Florida Senate - 2014 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT Bill No. CS for SB 1528 Ì800958JÎ800958 LEGISLATIVE ACTION Senate . House Comm: OO . 04/11/2014 . . . . ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— following: 1 Senate Amendment (with directory and title amendments) 2 3 Between lines 76 and 77 4 insert: 5 (7) CHARTER.—The major issues involving the operation of a 6 charter school shall be considered in advance and written into 7 the charter. The charter shall be signed by the governing board 8 of the charter school and the sponsor, following a public 9 hearing to ensure community input. 10 (a) The charter shall address and criteria for approval of 11 the charter shall be based on: 12 1. The school’s mission, the students to be served, and the 13 ages and grades to be included. 14 2. The focus of the curriculum, the instructional methods 15 to be used, any distinctive instructional techniques to be 16 employed, and identification and acquisition of appropriate 17 technologies needed to improve educational and administrative 18 performance which include a means for promoting safe, ethical, 19 and appropriate uses of technology which comply with legal and 20 professional standards. 21 a. The charter shall ensure that reading is a primary focus 22 of the curriculum and that resources are provided to identify 23 and provide specialized instruction for students who are reading 24 below grade level. The curriculum and instructional strategies 25 for reading must be consistent with the Next Generation Sunshine 26 State Standards and grounded in scientifically based reading 27 research. 28 b. In order to provide students with access to diverse 29 instructional delivery models, to facilitate the integration of 30 technology within traditional classroom instruction, and to 31 provide students with the skills they need to compete in the 32 21st century economy, the Legislature encourages instructional 33 methods for blended learning courses consisting of both 34 traditional classroom and online instructional techniques. 35 Charter schools may implement blended learning courses which 36 combine traditional classroom instruction and virtual 37 instruction. Students in a blended learning course must be full 38 time students of the charter school and receive the online 39 instruction in a classroom setting at the charter school. 40 Instructional personnel certified pursuant to s. 1012.55 who 41 provide virtual instruction for blended learning courses may be 42 employees of the charter school or may be under contract to 43 provide instructional services to charter school students. At a 44 minimum, such instructional personnel must hold an active state 45 or school district adjunct certification under s. 1012.57 for 46 the subject area of the blended learning course. The funding and 47 performance accountability requirements for blended learning 48 courses are the same as those for traditional courses. 49 3. The current incoming baseline standard of student 50 academic achievement, the outcomes to be achieved, and the 51 method of measurement that will be used. The criteria listed in 52 this subparagraph shall include a detailed description of: 53 a. How the baseline student academic achievement levels and 54 prior rates of academic progress will be established. 55 b. How these baseline rates will be compared to rates of 56 academic progress achieved by these same students while 57 attending the charter school. 58 c. To the extent possible, how these rates of progress will 59 be evaluated and compared with rates of progress of other 60 closely comparable student populations. 61 62 The district school board is required to provide academic 63 student performance data to charter schools for each of their 64 students coming from the district school system, as well as 65 rates of academic progress of comparable student populations in 66 the district school system. 67 4. The methods used to identify the educational strengths 68 and needs of students and how well educational goals and 69 performance standards are met by students attending the charter 70 school. The methods shall provide a means for the charter school 71 to ensure accountability to its constituents by analyzing 72 student performance data and by evaluating the effectiveness and 73 efficiency of its major educational programs. Students in 74 charter schools shall, at a minimum, participate in the 75 statewide assessment program created under s. 1008.22. 76 5. In secondary charter schools, a method for determining 77 that a student has satisfied the requirements for graduation in 78 s. 1003.428 or s. 1003.4282. 79 6. A method for resolving conflicts between the governing 80 board of the charter school and the sponsor. 81 7. The admissions procedures and dismissal procedures, 82 including the school’s code of student conduct. 83 8. The ways by which the school will achieve a 84 racial/ethnic balance reflective of the community it serves or 85 within the racial/ethnic range of other public schools in the 86 same school district. 87 9. The financial and administrative management of the 88 school, including a reasonable demonstration of the professional 89 experience or competence of those individuals or organizations 90 applying to operate the charter school or those hired or 91 retained to perform such professional services and the 92 description of clearly delineated responsibilities and the 93 policies and practices needed to effectively manage the charter 94 school. A description of internal audit procedures and 95 establishment of controls to ensure that financial resources are 96 properly managed must be included. Both public sector and 97 private sector professional experience shall be equally valid in 98 such a consideration. 