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1
2 An act relating to charter schools; amending s.
3 228.056, F.S.; providing for recognition as
4 public schools; revising requirements relating
5 to proposals; providing for appeal of disputes
6 and requiring mediation services; revising
7 limitations on the number of schools; revising
8 provisions relating to eligible students;
9 providing for operation by a nonprofit
10 organization; deleting certain restrictions on
11 holding charter contracts; revising provisions
12 relating to charter terms; providing for public
13 employee status; providing requirements
14 relating to employees; revising requirements
15 relating to student transportation; revising
16 administrative fee provisions and requiring
17 certain administrative and educational
18 services; revising provisions relating to
19 charter school use of certain facilities or
20 property; providing for certain purchasing;
21 authorizing charter schools-in-the-workplace;
22 providing requirements and tax exemption;
23 creating s. 228.0561, F.S.; authorizing
24 distribution of funds to charter schools from
25 the Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt
26 Service Trust Fund and establishing eligibility
27 of charter schools for such funds; establishing
28 an amount and manner for allocation or
29 proration of such funds; providing an
30 appropriation; providing for future repeal of
31 statute; amending s. 235.42, F.S.; clarifying
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1 eligibility of educational boards and entities
2 for receipt of funds from the Public Education
3 Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund;
4 providing an appropriation to the Columbia
5 County School District; providing for the
6 release of funds for the Commission on
7 Education Reform and Accountability; providing
8 for the dissolution of the Governor's
9 Commission on Education; providing an effective
10 date.
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12 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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14 Section 1. Subsections (1), (3), (5), (7), and (12),
15 paragraph (f) of subsection (4), paragraphs (a) and (c) of
16 subsection (6), paragraph (h) of subsection (8), paragraphs
17 (a) and (b) of subsection (9), and paragraphs (c), (e), (f),
18 (g), and (h) of subsection (13) of section 228.056, Florida
19 Statutes, as amended by chapter 97-384, Laws of Florida, are
20 amended, and subsection (22) is added to said section, to
21 read:
22 228.056 Charter schools.--
23 (1) AUTHORIZATION.--The creation of charter schools is
24 hereby authorized. Charter schools shall be part of the
25 state's program of public education. All charter schools in
26 Florida are fully recognized as public schools. A charter
27 school may be formed by creating a new school or converting an
28 existing public school to charter status.
29 (3) PROPOSAL.--A proposal for a new charter school may
30 be made by an individual, teachers, parents, a group of
31 individuals, a municipality, or a legal entity organized under
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1 the laws of this state. The district school board or the
2 principal, teachers, and/or the school advisory council at an
3 existing public school, including a public
4 school-within-a-school that is designated as a school by the
5 district school board, shall submit any proposal for
6 converting the school to a charter school. An application
7 submitted proposing to convert an existing public school to a
8 charter school shall demonstrate the support of at least 50
9 percent of the teachers employed at the school and 50 percent
10 of the parents voting whose children are enrolled at the
11 school, provided that a majority of the parents eligible to
12 vote participate in the ballot process, according to
13 procedures established by rules of the state board. A private
14 school, parochial school, or home education program shall not
15 be eligible for charter school status.
16 (4) SPONSOR.--A district school board may sponsor a
17 charter school in the county over which the board has
18 jurisdiction.
19 (f) The terms and conditions for the operation of a
20 charter school shall be set forth by the sponsor and the
21 applicant in a written contractual agreement. The sponsor
22 shall not impose unreasonable rules or regulations that
23 violate the intent of giving charter schools greater
24 flexibility to meet educational goals. The applicant and
25 sponsor shall have 6 months in which to mutually agree to the
26 provisions of the contract. The Department of Education shall
27 provide mediation services for any dispute regarding this
28 section subsequent to the approval of a charter application,
29 except disputes regarding charter school application denials.
30 If the Commissioner of Education determines that the dispute
31 cannot be settled through mediation, the dispute may be
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1 appealed to an administrative law judge appointed by the
2 Division of Administrative Hearings. The administrative law
3 judge may rule on issues of equitable treatment of the charter
4 school as a public school, whether proposed provisions of the
5 contract violate the intended flexibility granted charter
6 schools by statute, or on any other matter regarding this
7 section except a charter school application denial. The costs
8 of the administrative hearing shall be paid by the party whom
9 the administrative law judge rules against. If, after 6
10 months, the contract is still pending, the application is
11 deemed denied.
