Florida Senate - 2025 CS for SB 822
By the Committee on Education Pre-K - 12; and Senator Rodriguez
581-03083-25 2025822c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to education; amending s. 1002.33,
3 F.S.; providing requirements for specified deadlines
4 for charter schools; authorizing a charter school
5 governing board to adopt its own code of student
6 conduct; providing requirements for the code of
7 student conduct; providing that charter schools are
8 not exempt from a specified statute; authorizing a
9 charter school to increase its student enrollment
10 beyond the capacity identified in the charter under
11 certain conditions; requiring a charter school to
12 notify its sponsor in writing by a specified date, and
13 to include specified information, if it plans to
14 increase enrollment; revising services a sponsor must
15 provide to a charter school; requiring the Department
16 of Education to provide student performance data to a
17 charter school and its contractor; providing an
18 exception; prohibiting specified individuals from
19 being on a charter school governing board; providing
20 an exception; amending s. 1002.331, F.S.; authorizing
21 a high-performing charter school to assume the charter
22 of an existing charter school within the same school
23 district; providing an effective date.
24
25 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
26
27 Section 1. Paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (5),
28 paragraphs (d) and (h) of subsection (10), paragraph (b) of
29 subsection (16), and paragraph (a) of subsection (20) of section
30 1002.33, Florida Statutes, are amended, and paragraph (s) is
31 added to subsection (9), paragraph (h) is added to subsection
32 (18), and paragraph (d) is added to subsection (26) of that
33 section, to read:
34 1002.33 Charter schools.—
35 (5) SPONSOR; DUTIES.—
36 (b) Sponsor duties.—
37 1.a. The sponsor shall monitor and review the charter
38 school in its progress toward the goals established in the
39 charter.
40 b. The sponsor shall monitor the revenues and expenditures
41 of the charter school and perform the duties provided in s.
42 1002.345.
43 c. The sponsor may approve a charter for a charter school
44 before the applicant has identified space, equipment, or
45 personnel, if the applicant indicates approval is necessary for
46 it to raise working funds.
47 d. The sponsor may not apply its policies to a charter
48 school unless mutually agreed to by both the sponsor and the
49 charter school. If the sponsor subsequently amends any agreed
50 upon sponsor policy, the version of the policy in effect at the
51 time of the execution of the charter, or any subsequent
52 modification thereof, shall remain in effect and the sponsor may
53 not hold the charter school responsible for any provision of a
54 newly revised policy until the revised policy is mutually agreed
55 upon.
56 e. The sponsor shall ensure that the charter is innovative
57 and consistent with the state education goals established by s.
58 1000.03(5).
59 f. The sponsor shall ensure that the charter school
60 participates in the state’s education accountability system. If
61 a charter school falls short of performance measures included in
62 the approved charter, the sponsor shall report such shortcomings
63 to the Department of Education.
64 g. The sponsor is not liable for civil damages under state
65 law for personal injury, property damage, or death resulting
66 from an act or omission of an officer, employee, agent, or
67 governing body of the charter school.
68 h. The sponsor is not liable for civil damages under state
69 law for any employment actions taken by an officer, employee,
70 agent, or governing body of the charter school.
71 i. The sponsor’s duties to monitor the charter school do
72 not constitute the basis for a private cause of action.
73 j. The sponsor may not impose additional reporting
74 requirements on a charter school as long as the charter school
75 has not been identified as having a deteriorating financial
76 condition or financial emergency pursuant to s. 1002.345.
77 k. The sponsor may not impose upon a charter school
78 administrative deadlines that are earlier than the sponsor’s own
79 corresponding deadlines for similar reports or submissions. Any
80 deadline imposed upon a charter school for financial audits or
81 other administrative requirements may not be earlier than 15
82 days before the sponsor’s own deadline for similar submissions
83 to the department.
84 l.k. The sponsor shall submit an annual report to the
85 Department of Education in a web-based format to be determined
86 by the department.
