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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 ES
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to virtual instruction; amending s. 2
1002.331, F.S.; providing that certain students are 3
excluded from specified calculations relating to a 4
high-performing charter school's facility capacity; 5
authorizing high-performing charter schools to provide 6
virtual courses to certain students; providing funding 7
requirements for such courses; amending s. 1002.395, 8
F.S.; revising the authorized uses of Flo rida Tax 9
Credit Scholarship funds; providing an effective date. 10
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 12
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Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 14
1002.331, Florida Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (f) is 15
added to that subsection, to read: 16
1002.331 High-performing charter schools. — 17
(2) A high-performing charter school is authorized to: 18
(a) Increase its student enrollment once per school year 19
to more than the capacity identified in the charter, but student 20
enrollment may not exceed the capacity of the facility at the 21
time the enrollment increase will take effect. Students enrolled 22
in virtual courses may not be counted as enrolled students for 23
purposes of determining the facility's capacity. Facility 24
capacity for purposes of expansion shall include any 25
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improvements to an existing facility or any new facility in 26
which the students of the high -performing charter school will 27
enroll. 28
(f) Provide virtual courses, approved pursuant to s. 29
1003.499, to students in grade s 9 through 12. Funding for 30
virtual courses shall be as provided in s. 1002.45(6). 31
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A high-performing charter school shall notify its sponsor in 33
writing by March 1 if it intends to increase enrollment or 34
expand grade levels the following school year. The w ritten 35
notice shall specify the amount of the enrollment increase and 36
the grade levels that will be added, as applicable. If a charter 37
school notifies the sponsor of its intent to expand, the sponsor 38
shall modify the charter within 90 days to include the n ew 39
enrollment maximum and may not make any other changes. The 40
sponsor may deny a request to increase the enrollment of a high -41
performing charter school if the commissioner has declassified 42
the charter school as high -performing. If a high -performing 43
charter school requests to consolidate multiple charters, the 44
sponsor shall have 40 days after receipt of that request to 45
provide an initial draft charter to the charter school. The 46
sponsor and charter school shall have 50 days thereafter to 47
negotiate and notice the charter contract for final approval by 48
the sponsor. 49
Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) and paragraph 50
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(d) of subsection (6) of section 1002.395, Florida Statutes, are 51
amended to read: 52
1002.395 Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program. — 53
(2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 54
(b) "Choice navigator" means an individual who meets the 55
requirements of sub-subparagraph (6)(d)4.j. (6)(d)4.g. and who 56
provides consultations, at a mutually agreed upon location, on 57
the selection of, appl ication for, and enrollment in educational 58
options addressing the academic needs of a student; curriculum 59
selection; and advice on career and postsecondary education 60
opportunities. However, nothing in this section authorizes a 61
choice navigator to oversee o r exercise control over the 62
curricula or academic programs of a personalized education 63
program. 64
(6) OBLIGATIONS OF ELIGIBLE NONPROFIT SCHOLARSHIP -FUNDING 65
ORGANIZATIONS.—An eligible nonprofit scholarship -funding 66
organization: 67
(d)1. For the 2023-2024 school year, may fund no more than 68
20,000 scholarships for students who are enrolled pursuant to 69
paragraph (7)(b). The number of scholarships funded for such 70
students may increase by 40,000 in each subsequent school year. 71
This subparagraph is repealed July 1, 2027. 72
2. Shall establish a process for parents who are in 73
compliance with paragraph (7)(a) to renew their students' 74
scholarships. Renewal applications for the 2025 -2026 school year 75
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and thereafter must provide for a renewal timeline beginning 76
February 1 of the prior school year and ending April 30 of the 77
prior school year. A student's renewal is contingent upon an 78
eligible private school providing confirmation of admission 79
pursuant to subsection (8). The process must require that 80
parents confirm that t he scholarship is being renewed or 81
declined by May 31. 82
3. Shall establish a process that allows a parent to apply 83
for a new scholarship. The process must be in a manner that 84
creates a written or electronic record of the application 85
request and the date o f receipt of the application request. The 86
process must require that parents confirm that the scholarship 87
is being accepted or declined by a date set by the organization. 88
4. Must establish and maintain separate scholarship 89
accounts from eligible contribut ions for each eligible student. 90
For each account, the organization must maintain a record of 91
accrued interest retained in the student's account. The 92
organization must verify that scholarship funds are used for: 93
a. Tuition and fees for full -time or part-time enrollment 94
in an eligible private school. 95
b. Instructional materials, including digital materials 96
and Internet resources. 97
c. Curriculum as defined in s. 1002.394(2). 98
d. Tuition and fees associated with full -time or part-time 99
enrollment in a home education instructional program .; 100
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e. Tuition and fees for courses from an eligible 101
postsecondary educational institution or a program offered by 102
the postsecondary educational institution, unless the program is 103
subject to s. 1009.25 or reimbursed pursuan t to s. 1009.30, or; 104
an approved preapprenticeship program as defined in s. 105
446.021(5) which is not subject to s. 1009.25 and complies with 106
all applicable requirements of the Department of Education 107
pursuant to chapter 1005 .; 108
f. Tuition and fees for a private tutoring program 109
authorized under s. 1002.43 .; 110
g. Tuition and fees for asynchronous or synchronous 111
courses from a virtual program offered by a department -approved 112
private online provider that meets the provider qualifications 113
specified in s. 1002. 45(2)(a); the Florida Virtual School as a 114
private paying student; or an approved online course offered 115
pursuant to s. 1003.499 or s. 1004.0961. 116
h.e. Fees for nationally standardized, norm -referenced 117
achievement tests, Advanced Placement Examinations, ind ustry 118
certification examinations, assessments related to postsecondary 119
education, or other assessments. 120
i.f. Contracted services provided by a public school or 121
school district, including classes. Such classes may include 122
school district operated virtual courses and courses provided 123
through a contract with an approved virtual instruction program 124
provider under s. 1002.45. A student who receives contracted 125
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services under this sub -subparagraph is not considered enrolled 126
in a public school for eligibility pur poses as specified in 127
subsection (11) but rather attending a public school on a part -128
time basis as authorized under s. 1002.44. 129
j.g. Tuition and fees for part -time tutoring services or 130
fees for services provided by a choice navigator. Such services 131
must be provided by a person who holds a valid Florida 132
educator's certificate pursuant to s. 1012.56, a person who 133
holds an adjunct teaching certificate pursuant to s. 1012.57, a 134
person who has a bachelor's degree or a graduate degree in the 135
subject area in which instruction is given, a person who has 136
demonstrated a mastery of subject area knowledge pursuant to s. 137
1012.56(5), or a person certified by a nationally or 138
internationally recognized research -based training program as 139
approved by the Department of Educa tion. As used in this 140
paragraph, the term "part -time tutoring services" does not 141
qualify as regular school attendance as defined in s. 142
1003.01(16)(e). 143
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Information and documentation provided to the Department of 145
Education and the Auditor General relating t o the identity of a 146
taxpayer that provides an eligible contribution under this 147
section shall remain confidential at all times in accordance 148
with s. 213.053. 149
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 150