Senate Bill sb3000

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    Florida Senate - 2004        (Corrected Copy)          SB 3000

    By Senator Diaz de la Portilla





    36-1675A-04

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to charter schools; amending s.

  3         1002.33, F.S.; revising qualifications for

  4         sponsoring a charter school; revising

  5         requirements relating to which provisions of

  6         the building code and fire safety code charter

  7         school facilities must comply with; allowing

  8         certain educational impact fees to be allocated

  9         to the construction of charter school

10         facilities; requiring a written agreement

11         between the party responsible for paying the

12         impact fees and the local zoning authority that

13         levies the fees; amending provisions relating

14         to the services that a charter school sponsor

15         must provide; amending s. 1013.62, F.S.,

16         relating to capital outlay funding for charter

17         schools; revising eligibility provisions;

18         revising purposes for which such funds may be

19         used; deleting certain provisions relating to

20         allocating capital outlay funds among charter

21         schools; providing an effective date.

22  

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

24  

25         Section 1.  Subsections (5) and (18) and paragraph (a)

26  of subsection (20) of section 1002.33, Florida Statutes, are

27  amended to read:

28         1002.33  Charter schools.--

29         (5)  SPONSOR; DUTIES.--

30         (a)  Sponsoring entities.--

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2004        (Corrected Copy)          SB 3000
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 1         1.  A district school board may sponsor a charter

 2  school in the county over which the district school board has

 3  jurisdiction.

 4         2.  A community college may sponsor a charter school,

 5  within its community college district, on its own or in

 6  partnership with an independent postsecondary educational

 7  institution.

 8         3.  A state university may sponsor a charter school on

 9  its own or in partnership with an independent postsecondary

10  educational institution.

11         4.2.  A state university may grant a charter to a lab

12  school created under s. 1002.32 and shall be considered to be

13  the school's sponsor. Such school shall be considered a

14  charter lab school.

15         (b)  Sponsor duties.--

16         1.  The sponsor shall monitor and review the charter

17  school in its progress toward the goals established in the

18  charter.

19         2.  The sponsor shall monitor the revenues and

20  expenditures of the charter school.

21         3.  The sponsor may approve a charter for a charter

22  school before the applicant has secured space, equipment, or

23  personnel, if the applicant indicates approval is necessary

24  for it to raise working capital.

25         4.  The sponsor's policies shall not apply to a charter

26  school.

27         5.  The sponsor shall ensure that the charter is

28  innovative and consistent with the state education goals

29  established by s. 1000.03(5).

30         6.  The sponsor shall ensure that the charter school

31  participates in the state's education accountability system.

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    Florida Senate - 2004        (Corrected Copy)          SB 3000
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 1  If a charter school falls short of performance measures

 2  included in the approved charter, the sponsor shall report

 3  such shortcomings to the Department of Education.

 4  

 5  A community college may work with the school district or

 6  school districts in its designated service area to develop

 7  charter schools that offer secondary education. These charter

 8  schools must include an option for students to receive an

 9  associate degree upon high school graduation. District school

10  boards shall cooperate with and assist the community college

11  on the charter application. Community college applications for

12  charter schools are not subject to the time deadlines outlined

13  in subsection (6) and may be approved by the district school

14  board at any time during the year. Community colleges shall

15  not report FTE for any students who receive FTE funding

16  through the Florida Education Finance Program.

17         (18)  FACILITIES.--

18         (a)  A charter school shall utilize facilities that

19  which comply with the Florida Building Code the State Uniform

20  Building Code for Public Educational Facilities Construction

21  adopted pursuant to s. 1013.37 or with applicable state

22  minimum building codes pursuant to chapter 553 and the Florida

23  Fire Prevention Code state minimum fire protection codes

24  pursuant to s. 633.025, as adopted by the authority in whose

25  jurisdiction the facility is located.

26         (b)  Any facility, or portion thereof, used to house a

27  charter school whose charter has been approved by the sponsor

28  and the governing board, pursuant to subsection (7), shall be

29  exempt from ad valorem taxes pursuant to s. 196.1983.

30         (c)  Charter school facilities are not required to

31  shall utilize facilities which comply with section 423 of the

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    Florida Senate - 2004        (Corrected Copy)          SB 3000
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 1  Florida Building Code, the "State Requirements for Educational

 2  Facilities," adopted pursuant to s. 1013.37 pursuant to

 3  chapter 553, and the Florida Fire Prevention Code, pursuant to

 4  chapter 633. The governmental authority that issues the

 5  certificate of occupancy for a charter school facility is the

 6  sole local governmental entity that has the authority to

 7  determine the compliance of the facility with applicable

 8  building and safety codes and the authority to schedule and

 9  coordinate any required inspections.

