HB 109 2024
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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 conversion charter schools; 2
amending s. 1002.33, F.S.; revising the requirements 3
for an application for a conversion charter school; 4
authorizing municipalities to apply for the conversion 5
of specified public schools to charter schools; 6
authorizing the Charter School Review Commission to 7
solicit and review applications for conversion charter 8
schools; providing an effective date. 9
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 11
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Section 1. Paragraph (c) is added to subsection (3) of 13
section 1002.33, Florida Statutes, and paragraph (b) of 14
subsection (3) and paragraph (a) of subsection (5) of that 15
section are amended, to re ad: 16
1002.33 Charter schools. — 17
(3) APPLICATION FOR CHARTER STATUS. — 18
(b) An application for a conversion charter school shall 19
be made by a municipality, the district school board, the 20
principal, teachers, parents, and/or the school advisory council 21
at an existing public school that has been in operation for at 22
least 2 years prior to the application to convert. A public 23
school-within-a-school that is designated as a school by the 24
district school board may also submit an application to convert 25
HB 109 2024
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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
to charter status. An application submitted proposing to convert 26
an existing public school to a charter school shall demonstrate 27
the support of at least 50 percent of the teachers employed at 28
the school and 50 percent of the parents voting whose children 29
are enrolled at the school, provided that a majority of the 30
parents eligible to vote participate in the ballot process, 31
according to rules adopted by the State Board of Education. The 32
Charter School Review Commission or a district school board 33
denying an application f or a conversion charter school shall 34
provide notice of denial to the applicants in writing within 10 35
days after the meeting at which the commission or district 36
school board denied the application. The notice must articulate 37
in writing the specific reasons for denial and must provide 38
documentation supporting those reasons. A private school, 39
parochial school, or home education program shall not be 40
eligible for charter school status. 41
(c) A municipality may submit an application for 42
conversion for any or all of the public schools within its 43
jurisdictional boundary as part of a single application for 44
approval. 45
(5) SPONSOR; DUTIES. — 46
(a) Sponsoring entities. — 47
1. A district school board may sponsor a charter school in 48
the county over which the district schoo l board has 49
jurisdiction. 50
HB 109 2024
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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
2. A state university may grant a charter to a lab school 51
created under s. 1002.32 and shall be considered to be the 52
school's sponsor. Such school shall be considered a charter lab 53
school. 54
3. Because needs relating to educatio nal capacity, 55
workforce qualifications, and career education opportunities are 56
constantly changing and extend beyond school district 57
boundaries: 58
a. A state university may, upon approval by the Department 59
of Education, solicit applications and sponsor a c harter school 60
to meet regional education or workforce demands by serving 61
students from multiple school districts. 62
b. A Florida College System institution may, upon approval 63
by the Department of Education, solicit applications and sponsor 64
a charter school in any county within its service area to meet 65
workforce demands and may offer postsecondary programs leading 66
to industry certifications to eligible charter school students. 67
A charter school established under subparagraph (b)4. may not be 68
sponsored by a Florida College System institution until its 69
existing charter with the school district expires as provided 70
under subsection (7). 71
c. Notwithstanding paragraph (6)(b), a state university or 72
Florida College System institution may, at its discretion, deny 73
an application for a charter school. 74
d. The Charter School Review Commission, as authorized 75
HB 109 2024
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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
under s. 1002.3301, may solicit and review applications for 76
conversion charter schools and charter schools overseen by 77
district school boards and, upon the commission approving an 78
application, the district school board that oversees the school 79
district in which the charter school will be located shall serve 80
as sponsor. 81
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 82