The community impact rules would also require schools to demonstrate their intent to have a culturally diverse student body and staff – a noble goal, but one that makes it difficult for schools that focus on an underrepresented population to get funding, especially when they are geographically isolated or serve indigenous populations. Consider Kwiyagat Community Academy, a public charter school in Towaoc, Colo. Founded last year by the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, it teaches a new generation a culture and language infamously repressed by previous schools run by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. However, under these new rules, the Education Department would disqualify a culturally-affirming school such as Kwiyagat from participating in the grant program, simply because of the mission of their school.

Another proposed regulation would require states to prioritize charter applicants that can find a school district to "partner" with them. This is ill-advised: A district could disadvantage a proposed charter school by refusing partnership – even though charters are often most needed in districts with a history of failed cooperation with new innovative models. The federal role should be to bring additional resources to serve students, especially in struggling schools and districts, and expand successful innovations.

The rules would also create numerous compliance, documentation and monitoring requirements that would make it difficult for under-resourced communities and single-site charter schools to apply for CSP grants – for example, requiring a new school to secure a facility before it can even receive funds for a planning phase. That seldom happens in real life, as landlords often look for both a charter and sufficient start-up funds before they agree to a lease and the planning phase often includes scouting locations.

This package of proposed regulations was developed with no stakeholder engagement from governors like me, superintendents or charter schools across the country who are invested in the program's continued success. They would result in reduced quality choices for parents.

The Education Department should go back to the drawing board. The CSP is the only source of dedicated federal funding to support the growth of high-quality charter schools, and we must ensure the program can meet the clear demand for these life-transforming schools.