87 (I) The report must shall include the following
88 information:
89 (A) The number of applications received during the school
90 year and up to August 1 and each applicant’s contact
91 information.
92 (B) The date each application was approved, denied, or
93 withdrawn.
94 (C) The date each final contract was executed.
95 (II) Annually, by November 1, the sponsor shall submit to
96 the department the information for the applications submitted
97 the previous year.
98 (III) The department shall compile an annual report, by
99 sponsor, and post the report on its website by January 15 of
100 each year.
101 2. Immunity for the sponsor of a charter school under
102 subparagraph 1. applies only with respect to acts or omissions
103 not under the sponsor’s direct authority as described in this
104 section.
105 3. This paragraph does not waive a sponsor’s sovereign
106 immunity.
107 4. A Florida College System institution may work with the
108 school district or school districts in its designated service
109 area to develop charter schools that offer secondary education.
110 These charter schools must include an option for students to
111 receive an associate degree upon high school graduation. If a
112 Florida College System institution operates an approved teacher
113 preparation program under s. 1004.04 or s. 1004.85, the
114 institution may operate charter schools that serve students in
115 kindergarten through grade 12 in any school district within the
116 service area of the institution. District school boards shall
117 cooperate with and assist the Florida College System institution
118 on the charter application. Florida College System institution
119 applications for charter schools are not subject to the time
120 deadlines outlined in subsection (6) and may be approved by the
121 district school board at any time during the year. Florida
122 College System institutions may not report FTE for any students
123 participating under this subparagraph who receive FTE funding
124 through the Florida Education Finance Program.
125 5. For purposes of assisting the development of a charter
126 school, a school district may enter into nonexclusive interlocal
127 agreements with federal and state agencies, counties,
128 municipalities, and other governmental entities that operate
129 within the geographical borders of the school district to act on
130 behalf of such governmental entities in the inspection,
131 issuance, and other necessary activities for all necessary
132 permits, licenses, and other permissions that a charter school
133 needs in order for development, construction, or operation. A
134 charter school may use, but may not be required to use, a school
135 district for these services. The interlocal agreement must
136 include, but need not be limited to, the identification of fees
137 that charter schools will be charged for such services. The fees
138 must consist of the governmental entity’s fees plus a fee for
139 the school district to recover no more than actual costs for
140 providing such services. These services and fees are not
141 included within the services to be provided pursuant to
142 subsection (20). Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an
143 interlocal agreement or ordinance that imposes a greater
144 regulatory burden on charter schools than school districts or
145 that prohibits or limits the creation of a charter school is
146 void and unenforceable. An interlocal agreement entered into by
147 a school district for the development of only its own schools,
148 including provisions relating to the extension of
149 infrastructure, may be used by charter schools.
150 6. The board of trustees of a sponsoring state university
151 or Florida College System institution under paragraph (a) is the
152 local educational agency for all charter schools it sponsors for
153 purposes of receiving federal funds and accepts full
154 responsibility for all local educational agency requirements and
155 the schools for which it will perform local educational agency
156 responsibilities. A student enrolled in a charter school that is
157 sponsored by a state university or Florida College System
158 institution may not be included in the calculation of the school
159 district’s grade under s. 1008.34(5) for the school district in
160 which he or she resides.
161 (c) Sponsor accountability.—
162 1. The department shall, in collaboration with charter
163 school sponsors and charter school operators, develop a sponsor
164 evaluation framework that must address, at a minimum:
165 a. The sponsor’s strategic vision for charter school
166 authorization and the sponsor’s progress toward that vision.
167 b. The alignment of the sponsor’s policies and practices to
168 best practices for charter school authorization.
169 c. The academic and financial performance of all operating
170 charter schools overseen by the sponsor.
171 d. The status of charter schools authorized by the sponsor,
172 including approved, operating, and closed schools.
173 2. The department shall compile the results by sponsor and
174 include the results in the report required under sub-sub
175 subparagraph (b)1.l.(III) (b)1.k.(III).
