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A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to education; amending s. 1002.33, 2
F.S.; authorizing charter schools to give enrollment 3
preference to specified students; requiring charter 4
school sponsors to timely review and reimburse 5
specified grant funds; requiring such funds to be 6
reimbursed within a specified time period; providing 7
for the payment of interest to charter schools under 8
certain circumstances; requiring charter school 9
sponsors to provide specified training and a certain 10
report to its charter schools; requiring the report to 11
be submitted to the Department of Education by a 12
specified date; requiring the State Board of Education 13
to adopt rules to implement a standard monitoring 14
tool; amending s. 1002.43, F.S.; authorizing private 15
tutoring of a specified number of students to take 16
place in specified facilities under existing zoning 17
and land use designations without obtaining a special 18
exception, rezoning, or a land use change; am ending s. 19
1003.02, F.S.; requiring a poster containing specified 20
information relating to choking to be placed in public 21
school cafeterias; providing requirements for the 22
placement of such posters; amending s. 1012.57, F.S.; 23
revising the validity period of an adjunct teaching 24
certificate; amending s. 1012.71, F.S.; revising the 25
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definition of the term "classroom teacher"; requiring 26
district school boards to calculate prorated shares of 27
funds from the Florida Teachers Classroom Supply 28
Assistance Program for ce rtain classroom teachers; 29
providing an effective date. 30
31
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 32
33
Section 1. Paragraph (d) of subsection (10), paragraph (e) 34
of subsection (17), paragraph (a) of subsection (20) and 35
subsection (28) of section 1002.33, Florida Statutes, are 36
amended to read: 37
1002.33 Charter schools. — 38
(10) ELIGIBLE STUDENTS. — 39
(d) A charter school may give enrollment preference to the 40
following student populations: 41
1. Students who are siblings of a student enrolle d in the 42
charter school. 43
2. Students who are the children of a member of the 44
governing board of the charter school. 45
3. Students who are the children of an employee of the 46
charter school. 47
4. Students who are the children of: 48
a. An employee of the bu siness partner of a charter 49
school-in-the-workplace established under paragraph (15)(b) or a 50
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resident of the municipality in which such charter school is 51
located; or 52
b. A resident or employee of a municipality that operates 53
a charter school-in-a-municipality pursuant to paragraph (15)(c) 54
or allows a charter school to use a school facility or portion 55
of land provided by the municipality for the operation of the 56
charter school. 57
5. Students who have successfully completed, during the 58
previous year, a volun tary prekindergarten education program 59
under ss. 1002.51-1002.79 provided by the charter school, the 60
charter school's governing board, or a voluntary prekindergarten 61
provider that has a written agreement with the governing board. 62
6. Students who are the children of an active duty member 63
of any branch of the United States Armed Forces. 64
7. Students who attended or are assigned to failing 65
schools pursuant to s. 1002.38(2). 66
8. Students who are the children of a safe -school officer, 67
as defined in s. 1006.12, at the school. 68
(17) FUNDING.—Students enrolled in a charter school, 69
regardless of the sponsorship, shall be funded as if they are in 70
a basic program or a special program, the same as students 71
enrolled in other public schools in a school district . Funding 72
for a charter lab school shall be as provided in s. 1002.32. 73
(e) Sponsors shall make timely and efficient payment and 74
reimbursement to charter schools, including processing paperwork 75
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required to access special state and federal funding for whic h 76
they may be eligible , including the timely review and 77
reimbursement of federal grant funds . Payments of funds under 78
paragraph (b) shall be made monthly or twice a month, beginning 79
with the start of the sponsor's fiscal year. Each payment shall 80
be one-twelfth, or one twenty-fourth, as applicable, of the 81
total state and local funds described in paragraph (b) and 82
adjusted as set forth therein. For the first 2 years of a 83
charter school's operation, if a minimum of 75 percent of the 84
projected enrollment is ent ered into the sponsor's student 85
information system by the first day of the current month, the 86
sponsor shall distribute funds to the school for the months of 87
July through October based on the projected full -time equivalent 88
student membership of the charter school as submitted in the 89
approved application. If less than 75 percent of the projected 90
enrollment is entered into the sponsor's student information 91
system by the first day of the current month, the sponsor shall 92
base payments on the actual number of stu dent enrollment entered 93
into the sponsor's student information system. Thereafter, the 94
results of full-time equivalent student membership surveys shall 95
be used in adjusting the amount of funds distributed monthly to 96
the charter school for the remainder of the fiscal year. The 97
payments shall be issued no later than 10 working days after the 98
sponsor receives a distribution of state or federal funds or the 99
date the payment is due pursuant to this subsection. With 100
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respect to federal grant funds submitted for re imbursement, the 101
sponsor shall have 60 calendar days from the date of the 102
submission to reimburse the charter school if the submission 103
provides all the necessary information to qualify for 104
reimbursement. If a warrant for payment is not issued within 10 105
working days after receipt of funding by the sponsor or within 106
60 calendar days after an approved submittal for reimbursement 107
of federal grant funds , the sponsor shall pay to the charter 108
school, in addition to the amount of the scheduled disbursement, 109
interest at a rate of 1 percent per month calculated on a daily 110
basis on the unpaid balance from the expiration of the 10 111