12 (5) NUMBER OF SCHOOLS.--The number of newly created
13 charter schools or existing public schools which may convert
14 to charter schools is limited to no more than 28 in each
15 school district that has 100,000 or more students, no more
16 than 20 in each school district that has 50,000 to 99,999
17 students, and no more than 12 in each school district with
18 fewer than 50,000 students. limited to no more than seven in
19 each school district that has 100,000 or more students, no
20 more than five charter schools in each school district that
21 has 50,000 to 99,999 students, and no more than three charter
22 schools in each school district that has fewer than 50,000
23 students. The number of newly created charter schools shall
24 be limited to no more than seven charter schools in each
25 school district that has 100,000 or more students, no more
26 than five charter schools in each school district that has
27 50,000 to 99,999 students, and no more than three charter
28 schools in each school district that has fewer than 50,000
29 students. Notwithstanding any limitation in this section on
30 the number of charter schools authorized for a district, any
31 school board shall have the right to request an increase in
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1 the number of charter schools located within its district from
2 the State Board of Education.
3 (6) ELIGIBLE STUDENTS.--
4 (a) A charter school shall be open to any student
5 covered in an interdistrict agreement or residing in the
6 school district in which the charter school is located. When a
7 public school converts to charter status, enrollment
8 preference shall be given to students who would have otherwise
9 attended that public school. A charter school may give
10 enrollment preference to a sibling of a student enrolled in
11 the charter school or to the child of an employee of the
12 charter school.
13 (c) A charter school may limit the enrollment process
14 only to target the following student populations:
15 1. Students within specific age groups or grade
16 levels.
17 2. Students considered at risk of dropping out of
18 school or academic failure. Such students shall include
19 exceptional education students.
20 3. Students enrolling in a charter
21 school-in-the-workplace established pursuant to subsection
22 (22).
23 4. Students residing within a reasonable distance of
24 the charter school, as described in paragraph (13)(c). Such
25 students shall be subject to a random lottery and to the
26 racial/ethnic balance provisions described in subparagraph
27 (9)(a)8. or any federal provisions which require a school to
28 achieve a racial/ethnic balance reflective of the community it
29 serves or within the racial/ethnic range of other public
30 schools in the same school district.
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1 (7) LEGAL ENTITY.--A charter school shall organize as,
2 or be operated by, a nonprofit organization. As such, the
3 charter school may be either a private or a public employer.
4 As a public employer, a charter school may participate in the
5 Florida Retirement System upon application and approval as a
6 "covered group" under s. 121.021(34). If a charter school
7 participates in the Florida Retirement System, the charter
8 school employees shall be compulsory members of the Florida
9 Retirement System. As either a private or a public employer, a
10 charter school may contract for services with an individual or
11 group of individuals who are organized as a partnership or a
12 cooperative. Individuals or groups of individuals who contract
13 their services to the charter school are not public employees.
14 (8) REQUIREMENTS.--
15 (h) No organization shall hold more than one
16 elementary, one middle, and one high school charter contract
17 in a school district and no more than 15 charters statewide.
18 (9) CHARTER.--The major issues involving the operation
19 of a charter school shall be considered in advance and written
20 into the charter. The charter shall be signed by the governing
21 body of the charter school and the sponsor, following a public
22 hearing to ensure community input.
23 (a) The charter shall address, and criteria for
24 approval of the charter shall be based on:
25 1. The school's mission, the students to be served,
26 and the ages and grades to be included.
27 2. The focus of the curriculum, the instructional
28 methods to be used, and any distinctive instructional
29 techniques to be employed.
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1 3. The current baseline standard of achievement and
2 the outcomes to be achieved and the method of measurement that
3 will be used.
4 4. The methods used to identify the educational
5 strengths and needs of students and how well educational goals
6 and performance standards are met by students attending the
7 charter school. Students in charter schools shall, at a
8 minimum, participate in the statewide assessment program.
9 5. In secondary charter schools, a method for
10 determining that a student has satisfied the requirements for
11 graduation in s. 232.246.
12 6. A method for resolving conflicts between the
13 governing body of the charter school and the sponsor.
14 7. The admissions procedures and dismissal procedures,
15 including the school's code of student conduct.
16 8. The ways by which the school will achieve a
17 racial/ethnic balance reflective of the community it serves or
18 within the racial/ethnic range of other public schools in the
19 same school district.
20 9. The financial and administrative management of the
21 school.
22 10. The manner in which the school will be insured,
23 including whether or not the school will be required to have
24 liability insurance, and, if so, the terms and conditions
25 thereof and the amounts of coverage.
