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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; authorizing a 4
charter school to assign its charter to another 5
governing board that meets specified requirements upon 6
approval of the sponsor; providing the circumstances 7
under which the landlord of a charter school or 8
certain other individuals may serve on a charter 9
school governing board; requiring the State Board of 10
Education to adopt rules to implement a standard 11
monitoring tool; amending s. 1002.331, F.S.; 12
conforming provisions to changes made by the act; 13
amending s. 1013.62, F.S.; revising charter school 14
capital outlay fund eligibility; amending s. 1012.57, 15
F.S.; authorizing charter school governing boards to 16
adopt rules to allow for issuing adjunct teaching 17
certificates; requiring a charter school to post 18
specified requirements on its websites and annually 19
report specified information relating to adjunct 20
teaching certificates to the Department of Education; 21
providing an effective date. 22
23
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 24
25
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Section 1. Paragraphs (a) and (d) of subsection (7) and 26
subsection (28) of section 1002.33, Florida Statutes, are 27
amended and paragraph (d) is added to subsection (26) to read: 28
1002.33 Charter schools. — 29
(7) CHARTER.—The terms and conditions for the operation of 30
a charter school, including a virtual charter school, s hall be 31
set forth by the sponsor and the applicant in a written 32
contractual agreement, called a charter. The sponsor and the 33
governing board of the charter school or virtual charter school 34
shall use the standard charter contract or standard virtual 35
charter contract, respectively, pursuant to subsection (21), 36
which shall incorporate the approved application and any addenda 37
approved with the application. Any term or condition of a 38
proposed charter contract or proposed virtual charter contract 39
that differs from the standard charter or virtual charter 40
contract adopted by rule of the State Board of Education shall 41
be presumed a limitation on charter school flexibility. The 42
sponsor may not impose unreasonable rules or regulations that 43
violate the intent of giving charter schools greater flexibility 44
to meet educational goals. The charter shall be signed by the 45
governing board of the charter school and the sponsor, following 46
a public hearing to ensure community input. 47
(a) The charter shall address and criteria for approval of 48
the charter shall be based on: 49
1. The school's mission, the types of students to be 50
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served, and, for a virtual charter school, the types of students 51
the school intends to serve who reside outside of the sponsoring 52
school district, and the age s and grades to be included. 53
2. The focus of the curriculum, the instructional methods 54
to be used, any distinctive instructional techniques to be 55
employed, and identification and acquisition of appropriate 56
technologies needed to improve educational and a dministrative 57
performance which include a means for promoting safe, ethical, 58
and appropriate uses of technology which comply with legal and 59
professional standards. 60
a. The charter shall ensure that reading is a primary 61
focus of the curriculum and that res ources are provided to 62
identify and provide specialized instruction for students who 63
are reading below grade level. The curriculum and instructional 64
strategies for reading must be consistent with the Next 65
Generation Sunshine State Standards and grounded in 66
scientifically based reading research. 67
b. In order to provide students with access to diverse 68
instructional delivery models, to facilitate the integration of 69
technology within traditional classroom instruction, and to 70
provide students with the skills th ey need to compete in the 71
21st century economy, the Legislature encourages instructional 72
methods for blended learning courses consisting of both 73
traditional classroom and online instructional techniques. 74
Charter schools may implement blended learning cours es which 75
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combine traditional classroom instruction and virtual 76
instruction. Students in a blended learning course must be full -77
time students of the charter school pursuant to s. 78
1011.61(1)(a)1. Instructional personnel certified pursuant to s. 79
1012.55 who provide virtual instruction for blended learning 80
courses may be employees of the charter school or may be under 81
contract to provide instructional services to charter school 82
students. At a minimum, such instructional personnel must hold 83
an active state or sc hool district adjunct certification under 84
s. 1012.57 for the subject area of the blended learning course. 85
The funding and performance accountability requirements for 86
