Magnet Schools Assistance is a Federal grants program administered by the U.S. Department of Education.
The program is defined in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, in Section 5301, though the program itself was developed in the early 1980s to address de facto racism through funds given to school distracts that were voluntarily implementing desegregation plans or court orders intended to reduce racial isolation.
They must also provide according context and a summary of their intended goals in line with their desegregation plan as well as lay out how the funding provided by the program will assist in achieving district goals related to the purposes of the program.
MSAP supports capacity development—the ability of a school to assist all of its students in meeting more challenging standards in their education—through the encouragement of professional development along with other activities that will continue to enrich the educational experience of students in magnet schools at a high performance level even after funding ends.
These schools offer a variety of distinctive education programs, some based specifically on community interests and others that emphasize specific academic subjects such as math, science, technology, language immersion, visual and performing arts, or humanities.