26 11. The term of the charter, not to exceed 3 years,
27 which shall provide for cancellation of the charter if
28 insufficient progress has been made in attaining the student
29 achievement objectives of the charter and if it is not likely
30 that such objectives can be achieved before expiration of the
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1 charter. The initial term of a charter shall be for 3, 4, or 5
2 years.
3 12. The facilities to be used and their location.
4 13. The qualifications to be required of the teachers.
5 14. The governance structure of the school, including
6 the status of the charter school as a public or private
7 employer as required in subsection (7).
8 15. A timetable for implementing the charter which
9 addresses the implementation of each element thereof and the
10 date by which the charter shall be awarded in order to meet
11 this timetable.
12 16. In the case of an existing public school being
13 converted to charter status, alternative arrangements for
14 current students who choose not to attend the charter school
15 and for current teachers who choose not to teach in the
16 charter school after conversion in accordance with the
17 existing collective bargaining agreement or school board
18 policy in the absence of a collective bargaining agreement.
19 (b) A charter may be renewed every 5 in increments of
20 1, 2, or 3 school years, provided that a program review
21 demonstrates that the criteria in paragraph (a) have been
22 successfully accomplished by a mutual agreement of the
23 parties.
24 (12) EMPLOYEES OF CHARTER SCHOOLS.--
25 (a) A charter school shall select its own employees. A
26 charter school may contract with its sponsor for the services
27 of personnel employed by the sponsor.
28 (b) Charter school employees shall have the option to
29 bargain collectively. Employees may collectively bargain as a
30 separate unit or as part of the existing district collective
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1 bargaining unit as determined by the structure of the charter
2 school.
3 (c) The employees of a conversion charter school shall
4 remain public employees for all purposes, unless such
5 employees choose not to do so.
6 (d)(c) The teachers at a charter school may choose to
7 be part of a professional group that subcontracts with the
8 charter school to operate the instructional program under the
9 auspices of a partnership or cooperative that they
10 collectively own. Under this arrangement, the teachers would
11 not be public employees.
12 (e)(d) Employees of a school district may take leave
13 to accept employment in a charter school upon the approval of
14 the district school board. While employed by the charter
15 school and on leave that is approved by the school board, the
16 employee may retain seniority accrued in that school district
17 and may continue to be covered by the benefit programs of that
18 school district, if the charter school and the district school
19 board agree to this arrangement and its financing. School
20 districts shall not require resignations of teachers desiring
21 to teach in a charter school. This paragraph shall not
22 prohibit a school board from approving alternative leave
23 arrangements consistent with chapter 231.
24 (f)(e) Teachers employed by or under contract to a
25 charter school shall be certified as required by chapter 231.
26 A charter school may employ or contract with skilled selected
27 noncertified personnel to provide instructional services or to
28 assist instructional staff members as teacher aides in the
29 same manner as defined in chapter 231. A charter school may
30 not employ an individual to provide instructional services or
31 to serve as a teacher aide if the individual's certification
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1 or licensure as an educator is suspended or revoked by this or
2 any other state. The qualifications of teachers shall be
3 disclosed to parents.
4 (g)(f) A charter school shall employ or contract with
5 employees who have been fingerprinted as provided in s.
6 231.02.
7 (13) REVENUE.--Students enrolled in a charter school,
8 regardless of the sponsorship, shall be funded as if they are
9 in a basic program or a special program, the same as students
10 enrolled in other public schools in the school district.
11 Funding for a chartered developmental research school shall be
12 as provided in s. 228.053(9).
13 (c) Transportation of charter school students shall be
14 provided by the charter school consistent with the
15 requirements of chapter 234. The governing body of the charter
16 school may provide transportation through an agreement or
17 contract with the district school board, a private provider,
18 or parents. The charter school and the sponsor shall cooperate
19 in making arrangements that ensure that transportation is not
20 a barrier to equal access for all students residing within a
21 reasonable distance of the charter school as determined in its
22 charter.
23 (e) Any administrative fee charged by the school
24 district relating to a charter school shall be limited to no
25 more than the actual cost of administering the contract
26 between the charter school and the school district or 5
27 percent of the available funds as defined in paragraph (b),
28 whichever is the lesser amount. The sponsor shall provide
29 certain administrative and educational services to charter
30 schools at no additional fee. These services shall include
31 contract management services, FTE and data reporting,
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1 exceptional student education administration, test
2 administration, processing of teacher certificate data, and
3 information services.