176 (9) CHARTER SCHOOL REQUIREMENTS.—
177 (s) A charter school governing board may adopt its own code
178 of student conduct. The code of student conduct must meet or
179 exceed the minimum standards set forth in the sponsor’s code of
180 student conduct. Any provision of the code of student conduct
181 which is more stringent than the sponsor’s code of student
182 conduct must align with the mission of the charter school. The
183 sponsor may review the code and offer recommendations. Any
184 complaint or appeal related to the code of student conduct must
185 be resolved by the charter school’s governing board using the
186 board’s established procedures and must be in compliance with
187 applicable law and rules.
188 (10) ELIGIBLE STUDENTS.—
189 (d) A charter school may give enrollment preference to the
190 following student populations:
191 1. Students who are siblings of a student enrolled in the
192 charter school.
193 2. Students who are the children of a member of the
194 governing board of the charter school.
195 3. Students who are the children of an employee of the
196 charter school.
197 4. Students who are the children of:
198 a. An employee of the business partner of a charter school
199 in-the-workplace established under paragraph (15)(b) or a
200 resident of the municipality in which such charter school is
201 located; or
202 b. A resident or employee of a municipality that operates a
203 charter school-in-a-municipality pursuant to paragraph (15)(c)
204 or allows a charter school to use a school facility or portion
205 of land provided by the municipality for the operation of the
206 charter school.
207 5. Students who have successfully completed, during the
208 previous year, a voluntary prekindergarten education program
209 under ss. 1002.51-1002.79 provided by the charter school, the
210 charter school’s governing board, or a voluntary prekindergarten
211 provider that has a written agreement with the governing board.
212 6. Students who are the children of an active duty member
213 of any branch of the United States Armed Forces.
214 7. Students who attended or are assigned to failing schools
215 pursuant to s. 1002.38(2).
216 8. Students who are the children of a safe-school officer,
217 as defined in s. 1006.12, at the school.
218 9. Students who transfer from a classical school in this
219 state to a charter classical school in this state. For purposes
220 of this subparagraph, the term “classical school” means a
221 traditional public school or charter school that implements a
222 classical education model that emphasizes the development of
223 students in the principles of moral character and civic virtue
224 through a well-rounded education in the liberal arts and
225 sciences which is based on the classical trivium stages of
226 grammar, logic, and rhetoric.
227 (h) The capacity of the charter school shall be determined
228 annually by the governing board, in conjunction with the
229 sponsor, of the charter school in consideration of the factors
230 identified in this subsection and subsection (18) unless the
231 charter school is designated as a high-performing charter school
232 pursuant to s. 1002.331. A sponsor may not require a charter
233 school to waive the provisions of s. 1002.331 or require a
234 student enrollment cap that prohibits a high-performing charter
235 school from increasing enrollment in accordance with s.
236 1002.331(2) as a condition of approval or renewal of a charter.
237 (16) EXEMPTION FROM STATUTES.—
238 (b) Additionally, a charter school shall be in compliance
239 with the following statutes:
240 1. Section 286.011, relating to public meetings and
241 records, public inspection, and criminal and civil penalties.
242 2. Chapter 119, relating to public records.
243 3. Section 1003.03, relating to the maximum class size,
244 except that the calculation for compliance pursuant to s.
245 1003.03 shall be the average at the school level.
246 4. Section 1012.22(1)(c), relating to compensation and
247 salary schedules.
248 5. Section 1012.33(5), relating to workforce reductions.
249 6. Section 1012.335, relating to contracts with
250 instructional personnel hired on or after July 1, 2011.
251 7. Section 1012.34, relating to the substantive
252 requirements for performance evaluations for instructional
253 personnel and school administrators.
254 8. Section 1006.12, relating to safe-school officers.
255 9. Section 1006.07(7), relating to threat management teams.
256 10. Section 1006.07(9), relating to School Environmental
257 Safety Incident Reporting.
258 11. Section 1006.07(10), relating to reporting of
259 involuntary examinations.