blended learning courses are the same as those for traditional 87
courses. 88
3. The current incoming baseline standard of student 89
academic achievement, the outcomes to be achieved, and the 90
method of measurement that will be used. The criteria listed in 91
this subparagraph shall include a detailed description of: 92
a. How the baseline student academi c achievement levels 93
and prior rates of academic progress will be established. 94
b. How these baseline rates will be compared to rates of 95
academic progress achieved by these same students while 96
attending the charter school. 97
c. To the extent possible, how these rates of progress 98
will be evaluated and compared with rates of progress of other 99
closely comparable student populations. 100
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101
A district school board is required to provide academic student 102
performance data to charter schools for each of their students 103
coming from the district school system, as well as rates of 104
academic progress of comparable student populations in the 105
district school system. 106
4. The methods used to identify the educational strengths 107
and needs of students and how well educational goals and 108
performance standards are met by students attending the charter 109
school. The methods shall provide a means for the charter school 110
to ensure accountability to its constituents by analyzing 111
student performance data and by evaluating the effectiveness and 112
efficiency of its major educational programs. Students in 113
charter schools shall, at a minimum, participate in the 114
statewide assessment program created under s. 1008.22. 115
5. In secondary charter schools, a method for determining 116
that a student has satisfie d the requirements for graduation in 117
s. 1002.3105(5), s. 1003.4281, or s. 1003.4282. 118
6. A method for resolving conflicts between the governing 119
board of the charter school and the sponsor. 120
7. The admissions procedures and dismissal procedures, 121
including the school's code of student conduct. Admission or 122
dismissal must not be based on a student's academic performance , 123
except as authorized under subparagraph (10)(e)5 . 124
8. The ways by which the school will achieve a 125
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racial/ethnic balance reflective of the community it serves or 126
within the racial/ethnic range of other nearby public schools or 127
school districts. 128
9. The financial and administrative management of the 129
school, including a reasonable demonstration of the professional 130
experience or competence of t hose individuals or organizations 131
applying to operate the charter school or those hired or 132
retained to perform such professional services and the 133
description of clearly delineated responsibilities and the 134
policies and practices needed to effectively manage the charter 135
school. A description of internal audit procedures and 136
establishment of controls to ensure that financial resources are 137
properly managed must be included. Both public sector and 138
private sector professional experience shall be equally valid in 139
such a consideration. 140
10. The asset and liability projections required in the 141
application which are incorporated into the charter and shall be 142
compared with information provided in the annual report of the 143
charter school. 144
11. A description of procedure s that identify various 145
risks and provide for a comprehensive approach to reduce the 146
impact of losses; plans to ensure the safety and security of 147
students and staff; plans to identify, minimize, and protect 148
others from violent or disruptive student behavio r; and the 149
manner in which the school will be insured, including whether or 150
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not the school will be required to have liability insurance, 151
and, if so, the terms and conditions thereof and the amounts of 152
coverage. 153
12. The term of the charter which shall pro vide for 154
cancellation of the charter if insufficient progress has been 155
made in attaining the student achievement objectives of the 156
charter and if it is not likely that such objectives can be 157
achieved before expiration of the charter. The initial term of a 158
charter shall be for 5 years, excluding 2 planning years. In 159
order to facilitate access to long -term financial resources for 160
charter school construction, charter schools that are operated 161
by a municipality or other public entity as provided by law are 162
eligible for up to a 15-year charter, subject to approval by the 163
sponsor. A charter lab school is eligible for a charter for a 164
term of up to 15 years. In addition, to facilitate access to 165
long-term financial resources for charter school construction, 166
charter schools that are operated by a private, not -for-profit, 167
s. 501(c)(3) status corporation are eligible for up to a 15 -year 168
