HB 857 2023
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to charter schools; amending s. 2
1002.33, F.S.; providing clarifying language relating 3
to admission and dismissal procedures; requiring a 4
nonprofit entity designated as a local education 5
agency report students for specified funding; 6
providing an effective date. 7
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 9
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Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (7) of section 11
1002.33, Florida Statutes, is amended and paragraph (c) is added 12
to subsection (25) to read: 13
1002.33 Charter schools. — 14
(7) CHARTER.—The terms and conditions for the operation of 15
a charter school, including a virtual charter school, shall be 16
set forth by the spon sor and the applicant in a written 17
contractual agreement, called a charter. The sponsor and the 18
governing board of the charter school or virtual charter school 19
shall use the standard charter contract or standard virtual 20
charter contract, respectively, purs uant to subsection (21), 21
which shall incorporate the approved application and any addenda 22
approved with the application. Any term or condition of a 23
proposed charter contract or proposed virtual charter contract 24
that differs from the standard charter or vir tual charter 25
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contract adopted by rule of the State Board of Education shall 26
be presumed a limitation on charter school flexibility. The 27
sponsor may not impose unreasonable rules or regulations that 28
violate the intent of giving charter schools greater flexi bility 29
to meet educational goals. The charter shall be signed by the 30
governing board of the charter school and the sponsor, following 31
a public hearing to ensure community input. 32
(a) The charter shall address and criteria for approval of 33
the charter shall be based on: 34
1. The school's mission, the types of students to be 35
served, and, for a virtual charter school, the types of students 36
the school intends to serve who reside outside of the sponsoring 37
school district, and the ages and grades to be included. 38
2. The focus of the curriculum, the instructional methods 39
to be used, any distinctive instructional techniques to be 40
employed, and identification and acquisition of appropriate 41
technologies needed to improve educational and administrative 42
performance which include a means for promoting safe, ethical, 43
and appropriate uses of technology which comply with legal and 44
professional standards. 45
a. The charter shall ensure that reading is a primary 46
focus of the curriculum and that resources are provided to 47
identify and provide specialized instruction for students who 48
are reading below grade level. The curriculum and instructional 49
strategies for reading must be consistent with the Next 50
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Generation Sunshine State Standards and grounded in 51
scientifically based reading research. 52
b. In order to provide students with access to diverse 53
instructional delivery models, to facilitate the integration of 54
technology within traditional classroom instruction, and to 55
provide students with the skills they need to compete in the 56
21st century economy, the Legislature encourages instructional 57
methods for blended learning courses consisting of both 58
traditional classroom and online instructional techniques. 59
Charter schools may implement blended learning courses which 60
combine traditional classroom instruction and virtual 61
instruction. Students in a blended learning course must be full -62
time students of the charter school pursuant to s. 63
1011.61(1)(a)1. Instructional personnel certified pursuant to s. 64
1012.55 who provide virtual instruction fo r blended learning 65
courses may be employees of the charter school or may be under 66
contract to provide instructional services to charter school 67
students. At a minimum, such instructional personnel must hold 68
an active state or school district adjunct certifi cation under 69
s. 1012.57 for the subject area of the blended learning course. 70
The funding and performance accountability requirements for 71
blended learning courses are the same as those for traditional 72
courses. 73
3. The current incoming baseline standard of student 74
academic achievement, the outcomes to be achieved, and the 75
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method of measurement that will be used. The criteria listed in 76
this subparagraph shall include a detailed description of: 77
a. How the baseline student academic achievement levels 78
and prior rates of academic progress will be established. 79
b. How these baseline rates will be compared to rates of 80
academic progress achieved by these same students while 81
attending the charter school. 82
c. To the extent possible, how these rates of progress 83
will be evaluated and compared with rates of progress of other 84
closely comparable student populations. 85
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A district school board is required to provide academic student 87
performance data to charter schools for each of their students 88
coming from the district school system, as well as rates of 89
academic progress of comparable student populations in the 90
district school system. 91
4. The methods used to identify the educational strengths 92
and needs of students and how well educational goals and 93
performance standards are met by students attending the charter 94
school. The methods shall provide a means for the charter school 95
to ensure accountability to its constituents by analyzing 96
student performance data and by evaluating the effectiveness and 97
efficiency of its major e ducational programs. Students in 98
charter schools shall, at a minimum, participate in the 99
statewide assessment program created under s. 1008.22. 100
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5. In secondary charter schools, a method for determining 101
that a student has satisfied the requirements for gr aduation in 102
s. 1002.3105(5), s. 1003.4281, or s. 1003.4282. 103
6. A method for resolving conflicts between the governing 104
board of the charter school and the sponsor. 105
7. The admissions procedures and dismissal procedures, 106
including the school's code of stu dent conduct. Admission or 107
dismissal must not be based on a student's academic performance , 108
except as authorized under subparagraph (10)(e)5 . 109
8. The ways by which the school will achieve a 110