260 12. Section 1006.1493, relating to the Florida Safe Schools
261 Assessment Tool.
262 13. Section 1006.07(6)(d), relating to adopting an active
263 assailant response plan.
264 14. Section 943.082(4)(b), relating to the mobile
265 suspicious activity reporting tool.
266 15. Section 1012.584, relating to youth mental health
267 awareness and assistance training.
268 16. Section 1001.42(4)(f)2., relating to middle school and
269 high school start times. A charter school-in-the-workplace is
270 exempt from this requirement.
271 17. Section 1001.42(8)(c), relating to student welfare.
272 (18) FACILITIES.—
273 (h) A charter school that is not implementing a school
274 improvement plan pursuant to paragraph (9)(n) or a corrective
275 action plan pursuant to s. 1002.345 may increase its student
276 enrollment to more than the capacity identified in the charter,
277 but student enrollment may not exceed the capacity of the
278 facility at the time the enrollment increase will take effect.
279 Facility capacity for purposes of expansion must include any
280 improvements to an existing facility or any new facility in
281 which the students of the charter school will enroll. A charter
282 school must notify its sponsor in writing by March 1 if it
283 intends to increase enrollment for the following school year.
284 The written notice must specify the amount of the enrollment
285 increase.
286 (20) SERVICES.—
287 (a)1. A sponsor shall provide certain administrative and
288 educational services to charter schools. These services shall
289 include contract management services; full-time equivalent and
290 data reporting services; exceptional student education
291 administration services; services related to eligibility and
292 reporting duties required to ensure that school lunch services
293 under the National School Lunch Program, consistent with the
294 needs of the charter school, are provided by the sponsor at the
295 request of the charter school, that any funds due to the charter
296 school under the National School Lunch Program be paid to the
297 charter school as soon as the charter school begins serving food
298 under the National School Lunch Program, and that the charter
299 school is paid at the same time and in the same manner under the
300 National School Lunch Program as other public schools serviced
301 by the sponsor or the school district; test administration
302 services, including payment of the costs of state-required or
303 district-required student assessments; processing of teacher
304 certificate data services; and information services, including
305 equal access to the sponsor’s student information systems that
306 are used by public schools in the district in which the charter
307 school is located or by schools in the sponsor’s portfolio of
308 charter schools if the sponsor is not a school district. Access
309 to the sponsor’s student information system must be provided to
310 the charter school and its contractor, unless prohibited by
311 general or federal law. Student performance data for each
312 student in a charter school, including, but not limited to,
313 statewide FCAT scores, standardized test scores, coordinated
314 screening and progress monitoring student results, previous
315 public school student report cards, and student performance
316 measures, shall be provided by the sponsor to a charter school
317 in the same manner provided to other public schools in the
318 district or by schools in the sponsor’s portfolio of charter
319 schools if the sponsor is not a school district. The department
320 shall provide student performance data to a charter school and
321 its contractor, unless prohibited by general or federal law.
322 2. A sponsor shall provide training to charter schools on
323 systems the sponsor will require the charter school to use.
324 3. A sponsor may withhold an administrative fee for the
325 provision of such services which shall be a percentage of the
326 available funds defined in paragraph (17)(b) calculated based on
327 weighted full-time equivalent students. If the charter school
328 serves 75 percent or more exceptional education students as
329 defined in s. 1003.01(9), the percentage shall be calculated
330 based on unweighted full-time equivalent students. The
331 administrative fee shall be calculated as follows:
332 a. Up to 5 percent for:
333 (I) Enrollment of up to and including 250 students in a
334 charter school as defined in this section.
335 (II) Enrollment of up to and including 500 students within
336 a charter school system which meets all of the following:
337 (A) Includes conversion charter schools and nonconversion
338 charter schools.
339 (B) Has all of its schools located in the same county.
340 (C) Has a total enrollment exceeding the total enrollment
341 of at least one school district in this state.
342 (D) Has the same governing board for all of its schools.
343 (E) Does not contract with a for-profit service provider
344 for management of school operations.
345 (III) Enrollment of up to and including 250 students in a
346 virtual charter school.