charter, subject to approval by the sponsor. Such long -term 169
charters remain subject to annual review and may be terminated 170
during the term of the charter, but only according to the 171
provisions set forth in subsection (8). 172
13. The facilities to be used and their location. The 173
sponsor may not require a charter school to have a certificate 174
of occupancy or a temporary certificate of occupancy for such a 175
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facility earlier than 15 calendar days before the first day of 176
school. 177
14. The qualifications to be required of the teachers and 178
the potential strategies used to recruit, hire, train, and 179
retain qualified staff to achieve best value. 180
15. The governance structure of the school, including the 181
status of the charter school as a public or private employer as 182
required in paragraph (12)(i). 183
16. A timetable for implementing the charter which 184
addresses the implementation of each element thereof and the 185
date by which the charter shall be awarded in order to meet this 186
timetable. 187
17. In the case of an existing public school that is being 188
converted to charter status, alternative arrangements for 189
current students who choose not to attend the charter sc hool and 190
for current teachers who choose not to teach in the charter 191
school after conversion in accordance with the existing 192
collective bargaining agreement or district school board rule in 193
the absence of a collective bargaining agreement. However, 194
alternative arrangements shall not be required for current 195
teachers who choose not to teach in a charter lab school, except 196
as authorized by the employment policies of the state university 197
which grants the charter to the lab school. 198
18. Full disclosure of the i dentity of all relatives 199
employed by the charter school who are related to the charter 200
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school owner, president, chairperson of the governing board of 201
directors, superintendent, governing board member, principal, 202
assistant principal, or any other person emp loyed by the charter 203
school who has equivalent decisionmaking authority. For the 204
purpose of this subparagraph, the term "relative" means father, 205
mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, first 206
cousin, nephew, niece, husband, wife, father -in-law, mother-in-207
law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, 208
stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother, 209
stepsister, half brother, or half sister. 210
19. Implementation of the activities authorized under s. 211
1002.331 by the charter school when it satisfies the eligibility 212
requirements for a high -performing charter school. A high -213
performing charter school shall notify its sponsor in writing by 214
March 1 if it intends to increase enrollment or expand grade 215
levels the following schoo l year. The written notice shall 216
specify the amount of the enrollment increase and the grade 217
levels that will be added, as applicable. 218
(d) A charter may be modified during its term upon the 219
recommendation of the sponsor or the charter school's governing 220
board and the approval of both parties to the agreement. Changes 221
to curriculum which are consistent with state standards are 222
shall be deemed approved unless the sponsor and the Department 223
of Education determine in writing that the curriculum is 224
inconsistent with state standards. Modification during any term 225
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may include, but is not limited to, consolidation of multiple 226
charters into a single charter if the charters are operated 227
under the same governing board, regardless of the renewal cycle. 228
A charter school may assign its charter to another governing 229
board, subject to approval by the sponsor, if the proposed 230
governing board is a nonprofit entity or otherwise meets the 231
requirements of paragraph (12)(i). A charter school that is not 232
subject to a school improve ment plan and that closes as part of 233
a consolidation shall be reported by the sponsor as a 234
consolidation. A request for consolidation of multiple charters 235
must be approved or denied within 60 days after the submission 236
of the request. If the request is deni ed, the sponsor must shall 237
notify the charter school's governing board of the denial and 238
must provide the specific reasons, in reasonable detail, for the 239
denial of the request for consolidation within 10 days. 240
(26) STANDARDS OF CONDUCT AND FINANCIAL DIS CLOSURE.— 241
(d) The landlord of a charter school, or his or her 242
spouse, or an officer, director, or employee of an entity that 243
is a landlord of a charter school, or his or her spouse, may not 244
be a member of the governing board of the charter school unless: 245
1. The charter school is established under paragraph 246
