Senate Bill sb2170c1

    Florida Senate - 2003                           CS for SB 2170

    By the Committee on Education; and Senator Posey





    304-2310-03

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to charter school districts;

  3         amending s. 1003.62, F.S.; providing additional

  4         criteria for the establishment of a charter

  5         school district; providing for renewal of the

  6         charter; providing an effective date.

  7  

  8  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

  9  

10         Section 1.  Subsection (1) of section 1003.62, Florida

11  Statutes, is amended to read:

12         1003.62  Charter school districts pilot program.--The

13  State Board of Education is authorized to enter into a

14  performance contract with up to six district school boards for

15  the purpose of establishing them as charter school districts.

16  The State Board of Education shall give priority to

17  Hillsborough and Volusia Counties upon the submission of a

18  completed precharter agreement or charter proposal for a

19  charter school district. The purpose of this pilot program is

20  to examine a new relationship between the State Board of

21  Education and district school boards that may produce

22  significant improvements in student achievement and school

23  management, while complying with constitutional requirements

24  assigned to each entity.

25         (1)  CHARTER DISTRICT.--A charter school district is a

26  school district in Florida in which the district school board

27  has submitted and the State Board of Education has approved a

28  charter proposal that exchanges statutory and rule exemption

29  for agreement to meet performance goals in the proposal. The

30  charter school district shall be chartered for 3 years, at the

31  end of which the performance shall be evaluated. The State

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2003                           CS for SB 2170
    304-2310-03




 1  Board of Education shall use the criteria approved in the

 2  charter application to renew the charter of any school

 3  district designated as a charter school district prior to June

 4  30, 2003. A school district in which a minimum of 50 percent

 5  of the schools earn a grade of "A" or "B" and in which no

 6  school earns a grade of "D" or "F" pursuant to s. 1008.34(2)

 7  is eligible to be designated as a charter school district.

 8  Schools that receive a grade of "I" or "N" shall not be

 9  included in this calculation. The performance contract for a

10  school district that earns a charter based on school grades

11  shall be predicated upon at least half the schools in the

12  district maintaining a grade of "A" or "B" and no school

13  earning a grade of "D" or "F." The charter for a school

14  district that qualifies based on school grades applies for one

15  full school year after qualification and shall be renewed each

16  year that the district continues to qualify based on the

17  school grades within the district.

18         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.

19  

20          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
21                         Senate Bill 2170

22                                 

23  Changes in the Committee Substitute clarify language relating
    to the renewal criteria for a charter school district created
24  through a performance contract with the State Board of
    Education.  The State Board shall make its decision on whether
25  to renew the charter based on how well the district has met
    the criteria approved in the district's charter application.
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.