Florida Senate - 2018                          SENATOR AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for HB 7055
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì954894YÎ954894                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
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                 Floor: WD/2R          .                                
             03/02/2018 04:22 PM       .                                
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       Senator Simmons moved the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment to Amendment (734058) (with directory and
    2  title amendments)
    3  
    4         Delete lines 757 - 1009
    5  and insert:
    6         (9) CHARTER SCHOOL REQUIREMENTS.—
    7         (n)1. The director and a representative of the governing
    8  board of a charter school that has earned a grade of “D” or “F”
    9  pursuant to s. 1008.34 shall appear before the sponsor to
   10  present information concerning each contract component having
   11  noted deficiencies. The director and a representative of the
   12  governing board shall submit to the sponsor for approval a
   13  school improvement plan to raise student performance. Upon
   14  approval by the sponsor, the charter school shall begin
   15  implementation of the school improvement plan. The department
   16  shall offer technical assistance and training to the charter
   17  school and its governing board and establish guidelines for
   18  developing, submitting, and approving such plans.
   19         2.a. If a charter school earns three consecutive grades
   20  below a “C,” the charter school governing board shall choose one
   21  of the following corrective actions:
   22         (I) Contract for educational services to be provided
   23  directly to students, instructional personnel, and school
   24  administrators, as prescribed in state board rule;
   25         (II) Contract with an outside entity that has a
   26  demonstrated record of effectiveness to operate the school;
   27         (III) Reorganize the school under a new director or
   28  principal who is authorized to hire new staff; or
   29         (IV) Voluntarily close the charter school.
   30         b. The charter school must implement the corrective action
   31  in the school year following receipt of a third consecutive
   32  grade below a “C.”
   33         c. The sponsor may annually waive a corrective action if it
   34  determines that the charter school is likely to improve a letter
   35  grade if additional time is provided to implement the
   36  intervention and support strategies prescribed by the school
   37  improvement plan. Notwithstanding this sub-subparagraph, a
   38  charter school that earns a second consecutive grade of “F” is
   39  subject to subparagraph 3.
   40         d. A charter school is no longer required to implement a
   41  corrective action if it improves to a “C” or higher. However,
   42  the charter school must continue to implement strategies
   43  identified in the school improvement plan. The sponsor must
   44  annually review implementation of the school improvement plan to
   45  monitor the school’s continued improvement pursuant to
   46  subparagraph 4.
   47         e. A charter school implementing a corrective action that
   48  does not improve to a “C” or higher after 2 full school years of
   49  implementing the corrective action must select a different
   50  corrective action. Implementation of the new corrective action
   51  must begin in the school year following the implementation
   52  period of the existing corrective action, unless the sponsor
   53  determines that the charter school is likely to improve to a “C”
   54  or higher if additional time is provided to implement the
   55  existing corrective action. Notwithstanding this sub
   56  subparagraph, a charter school that earns a second consecutive
   57  grade of “F” while implementing a corrective action is subject
   58  to subparagraph 3.
   59         3. A charter school’s charter contract is automatically
   60  terminated if the school earns two consecutive grades of “F”
   61  after all school grade appeals are final unless:
   62         a. The charter school is established to turn around the
   63  performance of a district public school pursuant to s.
   64  1008.33(4)(b)2. Such charter schools shall be governed by s.
   65  1008.33;
   66         b. The charter school serves a student population the
   67  majority of which resides in a school zone served by a district
   68  public school subject to s. 1008.33(4) and the charter school
   69  earns at least a grade of “D” in its third year of operation.
   70  The exception provided under this sub-subparagraph does not
   71  apply to a charter school in its fourth year of operation and
   72  thereafter; or
   73         c. The state board grants the charter school a waiver of
   74  termination. The charter school must request the waiver within
   75  15 days after the department’s official release of school
   76  grades. The state board may waive termination if the charter
   77  school demonstrates that the Learning Gains of its students on
   78  statewide assessments are comparable to or better than the
   79  Learning Gains of similarly situated students enrolled in nearby
   80  district public schools. The waiver is valid for 1 year and may
   81  only be granted once. Charter schools that have been in
   82  operation for more than 5 years are not eligible for a waiver
   83  under this sub-subparagraph.
   84  
   85  The sponsor shall notify the charter school’s governing board,
   86  the charter school principal, and the department in writing when
   87  a charter contract is terminated under this subparagraph. The
   88  letter of termination must meet the requirements of paragraph
   89  (8)(c). A charter terminated under this subparagraph must follow
   90  the procedures for dissolution and reversion of public funds
   91  pursuant to paragraphs (8)(d)-(f) and (9)(o) paragraphs (8)(e)
   92  (g) and (9)(o).
   93         4. The director and a representative of the governing board
   94  of a graded charter school that has implemented a school
   95  improvement plan under this paragraph shall appear before the
   96  sponsor at least once a year to present information regarding
   97  the progress of intervention and support strategies implemented
   98  by the school pursuant to the school improvement plan and
   99  corrective actions, if applicable. The sponsor shall communicate
  100  at the meeting, and in writing to the director, the services
  101  provided to the school to help the school address its
  102  deficiencies.
  103         5. Notwithstanding any provision of this paragraph except
  104  sub-subparagraphs 3.a.-c., the sponsor may terminate the charter
  105  at any time pursuant to subsection (8).