(15)(c) and the landlord is a municipal entity; or 247
2. The landlord is a not -for-profit entity and a two -248
thirds majority vote of the charter school board, excluding the 249
vote of landlord-affiliated board members, approves the 250
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landlord-affiliated board member to be elected to, or to remain 251
on, the board. 252
(28) RULEMAKING.—The Department of Education, after 253
consultation with sponsors and charter school directors, shall 254
recommend that the State Board of Education adopt rules to 255
implement specific subsections of this section. Such rules shall 256
require minimum paperwork and shall not limit charter school 257
flexibility authorized by statute. The State Board of Education 258
shall adopt rules, pursuant to ss. 120.53 6(1) and 120.54, to 259
implement a standard charter application form, standard 260
application form for the replication of charter schools in a 261
high-performing charter school system, standard evaluation 262
instrument, standard monitoring tool, and standard charter a nd 263
charter renewal contracts in accordance with this section. 264
Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 1002.331, Florida 265
Statutes, is amended to read: 266
1002.331 High-performing charter schools. — 267
(2) A high-performing charter school is authorized to: 268
(a) Increase its student enrollment once per school year 269
to more than the capacity identified in the charter, but student 270
enrollment may not exceed the capacity of the facility at the 271
time the enrollment increase will take effect. Facility capacity 272
for purposes of expansion must shall include any improvements to 273
an existing facility or any new facility in which the students 274
of the high-performing charter school will enroll. 275
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(b) Expand grade levels within kindergarten through grade 276
12 to add grade levels no t already served if any annual 277
enrollment increase resulting from grade level expansion is 278
within the limit established in paragraph (a). 279
(c) Submit a quarterly, rather than a monthly, financial 280
statement to the sponsor pursuant to s. 1002.33(9)(g). 281
(d) Consolidate under a single charter the charters of 282
multiple high-performing charter schools operated in the same 283
school district by the charter schools' governing board 284
regardless of the renewal cycle. 285
(e) Receive a modification of its charter to a ter m of 15 286
years or a 15-year charter renewal. The charter may be modified 287
or renewed for a shorter term at the option of the high -288
performing charter school. The charter must be consistent with 289
s. 1002.33(7)(a)19. and (10)(h) and (i), is subject to annual 290
review by the sponsor, and may be terminated during its term 291
pursuant to s. 1002.33(8). 292
(f) Assign its charter to another operator, subject to 293
approval by the sponsor, provided that the proposed operator 294
meets the requirements of s. 1002.33(12)(i). 295
296
A high-performing charter school shall notify its sponsor in 297
writing by March 1 if it intends to increase enrollment or 298
expand grade levels the following school year. The written 299
notice must shall specify the amount of the enrollment increase 300
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and the grade levels that will be added, as applicable. If a 301
charter school notifies the sponsor of its intent to expand, the 302
sponsor must shall modify the charter within 90 days to include 303
the new enrollment maximum and may not make any other changes. 304
The sponsor may deny a request to increase the enrollment of a 305
high-performing charter school if the commissioner has 306
declassified the charter school as high -performing. If a high -307
performing charter school requests to consolidate multiple 308
charters or assign an existing charter , the sponsor has shall 309
have 40 days after receipt of that request to provide an initial 310
draft charter to the charter school. The sponsor and charter 311
school shall have 50 days thereafter to negotiate and notice the 312
charter contract for final approval by the sponsor. 313
Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 314
1013.62, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 315
1013.62 Charter schools capital outlay funding. — 316
(1) For the 2022-2023 fiscal year, charter school capital 317
outlay funding shall consist of state funds appropriated in the 318
2022-2023 General Appropriations Act. Beginning in fiscal year 319
2023-2024, charter school capital outlay funding shall consist 320
of state funds when such funds are appropriated in the General 321
Appropriations Act and revenue res ulting from the discretionary 322
millage authorized in s. 1011.71(2) if the amount of state funds 323
appropriated for charter school capital outlay in any fiscal 324
year is less than the average charter school capital outlay 325
