions of a public general nature introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives". For more information, refer to the User Guide that accompanies this file.