  106         (10) ELIGIBLE STUDENTS.—
  107         (e) A charter school may limit the enrollment process only
  108  to target the following student populations:
  109         1. Students within specific age groups or grade levels.
  110         2. Students considered at risk of dropping out of school or
  111  academic failure. Such students shall include exceptional
  112  education students.
  113         3. Students enrolling in a charter school-in-the-workplace
  114  or charter school-in-a-municipality established pursuant to
  115  subsection (15).
  116         4. Students residing within a reasonable distance of the
  117  charter school, as described in paragraph (20)(c). Such students
  118  shall be subject to a random lottery and to the racial/ethnic
  119  balance provisions described in subparagraph (7)(a)8. or any
  120  federal provisions that require a school to achieve a
  121  racial/ethnic balance reflective of the community it serves or
  122  within the racial/ethnic range of other public schools in the
  123  same school district.
  124         5. Students who meet reasonable academic, artistic, or
  125  other eligibility standards established by the charter school
  126  and included in the charter school application and charter or,
  127  in the case of existing charter schools, standards that are
  128  consistent with the school’s mission and purpose. Such standards
  129  shall be in accordance with current state law and practice in
  130  public schools and may not discriminate against otherwise
  131  qualified individuals.
  132         6. Students articulating from one charter school to another
  133  pursuant to an articulation agreement between the charter
  134  schools that has been approved by the sponsor.
  135         7. Students living in a development in which a business
  136  entity provides the school facility and related property having
  137  an appraised value of at least $5 10 million to be used as a
  138  charter school to mitigate the educational impact created by for
  139  the development of new residential dwelling units. Students
  140  living in the development shall be entitled to no more than 50
  141  percent of the student stations in the charter school. The
  142  students who are eligible for enrollment are subject to a random
  143  lottery, the racial/ethnic balance provisions, or any federal
  144  provisions, as described in subparagraph 4. The remainder of the
  145  student stations shall be filled in accordance with subparagraph
  146  4.
  147         (20) SERVICES.—
  148         (a)1. A sponsor shall provide certain administrative and
  149  educational services to charter schools. These services shall
  150  include contract management services; full-time equivalent and
  151  data reporting services; exceptional student education
  152  administration services; services related to eligibility and
  153  reporting duties required to ensure that school lunch services
  154  under the National School Lunch Program, consistent with the
  155  needs of the charter school, are provided by the school district
  156  at the request of the charter school, that any funds due to the
  157  charter school under the National School Lunch Program be paid
  158  to the charter school as soon as the charter school begins
  159  serving food under the National School Lunch Program, and that
  160  the charter school is paid at the same time and in the same
  161  manner under the National School Lunch Program as other public
  162  schools serviced by the sponsor or the school district; test
  163  administration services, including payment of the costs of
  164  state-required or district-required student assessments;
  165  processing of teacher certificate data services; and information
  166  services, including equal access to student information systems
  167  that are used by public schools in the district in which the
  168  charter school is located. Student performance data for each
  169  student in a charter school, including, but not limited to, FCAT
  170  scores, standardized test scores, previous public school student
  171  report cards, and student performance measures, shall be
  172  provided by the sponsor to a charter school in the same manner
  173  provided to other public schools in the district.
  174         2. A sponsor may withhold an administrative fee for the
  175  provision of such services which shall be a percentage of the
  176  available funds defined in paragraph (17)(b) calculated based on
  177  weighted full-time equivalent students. If the charter school
  178  serves 75 percent or more exceptional education students as
  179  defined in s. 1003.01(3), the percentage shall be calculated
  180  based on unweighted full-time equivalent students. The
  181  administrative fee shall be calculated as follows:
  182         a. Up to 5 percent for:
  183         (I) Enrollment of up to and including 250 students in a
  184  charter school as defined in this section.
  185         (II) Enrollment of up to and including 500 students within
  186  a charter school system which meets all of the following:
  187         (A) Includes conversion charter schools and nonconversion
  188  charter schools.
  189         (B) Has all of its schools located in the same county.
  190         (C) Has a total enrollment exceeding the total enrollment
  191  of at least one school district in the state.
  192         (D) Has the same governing board for all of its schools.
  193         (E) Does not contract with a for-profit service provider
  194  for management of school operations.
  195         (III) Enrollment of up to and including 250 students in a
  196  virtual charter school.
  197         b. Up to 2 percent for enrollment of up to and including
  198  250 students in a high-performing charter school as defined in
  199  s. 1002.331.
  200         3. A sponsor may not charge charter schools any additional
  201  fees or surcharges for administrative and educational services
  202  in addition to the maximum percentage of administrative fees
  203  withheld pursuant to this paragraph.
  204         4.A sponsor shall provide to the department by September
  205  15 of each year the total amount of funding withheld from
  206  charter schools pursuant to this subsection for the prior fiscal
  207  year. The department must include the information in the report
  208  required under sub-sub-subparagraph (5)(b)1.k.III.
  209  
  210  ====== D I R E C T O R Y  C L A U S E  A M E N D M E N T ======
  211  And the directory clause is amended as follows:
  212         Delete lines 414 - 416
  213  and insert:
  214  paragraph (a) of subsection (8), paragraph (n) of subsection
  215  (9), paragraph (e) of subsection (10), and paragraph (a) of
  216  subsection (20) of that
  217  
  218  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  219  And the title is amended as follows:
  220         Delete lines 4735 - 4736
  221  and insert:
  222         charter; requiring a sponsor to provide