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S 686 112th Congress Senate

Charter School Quality Act of 2011

Official title: A bill to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to improve public charter schooling by addressing quality issues.

Introduced: March 30, 2011 See on congress.gov
Education Academic performance and assessmentsAccounting and auditingEducation of the disadvantagedEducation programs funding
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Elementary and secondary educationLicensing and registrationsPerformance measurementSchool administration
This bill died when the 112th Congress ended
It never became law before the 112th Congress (2011–2012) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Mar 30, 2011
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Mar 30, 2011
Introduced in Senate
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 Latest action March 30, 2011

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Charter School Quality Act of 2011 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to add to the criteria the Secretary of Education is to consider when deciding whether to give a state priority in the receipt of public charter school grants.

Favors states that ensure that public charter schools are held to the student performance standards set forth in their performance contracts, and: (1) have a statewide authorized public chartering agency; (2) work with authorized public chartering agencies to streamline data collection and reporting; (3) ensure that those agencies follow high-quality standards that reflect best practices; (4) have a transparent process for accrediting, training, or evaluating those agencies; and/or (5) make student achievement a primary factor in decisions to approve, renew, or revoke school charters.

Directs the Secretary, when assessing a state's grant application, to consider the rigor of the process it establishes to ensure that subgrants are awarded only to high-quality applicants that are likely to create high-performing charter schools.

Directs the Secretary to award grants to successful public charter schools, high-quality public chartering agencies, and experienced nonprofit organizations to: (1) disseminate information about successful innovations in education; or (2) assist other schools, chartering agencies, charter support organizations, and nonprofit organizations in utilizing such innovations.

Requires public charter schools to: (1) conduct an annual, independent, and timely financial audit that is filed with their chartering agency; (2) have a written, legally-binding performance contract or charter with an authorized public chartering agency in their state; and (3) be governed by a board that is independent from the chartering agency and has autonomy over decisions.

Requires authorized public chartering agencies or authorizers to use student performance and growth at the whole school level and for certain student subgroups as a primary factor in assessing public charter schools and determining whether to renew or revoke their charters.

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
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APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 686: Charter School Quality Act of 2011. 112th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/112-S-686/
MLA
"S. 686: Charter School Quality Act of 2011." 112th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/112-S-686/.
Bluebook (legal)
S. 686, 112th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/112-S-686/.
Markdown link
[S. 686: Charter School Quality Act of 2011](https://openamerica.io/bill/112-S-686/)
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