The federal program is intended to help charter schools and applicants cover preliminary expenses such as program development, securing nonprofit status, and hiring accountants, lawyers, and consultants. It can give new schools the chance to get off to a good start with books, equipment, and supplies.
The states can reapply, probably in the spring, but money awarded next year might arrive too late for schools with September openings.
New Jersey, which has 73 charters, said in its application that it hoped to open 30 more within three years. Seven, including schools in Camden and Willingboro, already have been approved to open in September.
Pennsylvania has 145 charters and expects to add 20 to 25 in the next three years.
Since the U.S. Department of Education's charter school program was launched in 1995, each state has won four awards. The most recent were in 2006, when Pennsylvania was granted $12 million and New Jersey got $6.2 million, both dispensed over four years, said Scott Pearson, acting director of the program.
In New Jersey, the grants typically resulted in about $150,000 per new charter.
Pamela Brown, an art educator who wants to offer full-day kindergarten with an arts emphasis at her proposed Voorhees Charter School, said the money would be a godsend.
"Funding for a start-up is especially significant," said Brown, who now plans to look for other money. "The first five years, there's so much you need to purchase."
The states were notified in the summer that they had failed to qualify. As in the recent Race to the Top federal grant competition, in which New Jersey and Pennsylvania twice vied unsuccessfully for up to $400 million, the states' applications were found lacking.
New Jersey received 61.3 percent of the possible points; Pennsylvania got 60.1 percent, Pearson said. States that won grants scored between 67 percent and 85.7 percent, he said.
