The U.S. Department of Education has awarded the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction's Office of Charter Schools an additional $10 million to support a statewide initiative to help meet the needs of educationally disadvantaged students. North Carolina was awarded a $26.6 million federal grant last year under the Expanding Opportunities Through Quality Charter Schools Program, which is aimed at expanding opportunities for all students – particularly educationally disadvantaged students – to attend high-quality charter schools and as well as increasing the number of high-quality charter schools across the state.