99 10. The asset and liability projections required in the 100 application which are incorporated into the charter and shall be 101 compared with information provided in the annual report of the 102 charter school. 103 11. A description of procedures that identify various risks 104 and provide for a comprehensive approach to reduce the impact of 105 losses; plans to ensure the safety and security of students and 106 staff; plans to identify, minimize, and protect others from 107 violent or disruptive student behavior; and the manner in which 108 the school will be insured, including whether or not the school 109 will be required to have liability insurance, and, if so, the 110 terms and conditions thereof and the amounts of coverage. 111 12. The term of the charter which shall provide for 112 cancellation of the charter if insufficient progress has been 113 made in attaining the student achievement objectives of the 114 charter and if it is not likely that such objectives can be 115 achieved before expiration of the charter. The initial term of a 116 charter shall be for 4 or 5 years. In order to facilitate access 117 to long-term financial resources for charter school 118 construction, charter schools that are operated by a 119 municipality or other public entity as provided by law are 120 eligible for up to a 15-year charter, subject to approval by the 121 district school board. A charter lab school is eligible for a 122 charter for a term of up to 15 years. In addition, to facilitate 123 access to long-term financial resources for charter school 124 construction, charter schools that are operated by a private, 125 not-for-profit, s. 501(c)(3) status corporation are eligible for 126 up to a 15-year charter, subject to approval by the district 127 school board. Such long-term charters remain subject to annual 128 review and may be terminated during the term of the charter, but 129 only according to the provisions set forth in subsection (8). 130 13. The facilities to be used and their location. The 131sponsor may not require acharter school must submit to the 132 sponsorto havea certificate of occupancy or a temporary 133 certificate of occupancy no laterfor such a facility earlier134 than 15 calendar days before the first day of school. If such 135 documentation is not received 15 calendar days before the first 136 day of school, the charter contract automatically reverts to a 137 planning year for the first year of the charter’s 5-year 138 contract. 139 14. The qualifications to be required of the teachers and 140 the potential strategies used to recruit, hire, train, and 141 retain qualified staff to achieve best value. 142 15. The governance structure of the school, including the 143 status of the charter school as a public or private employer as 144 required in paragraph (12)(i). 145 16. A timetable for implementing the charter which 146 addresses the implementation of each element thereof and the 147 date by which the charter shall be awarded in order to meet this 148 timetable. 149 17. In the case of an existing public school that is being 150 converted to charter status, alternative arrangements for 151 current students who choose not to attend the charter school and 152 for current teachers who choose not to teach in the charter 153 school after conversion in accordance with the existing 154 collective bargaining agreement or district school board rule in 155 the absence of a collective bargaining agreement. However, 156 alternative arrangements shall not be required for current 157 teachers who choose not to teach in a charter lab school, except 158 as authorized by the employment policies of the state university 159 which grants the charter to the lab school. 160 18. Full disclosure of the identity of all relatives 161 employed by the charter school who are related to the charter 162 school owner, president, chairperson of the governing board of 163 directors, superintendent, governing board member, principal, 164 assistant principal, or any other person employed by the charter 165 school who has equivalent decisionmaking authority. For the 166 purpose of this subparagraph, the term “relative” means father, 167 mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, first 168 cousin, nephew, niece, husband, wife, father-in-law, mother-in 169 law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, 170 stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother, 171 stepsister, half brother, or half sister. 172 19. Implementation of the activities authorized under s. 173 1002.331 by the charter school when it satisfies the eligibility 174 requirements for a high-performing charter school. A high 175 performing charter school shall notify its sponsor in writing by 176 March 1 if it intends to increase enrollment or expand grade 177 levels the following school year. The written notice shall 178 specify the amount of the enrollment increase and the grade 179 levels that will be added, as applicable. 180 181 ====== D I R E C T O R Y C L A U S E A M E N D M E N T ====== 182 And the directory clause is amended as follows: 183 Delete line 17 184 and insert: 185 Section 1. Paragraph (h) of subsection (6), paragraph (a) 186 of subsection (7), and paragraph 187 188 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================ 189 And the title is amended as follows: 190 Delete line 5 191 and insert: 192 193