10         (d)  Charter school facilities are exempt from

11  assessments of fees for building permits, except as provided

12  in s. 553.80, or business licenses and from assessments of

13  impact fees or service availability fees.

14         (e)  If a district school board facility or property is

15  available because it is surplus, marked for disposal, or

16  otherwise unused, it shall be provided for a charter school's

17  use on the same basis as it is made available to other public

18  schools in the district. A charter school receiving property

19  from the school district may not sell or dispose of such

20  property without written permission of the school district.

21  Similarly, for an existing public school converting to charter

22  status, no rental or leasing fee for the existing facility or

23  for the property normally inventoried to the conversion school

24  may be charged by the district school board to the parents and

25  teachers organizing the charter school. The charter organizers

26  shall agree to reasonable maintenance provisions in order to

27  maintain the facility in a manner similar to district school

28  board standards. The Public Education Capital Outlay

29  maintenance funds or any other maintenance funds generated by

30  the facility operated as a conversion school shall remain with

31  the conversion school.

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    Florida Senate - 2004        (Corrected Copy)          SB 3000
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 1         (f)  To the extent that charter school facilities are

 2  specifically created to mitigate the educational impact

 3  created by the development of new residential dwelling units,

 4  any educational impact fees required to be paid in connection

 5  with the new residential dwelling units may be designated

 6  instead for the construction of the charter school facilities

 7  that will mitigate the impact. The party responsible for

 8  payment of the educational impact fees and the local zoning

 9  authority levying the educational impact fees shall enter into

10  an agreement that designates the educational impact fees that

11  will be allocated for the charter school student stations and

12  ensures the timely and concurrent construction of the charter

13  school student stations.

14         (20)  SERVICES.--

15         (a)  A sponsor shall provide certain administrative and

16  educational services to charter schools. These services shall

17  include contract management services, full-time equivalent and

18  data reporting services, exceptional student education

19  administration services, test administration services,

20  including the cost of tests required by the state or district,

21  processing of teacher certificate data services, and

22  information services, including equal access to all data

23  management systems that are used by public schools in the

24  school district in which the charter school is located. A

25  total administrative fee for the provision of such services

26  shall be calculated based upon 5 percent of the available

27  funds defined in paragraph (17)(b) for all students. However,

28  a sponsor may only withhold a 5-percent administrative fee for

29  enrollment for up to and including 500 students. For charter

30  schools with a population of 501 or more students, the

31  difference between the total administrative fee calculation

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    Florida Senate - 2004        (Corrected Copy)          SB 3000
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 1  and the amount of the administrative fee withheld may only be

 2  used only for capital outlay purposes specified in s.

 3  1013.62(2).

 4         Section 2.  Subsections (1) and (2) of section 1013.62,

 5  Florida Statutes, are amended, and subsection (7) of that

 6  section is repealed, to read:

 7         1013.62  Charter schools capital outlay funding.--

 8         (1)  In each year in which funds are appropriated for

 9  charter school capital outlay purposes, the Commissioner of

10  Education shall allocate the funds among eligible charter

11  schools. To be eligible for a funding allocation, a charter

12  school must:

13         (a)  Have received capital outlay funding for the

14  2003-2004 school year; or

15         (b)1.a.1.  Have been in operation for 3 or more years;

16         b.2.  Be an expanded feeder chain of a charter school

17  within the same school district that is currently receiving

18  charter school capital outlay funds; or

19         c.3.  Have been accredited by the Commission on Schools

20  of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

21         2.(b)  Have financial stability for future operation as

22  a charter school.

23         3.(c)  Have satisfactory student achievement based on

24  state accountability standards applicable to the charter

25  school.

26         4.(d)  Have received final approval from its sponsor

27  pursuant to s. 1002.33 for operation during that fiscal year.

28         5.(e)  Serve students in facilities that are not

29  provided by the charter school's sponsor.

30  

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2004        (Corrected Copy)          SB 3000
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 1  Prior to the release of capital outlay funds to a school

 2  district on behalf of the charter school, the Department of

 3  Education shall ensure that the district school board and the

 4  charter school governing board enter into a written agreement

 5  that includes provisions for the reversion of any unencumbered

 6  funds and all equipment and property purchased with public

 7  education funds to the ownership of the district school board,

 8  as provided for in subsection (3), in the event that the

 9  school terminates operations. Any funds recovered by the state

10  shall be deposited in the General Revenue Fund. A charter

11  school is not eligible for a funding allocation if it was

12  created by the conversion of a public school and operates in

13  facilities provided by the charter school's sponsor for a

14  nominal fee or at no charge or if it is directly or indirectly

15  operated by the school district. Unless otherwise provided in

16  the General Appropriations Act, the funding allocation for

17  each eligible charter school shall be determined by

18  multiplying the school's projected student enrollment by

19  one-fifteenth of the cost-per-student station specified in s.