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funds per unweighted full -time equivalent student for the 2018 -326
2019 fiscal year, multiplied by the estimated number of charter 327
school students for the applicable fiscal year, and adjusted by 328
changes in the Consumer Price Index issued by the United States 329
Department of Labor from the previous fis cal year. Nothing in 330
this subsection prohibits a school district from distributing to 331
charter schools funds resulting from the discretionary millage 332
authorized in s. 1011.71(2). 333
(a) To be eligible to receive capital outlay funds, a 334
charter school must: 335
1.a. Have been in operation for 2 or more years; 336
b. Be governed by a governing board established in the 337
state for 2 or more years which operates both charter schools 338
and conversion charter schools within the state; 339
c. Be an expanded feeder chain of a charter school within 340
the same school district that is currently receiving charter 341
school capital outlay funds; 342
d. Have been accredited by a regional accrediting 343
association as defined by State Board of Education rule; 344
e. Serve students in facilities t hat are provided by a 345
business partner for a charter school -in-the-workplace pursuant 346
to s. 1002.33(15)(b); or 347
f. Be operated by a hope operator pursuant to s. 1002.333. 348
2. Have an annual audit that does not reveal any of the 349
financial emergency condit ions provided in s. 218.503(1) for the 350
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most recent fiscal year for which such audit results are 351
available. 352
3. Have not earned two consecutive grades of "F" or three 353
consecutive grades below a "C" satisfactory student achievement 354
based on state accountabi lity standards applicable to the 355
charter school. 356
4. Have received final approval from its sponsor pursuant 357
to s. 1002.33 for operation during that fiscal year. 358
5. Serve students in facilities that are not provided by 359
the charter school's sponsor. 360
Section 4. Section 1012.57, Florida Statutes, is amended 361
to read: 362
1012.57 Certification of adjunct educators. — 363
(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of ss. 1012.32, 364
1012.55, and 1012.56, or any other provision of law or rule to 365
the contrary, district schoo l boards and charter school 366
governing boards shall adopt rules to allow for the issuance of 367
an adjunct teaching certificate to any applicant who fulfills 368
the requirements of s. 1012.56(2)(a) -(f) and (10) and who has 369
expertise in the subject area to be taug ht. An applicant shall 370
be considered to have expertise in the subject area to be taught 371
if the applicant demonstrates sufficient subject area mastery 372
through passage of a subject area test. 373
(2) The Legislature intends that this section allow school 374
districts and charter schools to tap the wealth of talent and 375
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expertise represented in Florida's citizens who may wish to 376
teach in a Florida public school by permitting school districts 377
to issue adjunct certificates to qualified applicants. 378
(3) Adjunct certificateholders should be used primarily as 379
a strategy to enhance the diversity of course offerings offered 380
to all students. School districts may use the expertise of 381
individuals in the state who wish to provide online instruction 382
to students by issuing adjun ct certificates to qualified 383
applicants. 384
(4) Each adjunct teaching certificate is valid through the 385
term of the annual contract between the educator and the school 386
district. An additional annual certification and an additional 387
annual contract may be awar ded by the district or charter school 388
at the district's or charter school's discretion but only if the 389
applicant is rated effective or highly effective under s. 390
1012.34 during each year of teaching under adjunct teaching 391
certification. A school district and charter school may issue an 392
adjunct teaching certificate for a part -time or full-time 393
teaching position; however, an adjunct teaching certificate 394
issued for a full-time teaching position is valid for no more 395
than 3 years and is nonrenewable. 396
(5) Individuals who are certified and employed under this 397
section shall have the same rights and protection of laws as 398
teachers certified under s. 1012.56. 399
(6) Each school district and charter school shall: 400
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(a) Post requirements on its website for the issuance o f 401
an adjunct teaching certificate, which must specify the subject 402
area test through which an applicant demonstrates subject area 403
mastery. 404
(b) Annually report to the department the number of 405
adjunct teaching certificates issued for part -time teaching 406
positions and full-time teaching positions pursuant to this 407
section. 408
Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 409