4 (f) School boards shall make every effort to ensure
5 that charter schools receive timely and efficient
6 reimbursement, including processing paperwork required to
7 access special state and federal funding for which they may be
8 eligible. The district school board may distribute funds to a
9 charter school for up to 3 months based on the projected
10 full-time equivalent student membership of the charter school.
11 Thereafter, the results of full-time equivalent student
12 membership surveys must be used in adjusting the amount of
13 funds distributed monthly to the charter school for the
14 remainder of the fiscal year. The payment shall be issued no
15 later than 10 working days after the district school board
16 receives a distribution of state or federal funds. If a
17 warrant for payment is not issued within 30 working days after
18 receipt of funding by the district school board, the school
19 district shall pay to the charter school, in addition to the
20 amount of the scheduled disbursement, interest at a rate of 1
21 percent per month calculated on a daily basis on the unpaid
22 balance from the expiration of the 30-day period until such
23 time as the warrant is issued.
24 (g) If a district school board facility or property is
25 available because it is surplus, marked for disposal, or
26 otherwise unused, it shall may be provided for a charter
27 school's use on the same basis as it is made available to
28 other public schools in the district. A charter school
29 receiving property from the school district may not sell or
30 dispose of such property without written permission of the
31 school district. Similarly, for an existing public school
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1 converting to charter status, no rental or leasing fee for the
2 existing facility or for the property normally inventoried to
3 the conversion school may be charged by the district school
4 board to the parents and teachers organizing the charter
5 school. The charter organizers shall agree to reasonable
6 maintenance provisions in order to maintain the facility in a
7 manner similar to district school board standards.
8 (h) If other goods and services are made available to
9 the charter school through the contract with the school
10 district, they shall be provided to the charter school at a
11 rate no greater than the district's actual cost. To maximize
12 the use of state funds, school districts shall allow charter
13 schools to participate in the sponsor's bulk purchasing
14 program if applicable.
15 (22) CHARTER SCHOOLS-IN-THE-WORKPLACE.--
16 (a) In order to increase business partnerships in
17 education, to reduce school and classroom overcrowding
18 throughout the state, and to offset the high costs for
19 educational facilities construction, the Legislature intends
20 to encourage the formation of business partnership schools or
21 satellite learning centers through charter school status.
22 (b) A charter school-in-the-workplace may be
23 established when a business partner provides the school
24 facility to be used; enrolls students based upon a random
25 lottery which involves all of the children of employees of
26 that business or corporation who are seeking enrollment, as
27 provided for in subsection (6); and enrolls students according
28 to the racial/ethnic balance provisions described in
29 subparagraph (9)(a)8. Any portion of a facility used for a
30 public charter school shall be exempt from ad valorem taxes,
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1 as provided for in s. 235.198, for the duration of its use as
2 a public school.
3 Section 2. Section 228.0561, Florida Statutes, is
4 created to read:
5 228.0561 Charter schools capital outlay funding.--
6 (1) In each year in which funds are appropriated from
7 the Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust
8 Fund for charter schools, the Commissioner of Education shall
9 allocate the funds among eligible charter schools. To be
10 eligible for a funding allocation, a charter school must meet
11 the provisions of subsection (6), must have received final
12 approval from its sponsor pursuant to s. 228.056 for operation
13 during that fiscal year, and must serve students in facilities
14 that are not provided by the charter school's sponsor. Prior
15 to the release of capital outlay funds to the charter school,
16 the Department of Education shall enter into a written
17 agreement that includes provisions for attaching a lien to
18 property that has been improved through the use of these
19 funds, in the event that the school terminates operations.
20 Any funds recovered by the state shall be deposited in the
21 Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund.
22 A charter school is not eligible for a funding allocation if
23 it was created by the conversion of a public school and
24 operates in facilities provided by the charter school's
25 sponsor for a nominal fee or at no charge. Unless otherwise
26 provided in the General Appropriations Act, the funding
27 allocation for each eligible charter school shall be
28 determined by multiplying the school's projected student
29 enrollment by one-thirtieth of the cost-per-student station
30 specified in s. 235.435(6)(b) for an elementary, middle, or
31 high school, as appropriate. If the funds appropriated are
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1 not sufficient, the commissioner shall prorate the available
2 funds among eligible charter schools. In the first quarter of
3 the fiscal year, funds shall be distributed on the basis of
4 projected enrollment as provided in this section. The
5 commissioner shall adjust subsequent distributions as
6 necessary to reflect each charter school's actual student
7 enrollment. The commissioner shall establish the intervals
8 and procedures for determining the projected and actual
9 student enrollment of eligible charter schools. If a school
10 district chooses to share funding for the capital outlay
11 purposes described in subsection (2) with the applicable
12 charter school or charter schools, any allocation from the
13 Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund
14 allocation to the charter school or charter schools shall be
15 reduced by the amount shared.