racial/ethnic balance reflective of the community it serves or 111
within the racial/ethnic range of other nearby public schools or 112
school districts. 113
9. The financial and administrative management of the 114
school, including a reasonable demonstration of the professional 115
experience or competence of those individuals or organ izations 116
applying to operate the charter school or those hired or 117
retained to perform such professional services and the 118
description of clearly delineated responsibilities and the 119
policies and practices needed to effectively manage the charter 120
school. A description of internal audit procedures and 121
establishment of controls to ensure that financial resources are 122
properly managed must be included. Both public sector and 123
private sector professional experience shall be equally valid in 124
such a consideration. 125
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10. The asset and liability projections required in the 126
application which are incorporated into the charter and shall be 127
compared with information provided in the annual report of the 128
charter school. 129
11. A description of procedures that identify various 130
risks and provide for a comprehensive approach to reduce the 131
impact of losses; plans to ensure the safety and security of 132
students and staff; plans to identify, minimize, and protect 133
others from violent or disruptive student behavior; and the 134
manner in which the school will be insured, including whether or 135
not the school will be required to have liability insurance, 136
and, if so, the terms and conditions thereof and the amounts of 137
coverage. 138
12. The term of the charter which shall provide for 139
cancellation of the charter if insufficient progress has been 140
made in attaining the student achievement objectives of the 141
charter and if it is not likely that such objectives can be 142
achieved before expiration of the charter. The initial term of a 143
charter shall be for 5 ye ars, excluding 2 planning years. In 144
order to facilitate access to long -term financial resources for 145
charter school construction, charter schools that are operated 146
by a municipality or other public entity as provided by law are 147
eligible for up to a 15 -year charter, subject to approval by the 148
sponsor. A charter lab school is eligible for a charter for a 149
term of up to 15 years. In addition, to facilitate access to 150
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long-term financial resources for charter school construction, 151
charter schools that are operated by a private, not-for-profit, 152
s. 501(c)(3) status corporation are eligible for up to a 15 -year 153
charter, subject to approval by the sponsor. Such long -term 154
charters remain subject to annual review and may be terminated 155
during the term of the charter, but on ly according to the 156
provisions set forth in subsection (8). 157
13. The facilities to be used and their location. The 158
sponsor may not require a charter school to have a certificate 159
of occupancy or a temporary certificate of occupancy for such a 160
facility earlier than 15 calendar days before the first day of 161
school. 162
14. The qualifications to be required of the teachers and 163
the potential strategies used to recruit, hire, train, and 164
retain qualified staff to achieve best value. 165
15. The governance structure of the school, including the 166
status of the charter school as a public or private employer as 167
required in paragraph (12)(i). 168
16. A timetable for implementing the charter which 169
addresses the implementation of each element thereof and the 170
date by which the ch arter shall be awarded in order to meet this 171
timetable. 172
17. In the case of an existing public school that is being 173
converted to charter status, alternative arrangements for 174
current students who choose not to attend the charter school and 175
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for current teachers who choose not to teach in the charter 176
school after conversion in accordance with the existing 177
collective bargaining agreement or district school board rule in 178
the absence of a collective bargaining agreement. However, 179
alternative arrangements shall n ot be required for current 180
teachers who choose not to teach in a charter lab school, except 181
as authorized by the employment policies of the state university 182
which grants the charter to the lab school. 183
18. Full disclosure of the identity of all relatives 184
employed by the charter school who are related to the charter 185
school owner, president, chairperson of the governing board of 186
directors, superintendent, governing board member, principal, 187
assistant principal, or any other person employed by the charter 188
school who has equivalent decisionmaking authority. For the 189
purpose of this subparagraph, the term "relative" means father, 190
mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, first 191
cousin, nephew, niece, husband, wife, father -in-law, mother-in-192
law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, 193
stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother, 194
stepsister, half brother, or half sister. 195
19. Implementation of the activities authorized under s. 196
1002.331 by the charter school when it satis fies the eligibility 197
requirements for a high -performing charter school. A high -198
performing charter school shall notify its sponsor in writing by 199
March 1 if it intends to increase enrollment or expand grade 200
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levels the following school year. The written notic e shall 201
specify the amount of the enrollment increase and the grade 202
levels that will be added, as applicable. 203
(25) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY STATUS FOR CERTAIN CHARTER 204
SCHOOL SYSTEMS.— 205
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the 206
contrary, a nonprofit entity shall be designated a local 207
educational agency for the purpose of receiving federal and 208
state funds, the same as if the nonprofit entity were a school 209
district, and may report its student enrollment to the 210
department pursuant to the departme nt's procedures and timelines 211
and in accordance with the definitions in s. 1011.61. 212
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Such designation does not apply to other provisions unless 214
specifically provided in law. 215
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 216