Downloads
CS/CS/HB 443 — Education
by Education & Employment Committee; Education Administration Subcommittee; and Reps. Snyder, Rizo, and others (CS/CS/SB 822 by Rules Committee; Education Pre-K – 12 Committee; and Senator Rodriguez)
This summary is provided for information only and does not represent the opinion of any Senator, Senate Officer, or Senate Office.
Prepared by: Education Pre-K - 12 Committee (ED)
Charter School Administration and Operations
The bill clarifies that charter schools are public schools and should be considered a public facility for the purposes of concurrency related to the development of communities.
The bill allows university lab schools to use discretionary capital improvement funds for purchases, lease-purchases and leases of real property, facilities, insurance, certain vehicles, certain equipment, and other materials.
The bill prohibits sponsors from imposing administrative deadlines on charter schools that are earlier than the sponsor’s own deadlines for similar reports or submissions. Additionally, the bill limits imposing deadlines for financial audits or other administrative requirements that are 15?days before the sponsor’s own deadline for similar submissions to the Department of Education.
The bill limits a landlord and associated persons from serving on the governing board of a charter school, with an exception for a charter school-in-a-municipality.
The bill allows a high performing charter school to assume the charter of an existing charter school within the same district and requires that the request to assume the charter be in written format from the charter school being assumed.
Charter School Enrollment
The bill expands available enrollment preferences for charter schools to include all preschool children who completed a prekindergarten program at the charter school or at a prekindergarten program with a written agreement with the charter school, not limited to only the Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) program.
The bill allows certain charter schools to increase the school’s enrollment capacity beyond what is stated in the charter agreement, subject to certain conditions, and requires notification by the charter school to the sponsor of the intention to increase enrollment by March 1 for the upcoming school year.
Charter School Students
The bill allows charter schools to adopt their own code of student conduct and requires acknowledgment by the parents if the code is more stringent than the code of student conduct adopted by the charter school’s sponsor.
The bill requires that the charter school sponsor and the Department of Education promptly and efficiently share student data, including student assessment data, with charter schools.
The bill clarifies that charter schools must comply with Florida law regarding notification to parents of any change in a student’s services or monitoring related to mental, emotional, or physical well-being.
Virtual Education Students
The bill allows full-time virtual students to participate in athletic activities in any public school in the district where the student resides if requirements are met, or develop an agreement with a private school for participation in athletics.
If approved by the Governor, or allowed to become law without the Governor’s signature, these provisions take effect July 1, 2025.
Vote: Senate 30-7; House 86-25