16 (2) A charter school's governing body with the school
17 board's permission may use funds from the Public Education
18 Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund for any capital
19 outlay purpose that is directly related to the functioning of
20 the charter school, including the:
21 (a) Purchase of real property.
22 (b) Construction, renovation, repair, and maintenance
23 of school facilities.
24 (c) Purchase, lease-purchase, or lease of permanent or
25 relocatable school facilities.
26 (d) Purchase of vehicles to transport students to and
27 from the charter school.
28 (3) When a charter school is nonrenewed or terminated,
29 any unencumbered funds and all equipment and property
30 purchased with public funds shall revert to the ownership of
31 the district school board, as provided for in s.
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1 228.056(10)(e) and (f). The reversion of such equipment,
2 property, and furnishings shall focus on recoverable assets,
3 but not on intangible or irrecoverable costs such as rental or
4 leasing fees, normal maintenance, and limited renovations. If
5 there are additional local issues such as the shared use of
6 facilities or partial ownership of facilities or property,
7 these issues shall be agreed to in the charter contract prior
8 to the expenditure of funds.
9 (4) The Commissioner of Education shall specify
10 procedures for submitting and approving requests for funding
11 under this section and procedures for documenting
12 expenditures.
13 (5) The annual legislative budget request of the
14 Department of Education shall include a request for funding
15 for charter schools from the Public Education Capital Outlay
16 and Debt Service Trust Fund. The request shall be based on
17 the projected number of students to be served in charter
18 schools who meet the eligibility requirements of this section.
19 (6)(a) Effective July 1, 1998, any charter school
20 which has been in continuous operation in the district in
21 which its charter was approved for at least two school years
22 immediately preceding the school year in which the school
23 seeks an appropriation from the Public Education Capital
24 Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund shall be eligible to
25 receive funds from that trust fund. No other charter schools
26 are eligible to receive funds from the Public Education
27 Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund.
28 (b) Unless authorized other wise by the Legislature,
29 allocation and proration of funds from the Public Education
30 Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund shall be made to
31 eligible charter schools by the Commissioner of Education in
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1 an amount and in a manner authorized by subsection (1), and
2 only schools eligible for such funds in this subsection shall
3 be considered "eligible charter schools" for such an
4 allocation or proration.
5 (c) There is appropriated from the Public Education
6 Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund in fiscal year
7 1998-1999 the amount of $5,000,000 to be used for capital
8 outlay purposes of charter schools eligible under this
9 subsection and allocated or prorated in an amount and in a
10 manner authorized by this subsection. This paragraph shall be
11 repealed July 1, 1999.
12 Section 3. Subsection (7) of section 235.42, Florida
13 Statutes, is amended to read:
14 235.42 Educational and ancillary plant construction
15 funds; Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust
16 Fund; allocation of funds.--
17 (7) Boards and entities authorized to participate in
18 the trust fund are district school boards, the community
19 college district boards of trustees, the Trustees of the
20 Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind, the Board of
21 Regents, charter schools only if eligible pursuant to s.
22 228.0561(6), and other units of the state system of public
23 education, and other educational entities defined in s.
24 228.041 for which funds are purposes authorized by the
25 Legislature.
26 Section 4. The sum of $13,244,151 is appropriated for
27 fiscal year 1998-1999 from the Public Education and Capital
28 Outlay Debt Service Trust Fund to the Columbia County School
29 District or the Ft. White High School. No funds shall be
30 released for this project before the Special Facility
31 Construction Committee has approved said project.
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1 Section 5. Notwithstanding proviso immediately
2 preceding Specific Appropriation 26 of the 1998-1999 General
3 Appropriations Act, funds designated for the Commission on
4 Education Reform and Accountability shall be released
5 beginning July 1, 1998, and shall be released throughout
6 fiscal year 1998-1999 based on a regular release schedule.
7 Section 6. The Governor's Commission on Education,
8 established by Executive Order on September 10, 1996, shall be
9 dissolved on October 31, 1998.
10 Section 7. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
11 law.
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