The federal government has awarded the Colorado Department of Education a nearly $21 million grant to boost new and developing charter schools.

The three-year grant comes from the Federal Charter School Program, which supports the planning and development of charter schools.

The department will distribute the funds to budding charter schools as well as those in existence for three years or less.

Rep. Marilyn Musgrave will present a check to state education officials today during a ceremony at Ridgeview Classical School in Fort Collins.

Authorized in the early 1990s, charter schools are publicly funded, but run by citizen boards that usually include parents and teachers.

They operate under the terms of a charter awarded by the local board of education.