347 b. Up to 2 percent for enrollment of up to and including
348 250 students in a high-performing charter school as defined in
349 s. 1002.331.
350 c. Up to 2 percent for enrollment of up to and including
351 250 students in an exceptional student education center that
352 meets the requirements of the rules adopted by the State Board
353 of Education pursuant to s. 1008.3415(3).
354 4. A sponsor may not charge charter schools any additional
355 fees or surcharges for administrative and educational services
356 in addition to the maximum percentage of administrative fees
357 withheld pursuant to this paragraph. A sponsor may not charge or
358 withhold any administrative fee against a charter school for any
359 funds specifically allocated by the Legislature for teacher
360 compensation.
361 5. A sponsor shall provide to the department by September
362 15 of each year the total amount of funding withheld from
363 charter schools pursuant to this subsection for the prior fiscal
364 year. The department must include the information in the report
365 required under sub-sub-subparagraph (5)(b)1.k.(III).
366 6. A sponsor shall annually provide a report to its charter
367 schools on what services are being rendered from the sponsor’s
368 portion of the administrative fee. The report must include the
369 listed services and be submitted to the department by September
370 15 of each year.
371 (26) STANDARDS OF CONDUCT AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE.—
372 (d) A landlord of a charter school or his or her spouse or
373 an officer, director, or employee of an entity that is a
374 landlord of a charter school or his or her spouse may not be a
375 member of a governing board of a charter school unless the
376 charter school was established pursuant to paragraph (15)(c).
377 Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 1002.331, Florida
378 Statutes, is amended to read:
379 1002.331 High-performing charter schools.—
380 (2) A high-performing charter school is authorized to:
381 (a) Increase its student enrollment once per school year to
382 more than the capacity identified in the charter, but student
383 enrollment may not exceed the capacity of the facility at the
384 time the enrollment increase will take effect. Facility capacity
385 for purposes of expansion must shall include any improvements to
386 an existing facility or any new facility in which the students
387 of the high-performing charter school will enroll.
388 (b) Expand grade levels within kindergarten through grade
389 12 to add grade levels not already served if any annual
390 enrollment increase resulting from grade level expansion is
391 within the limit established in paragraph (a).
392 (c) Submit a quarterly, rather than a monthly, financial
393 statement to the sponsor pursuant to s. 1002.33(9)(g).
394 (d) Consolidate under a single charter the charters of
395 multiple high-performing charter schools operated in the same
396 school district by the charter schools’ governing board
397 regardless of the renewal cycle.
398 (e) Receive a modification of its charter to a term of 15
399 years or a 15-year charter renewal. The charter may be modified
400 or renewed for a shorter term at the option of the high
401 performing charter school. The charter must be consistent with
402 s. 1002.33(7)(a)19. and (10)(h) and (i), is subject to annual
403 review by the sponsor, and may be terminated during its term
404 pursuant to s. 1002.33(8).
405 (f) Assume the charter of an existing charter school within
406 the same school district in which it operates. Any request to
407 assume a charter must be initiated by a school in a written
408 format to the high-performing charter school.
409
410 A high-performing charter school shall notify its sponsor in
411 writing by March 1 if it intends to increase enrollment or
412 expand grade levels the following school year. The written
413 notice shall specify the amount of the enrollment increase and
414 the grade levels that will be added, as applicable. If a charter
415 school notifies the sponsor of its intent to expand, the sponsor
416 shall modify the charter within 90 days to include the new
417 enrollment maximum and may not make any other changes. The
418 sponsor may deny a request to increase the enrollment of a high
419 performing charter school if the commissioner has declassified
420 the charter school as high-performing. If a high-performing
421 charter school requests to consolidate multiple charters or to
422 assume an existing charter, the sponsor has shall have 40 days
423 after receipt of that request to provide an initial draft
424 charter to the charter school. The sponsor and charter school
425 shall have 50 days thereafter to negotiate and notice the
426 charter contract for final approval by the sponsor.
427 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.