20  1013.64(6)(b) for an elementary, middle, or high school, as

21  appropriate. If the funds appropriated are not sufficient, the

22  commissioner shall prorate the available funds among eligible

23  charter schools. However, no charter school or charter lab

24  school shall receive state charter school capital outlay funds

25  in excess of the one-fifteenth cost per student station

26  formula if the charter school's combination of state charter

27  school capital outlay funds, capital outlay funds calculated

28  through the reduction in the administrative fee provided in s.

29  1002.33(20), and capital outlay funds allowed in s.

30  1002.32(9)(e) and (h) exceeds the one-fifteenth cost per

31  student station formula. Funds shall be distributed on the

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    Florida Senate - 2004        (Corrected Copy)          SB 3000
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 1  basis of the capital outlay full-time equivalent membership by

 2  grade level, which shall be calculated by averaging the

 3  results of the second and third enrollment surveys. The

 4  Department of Education shall distribute capital outlay funds

 5  monthly, beginning in the first quarter of the fiscal year,

 6  based on one-twelfth of the amount the department reasonably

 7  expects the charter school to receive during that fiscal year.

 8  The commissioner shall adjust subsequent distributions as

 9  necessary to reflect each charter school's actual student

10  enrollment as reflected in the second and third enrollment

11  surveys. The commissioner shall establish the intervals and

12  procedures for determining the projected and actual student

13  enrollment of eligible charter schools.

14         (2)  A charter school's governing body may use charter

15  school capital outlay funds for any capital outlay purpose

16  that is directly related to the functioning of the charter

17  school, including the following purposes:

18         (a)  Purchase of real property.

19         (b)  Construction of school facilities.

20         (c)  Purchase, lease-purchase, or lease of permanent or

21  relocatable school facilities.

22         (d)  Purchase of vehicles to transport students to and

23  from the charter school.

24         (e)  Renovation, repair, and maintenance of school

25  facilities that the charter school owns or is purchasing

26  through a lease-purchase or long-term lease of 5 years or

27  longer.

28  

29  Conversion charter schools may use capital outlay funds

30  received through the reduction in the administrative fee

31  provided in s. 1002.33(20) for renovation, repair, and

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    Florida Senate - 2004        (Corrected Copy)          SB 3000
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 1  maintenance of school facilities that are owned by the

 2  sponsor.

 3         (7)  Notwithstanding the provisions of this section,

 4  beginning in the 2003-2004 fiscal year:

 5         (a)  If the appropriation for charter school capital

 6  outlay funds is no greater than the 2002-2003 appropriation,

 7  the funds shall be allocated according to the formula outlined

 8  in subsection (1) to:

 9         1.  The same schools that received funding in

10  2002-2003.

11         2.  Schools that are an expanded feeder pattern of

12  schools that received funding in 2002-2003.

13         3.  Schools that have an approved charter and are

14  serving students at the start of the 2003-2004 school year and

15  either incurred long-term financial obligations prior to

16  January 31, 2003, or began construction on educational

17  facilities prior to December 31, 2002.

18         (b)  If the appropriation for charter school capital

19  outlay funds is less than the 2002-2003 appropriation, the

20  funds shall be prorated among the schools eligible in

21  paragraph (a).

22         (c)  If the appropriation for charter school capital

23  outlay funds is greater than the 2002-2003 appropriation, the

24  amount of funds provided in the 2002-2003 appropriation shall

25  be allocated according to paragraph (a). First priority for

26  allocating the amount in excess of the 2002-2003 appropriation

27  shall be to prorate the excess funds among the charter schools

28  with long-term debt or long-term lease to the extent that the

29  initial allocation is insufficient to provide one-fifteenth of

30  the cost per student station specified in s. 1013.64(6)(b),

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2004        (Corrected Copy)          SB 3000
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 1  and second priority shall be to other eligible charter

 2  schools.

 3         Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2004.

 4  

 5            *****************************************

 6                          SENATE SUMMARY

 7    Revises qualifications for sponsoring a charter school.
      Revises requirements relating to which building code and
 8    fire safety code provisions charter school facilities
      must comply with. Allows certain educational impact fees
 9    to be allocated to the construction of charter school
      facilities. Requires a written agreement between the
10    party responsible for paying the impact fees and the
      local zoning authority that levies the fees. Amends
11    provisions relating to the services that a charter school
      sponsor must provide. Amends provisions relating to
12    charter schools' eligibility for capital outlay funds.
      Amends purposes for which such funds may be used. Deletes
13    certain provisions relating to allocating capital outlay
      funds among charter schools.
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