Opportunity Overview
NYSED’s RFP 458 Charter Schools Program Expansion Grants supports existing New York charter school education corporations that have been approved to significantly expand enrollment and/or add grade levels. The purpose is to increase high-quality educational opportunities, especially for students at greatest risk of not meeting State academic standards.
Funding and Project Period
NYSED has $14 million available for the competition, with individual grants of up to $2 million. The project period runs October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2029. Funding beyond Year One is contingent on future State appropriations and applicable grant conditions.
Eligible Applicants
Applicants must be existing charter school education corporations operating one or more New York charter schools authorized by the Board of Regents, Buffalo Board of Education, New York City Department of Education, or SUNY Board of Trustees, and one of the schools must have an approved significant enrollment expansion and/or grade expansion.
Deadline and Current Guidance
Applications are due September 18, 2026 at 5:00 PM ET through NYSED’s electronic submission process. NYSED posted Questions and Answers, submission guidance and a boilerplate contract on August 27, and previously updated the RFP to reflect increased award amounts.
Prequalification and Notice of Intent
Nonprofit applicants must be prequalified in the Statewide Financial System by 5:00 PM ET on September 18. NYSED states that a proposal from a nonprofit that is not prequalified by the deadline cannot be evaluated.
The optional September 4 Notice of Intent deadline has passed. NYSED expressly states that the NOI is not required to submit a complete application, so otherwise eligible applicants should continue toward the September 18 deadline rather than treating the missed NOI as disqualifying.
Application Readiness
Applicants should confirm the underlying charter authorization for the expansion, use the current RFP and August 27 guidance, build the required Work Plan and Budget Narrative, and address applicable M/WBE, payee and UEI requirements. Expansion projects should be tightly tied to the approved enrollment or grade growth and the educational outcomes the grant is intended to support.
Healthcare and School Health Relevance
The scale of a school expansion can create legitimate needs for health-room capacity, student supports, accessibility infrastructure and technology. However, the verified RFP is not a dedicated school-health grant. Connected examination technology should be evaluated only where it is an allowable and necessary component of the approved expansion plan, not treated as a default use of CSP funds.
Atlas Analysis
Atlas Opportunity Score: 93/100. This is a substantial three-year expansion-funding lane with a clear eligible universe and up to $2 million available to successful applicants. N9+ Fit Score: 0/100. The controlling RFP does not establish the Nonagon N9+ device and platform as an allowable or necessary project component. QC Healthcare / Dr. Miltie direct-vendor fit: 0/100.
Next Action
Eligible charter organizations should confirm expansion authorization, complete SFS prequalification, review the August 27 Q&A and submission guidance, finalize the Work Plan and Budget Narrative, and submit all required materials by September 18, 2026 at 5:00 PM ET.
Official source: New York State Education Department — RFP 458.