working days or 60 calendar days for the reimbursement of 112
federal grant funds, until such time as the warrant is issued. 113
The district school board may not delay payment to a charter 114
school of any portion of the funds provided in paragraph (b) 115
based on the timing of receipt of local funds by the district 116
school board. 117
(20) SERVICES.— 118
(a)1. A sponsor shall provide certain administrative and 119
educational services to charter schools. These services shall 120
include contract management services; full -time equivalent and 121
data reporting services; exceptional student education 122
administration services; services related to eligibility and 123
reporting duties required to ensure that school lunch services 124
under the National School Lunch Program, consistent with the 125
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needs of the charter school, are provided by the sponsor at the 126
request of the charter school, that any funds due to the charter 127
school under the National School Lunch Program be paid to the 128
charter school as soon as the charter school begins serving food 129
under the National School Lunch Program, and that the charter 130
school is paid at the same time and in the same manner under the 131
National School Lunch Program as other public schools serviced 132
by the sponsor or the school district; test administration 133
services, including payment of the costs of state -required or 134
district-required student assessments; processing of teacher 135
certificate data services; and i nformation services, including 136
equal access to the sponsor's student information systems that 137
are used by public schools in the district in which the charter 138
school is located or by schools in the sponsor's portfolio of 139
charter schools if the sponsor is no t a school district. Student 140
performance data for each student in a charter school, 141
including, but not limited to, FCAT scores, standardized test 142
scores, previous public school student report cards, and student 143
performance measures, shall be provided by th e sponsor to a 144
charter school in the same manner provided to other public 145
schools in the district or by schools in the sponsor's portfolio 146
of charter schools if the sponsor is not a school district. 147
2. A sponsor shall provide training to charter schools on 148
systems the sponsor will require the charter school to use. 149
3.2. A sponsor may withhold an administrative fee for the 150
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provision of such services which shall be a percentage of the 151
available funds defined in paragraph (17)(b) calculated based on 152
weighted full-time equivalent students. If the charter school 153
serves 75 percent or more exceptional education students as 154
defined in s. 1003.01(3), the percentage shall be calculated 155
based on unweighted full -time equivalent students. The 156
administrative fee shall be calculated as follows: 157
a. Up to 5 percent for: 158
(I) Enrollment of up to and including 250 students in a 159
charter school as defined in this section. 160
(II) Enrollment of up to and including 500 students within 161
a charter school system which meets all o f the following: 162
(A) Includes conversion charter schools and nonconversion 163
charter schools. 164
(B) Has all of its schools located in the same county. 165
(C) Has a total enrollment exceeding the total enrollment 166
of at least one school district in this state . 167
(D) Has the same governing board for all of its schools. 168
(E) Does not contract with a for -profit service provider 169
for management of school operations. 170
(III) Enrollment of up to and including 250 students in a 171
virtual charter school. 172
b. Up to 2 percent for enrollment of up to and including 173
250 students in a high -performing charter school as defined in 174
s. 1002.331. 175
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c. Up to 2 percent for enrollment of up to and including 176
250 students in an exceptional student education center that 177
meets the requirements of the rules adopted by the State Board 178
of Education pursuant to s. 1008.3415(3). 179
4.3. A sponsor may not charge charter schools any 180
additional fees or surcharges for administrative and educational 181
services in addition to the maximum percentage of administrative 182
fees withheld pursuant to this paragraph. A sponsor may not 183
charge or withhold any administrative fee against a charter 184
school for any funds specifically allocated by the Legislature 185
for teacher compensation. 186
5.4. A sponsor shall provide t o the department by 187
September 15 of each year the total amount of funding withheld 188
from charter schools pursuant to this subsection for the prior 189
fiscal year. The department must include the information in the 190
report required under sub -sub-subparagraph (5)(b)1.k.(III). 191
6. A sponsor shall annually provide a report to its 192
charter schools on what services are being rendered from the 193
sponsor's portion of the administrative fee. The report must 194
include the listed services and be submitted to the department 195
by September 15 of each year. 196
(28) RULEMAKING.—The Department of Education, after 197
consultation with sponsors and charter school directors, shall 198
recommend that the State Board of Education adopt rules to 199
implement specific subsections of this section. Such rules shall 200
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require minimum paperwork and shall not limit charter school 201
flexibility authorized by statute. The State Board of Education 202
shall adopt rules, pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54, to 203
implement a standard charter application form, standard 204
application form for the replication of charter schools in a 205
high-performing charter school system, standard evaluation 206
instrument, standard monitoring tool, and standard charter and 207
charter renewal contracts in accordance with this section. 208
Section 2. Subsection (3) is added to section 1002.43, 209
Florida Statutes, to read: 210
1002.43 Private tutoring programs. — 211
(3) Private tutoring may be provided to up to 25 students 212
in any commercial building with a valid certificate of 213
occupancy, library, community ser vice, museum, performing arts, 214
theatre, cinema, or church facility; in any facility or on any 215
land owned by a Florida College System institution or 216
