The Florida Senate

228.058  Charter School Districts Pilot Program.--The State Board of Education is authorized to enter into a performance contract with up to six school districts for the purpose of establishing them as charter school districts. The State Board of Education shall give priority to Hillsborough and Volusia Counties upon the submission of a completed precharter agreement or charter proposal for a charter school district. The purpose of this pilot program is to examine a new relationship between the State Board of Education and school districts that may produce significant improvements in student achievement and school management, while complying with constitutional requirements assigned to each entity.

(1)  CHARTER DISTRICT.--A charter school district is a school district in Florida in which the school board has submitted and the state board has approved a charter proposal that exchanges statutory and rule exemption for agreement to meet performance goals in the proposal. The charter school district shall be chartered for 3 years, at the end of which the performance shall be evaluated.

(2)  EXEMPTION FROM STATUTES AND RULES.--Charter school districts shall be exempt from state statutes and state board rules as provided in s. 228.056. The school board of a charter school district shall not be exempt from any statute governing election of board members, public meetings and public records requirements, financial disclosure, conflicts of interest, operation in the sunshine, or other provisions outside the Florida School Code.

(3)  GOVERNING BOARD.--The governing board of the charter school district shall be the duly elected school board. The school board shall be responsible for supervising the schools in the charter district and is authorized to charter each of its existing public schools pursuant to s. 228.056, apply for deregulation of its public schools pursuant to s. 228.0565, or otherwise establish performance-based contractual relationships with its public schools for the purpose of giving them greater autonomy with accountability for performance.

(4)  CHARTER PROPOSAL.--Competitive charter proposal applications shall be accepted by the State Board of Education no later than October 30, 1999. The charter proposal shall include, but not be limited to:

(a)  Authorization for participation in the pilot program approved in an open school board meeting.

(b)  The vision of what the school board proposes to accomplish by becoming a charter school district.

(c)  A management plan for reaching performance goals, including an anticipated list of the statutes and rules from which the school board desires exemption and the purpose of the exemption.

(d)  The performance goals proposed by the school board, the measures to be used to assess progress, the district's current baseline status with respect to the goals, and the timeframe for accomplishing the goals.

(e)  A plan for chartering, deregulating, or otherwise freeing schools in the district from state statutes and rules and school board policies and procedures. This portion may include a phased-in approach, but shall be included as a performance goal.

(f)  Agreement to file an annual report of progress to the state board.

(g)  Any other provisions required by state board rule.

(5)  PRECHARTER AGREEMENT.--The state board is authorized to approve a precharter agreement with a potential charter district. The agreement may grant limited flexibility and direction for developing the full charter proposal.

(6)  TIME PERIOD FOR PILOT.--The pilot program shall be authorized for a period of 3 full school years commencing with award of a charter. The charter may be renewed upon action of the state board.

(7)  REPORTS.--The state board shall annually report on the implementation of the charter school district pilot program. Upon the completion of the first 3-year term, the state board, through the Commissioner of Education, shall submit to the Legislature a full evaluation of the effectiveness of the program.

(8)  RULEMAKING.--The State Board of Education shall have the authority to enact rules to implement this section in accordance with ss. 120.536 and 120.54.

History.--s. 5, ch. 99-374.