university; in any similar public institution facility; and in 217
any facility recently used to house a school or child care 218
facility licensed under s. 402.305 within the preexisting zoning 219
and land use designations of the facility without obtaining a 220
special exception, rezoning, or a land use change so long as the 221
provision of such tutoring meets all applicable st ate and local 222
health, safety, and welfare laws, codes, and rules, including 223
those pertaining to firesafety and building safety. 224
Section 3. Paragraph (k) is added to subsection (1) of 225
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section 1003.02, Florida Statutes, to read: 226
1003.02 District school board operation and control of 227
public K-12 education within the school district. —As provided in 228
part II of chapter 1001, district school boards are 229
constitutionally and statutorily charged with the operation and 230
control of public K-12 education within the ir school districts. 231
The district school boards must establish, organize, and operate 232
their public K-12 schools and educational programs, employees, 233
and facilities. Their responsibilities include staff 234
development, public K -12 school student education incl uding 235
education for exceptional students and students in juvenile 236
justice programs, special programs, adult education programs, 237
and career education programs. Additionally, district school 238
boards must: 239
(1) Provide for the proper accounting for all studen ts of 240
school age, for the attendance and control of students at 241
school, and for proper attention to health, safety, and other 242
matters relating to the welfare of students in the following 243
areas: 244
(k) Instructions on emergency first aid for choking. —245
Require a poster that contains step -by-step instructions on how 246
to provide emergency first aid for choking on conscious 247
individuals to be posted in each public school cafeteria within 248
the school district. The poster must be easily visible and 249
prominently placed. 250
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Section 4. Subsection (4) of section 1012.57, Florida 251
Statutes, is amended to read: 252
1012.57 Certification of adjunct educators. — 253
(4) Each adjunct teaching certificate is valid through the 254
term of the annual contract between the educator and the school 255
district. An additional annual certification and an additional 256
annual contract may be awarded by the district at the district's 257
discretion but only if the applicant is rated effective or 258
highly effective under s. 1012.34 during each year of teac hing 259
under adjunct teaching certification. A school district may 260
issue an adjunct teaching certificate for a part -time or full-261
time teaching position; however, an adjunct teaching certificate 262
issued for a full-time teaching position is valid for no more 263
than 5 3 years and is nonrenewable. 264
Section 5. Subsections (1) and (3) of section 1012.71, 265
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 266
1012.71 The Florida Teachers Classroom Supply Assistance 267
Program.— 268
(1) For purposes of the Florida Teachers Classroom Su pply 269
Assistance Program, the term "classroom teacher" means a 270
certified teacher employed by a public school district or a 271
public charter school in that district on or before September 1 272
of each year whose full -time or job-share responsibility is the 273
classroom instruction of students in prekindergarten through 274
grade 12, including full -time media specialists and certified 275
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school counselors serving students in prekindergarten through 276
grade 12, who are funded through the Florida Education Finance 277
Program. A "job-share" classroom teacher is one of two teachers 278
whose combined full-time equivalent employment for the same 279
teaching assignment equals one full -time classroom teacher. The 280
term "classroom teacher" may also include an administrator or a 281
substitute teacher who holds a valid teaching certificate who is 282
filling a vacancy in an identified teaching position on or 283
before September 1 of each year. 284
(3) From the funds allocated to each school district and 285
any funds received from local contributions for the Florid a 286
Teachers Classroom Supply Assistance Program, the district 287
school board shall calculate an identical amount for each 288
classroom teacher who is estimated to be employed by the school 289
district or a charter school in the district on September 1 of 290
each year, which is that teacher's proportionate share of the 291
total amount allocated to the district from state funds and 292
funds received from local contributions. A job -share classroom 293
teacher may receive a prorated share of the amount provided to a 294
full-time classroom teacher. The school district shall calculate 295
a prorated share of the funds for a classroom teacher who 296
teaches less than full time. For a classroom teacher determined 297
eligible on July 1, the district school board and each charter 298
school board may provi de the teacher with his or her total 299
proportionate share by August 1 based on the estimate of the 300
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number of teachers who will be employed on September 1. For a 301
classroom teacher determined eligible after July 1, the district 302
school board and each charter s chool board shall provide the 303
teacher with his or her total proportionate share by September 304
30. The proportionate share may be provided by any means 305
determined appropriate by the district school board or charter 306
school board, including, but not limited to , direct deposit, 307
check, debit card, or purchasing card. If a debit card is used, 308
an identifier must be placed on the front of the debit card 309
which clearly indicates that the card has been issued for the 310
Florida Teachers Classroom Supply Assistance Program . 311
Expenditures under the program are not subject to state or local 312
competitive bidding requirements. Funds received by a classroom 313
teacher do not affect wages, hours, or terms and conditions of 314
employment and, therefore, are not subject to collective 315
bargaining. Any classroom teacher may decline receipt of or 316
return the funds without explanation or cause. 317
Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 318