Florida Senate - 2025 CS for CS for SB 822
By the Committees on Rules; and Education Pre-K - 12; and
Senator Rodriguez
595-03808-25 2025822c2
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to education; amending s. 1002.32,
3 F.S.; providing that a lab school may use the lab
4 school’s discretionary capital improvement funds for
5 specified purposes; requiring that an expenditure be
6 at or below appraised value; defining the term
7 “appraised value”; requiring that certain
8 documentation be provided to the Department of
9 Education upon request; amending s. 1002.33, F.S.;
10 providing requirements for specified deadlines for
11 charter schools; authorizing a charter school
12 governing board to adopt its own code of student
13 conduct; providing requirements for the code of
14 student conduct; providing that charter schools are
15 not exempt from a specified statute; authorizing a
16 charter school to increase its student enrollment
17 beyond the capacity identified in the charter under
18 certain conditions; requiring a charter school to
19 notify its sponsor in writing by a specified date, and
20 to include specified information, if it plans to
21 increase enrollment; revising services a sponsor must
22 provide to a charter school; requiring the department
23 to provide student performance data to a charter
24 school and its contractor; providing an exception;
25 prohibiting specified individuals from being on a
26 charter school governing board; providing an
27 exception; amending s. 1002.331, F.S.; authorizing a
28 high-performing charter school to assume the charter
29 of an existing charter school within the same school
30 district; providing an effective date.
31
32 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
33
34 Section 1. Paragraph (f) is added to subsection (9) of
35 section 1002.32, Florida Statutes, to read:
36 1002.32 Developmental research (laboratory) schools.—
37 (9) FUNDING.—Funding for a lab school, including a charter
38 lab school, shall be provided as follows:
39 (f) A lab school’s governing body may use the lab school’s
40 discretionary capital improvement funds for the following
41 purposes:
42 1. Purchase of real property.
43 2. Construction of school facilities.
44 3. Purchase, lease-purchase, or lease of permanent or
45 relocatable school facilities.
46 4. Purchase of vehicles to transport students to and from
47 the charter lab school.
48 5. Renovation, repair, and maintenance of school facilities
49 that the charter lab school owns or is purchasing through a
50 lease-purchase or long-term lease of 5 years or longer.
51 6. Payment of the cost of premiums for property and
52 casualty insurance necessary to insure the school facilities.
53 7. Purchase, lease-purchase, or lease of driver’s education
54 vehicles; motor vehicles used for the maintenance or operation
55 of plants and equipment; security vehicles; or vehicles used in
56 storing or distributing materials and equipment.
57 8. Purchase, lease-purchase, or lease of computer and
58 device hardware and operating system software necessary for
59 gaining access to or enhancing the use of electronic and digital
60 instructional content and resources; and enterprise resource
61 software applications that are classified as capital assets in
62 accordance with definitions of the Governmental Accounting
63 Standards Board, have a useful life of at least 5 years, and are
64 used to support schoolwide administration or state-mandated
65 reporting requirements. Enterprise resource software may be
66 acquired by annual license fees, maintenance fees, or a lease
67 agreement.
68 9. Payment of the cost of the opening day collection for
69 the library media center of a new school.
70
71 Any purchase, lease-purchase, or lease made pursuant to this
72 subsection must be at or below the appraised value. For purposes
73 of this subsection, the term “appraised value” means the fair
74 market value as determined by an independent, state-licensed,
75 qualified appraiser selected by the governing board.
76 Documentation of the appraised value must be provided to the
77 department upon request.
78 Section 2. Paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (5),
79 paragraphs (d) and (h) of subsection (10), paragraph (b) of
80 subsection (16), and paragraph (a) of subsection (20) of section
81 1002.33, Florida Statutes, are amended, and paragraph (s) is
82 added to subsection (9), paragraph (h) is added to subsection
83 (18), and paragraph (d) is added to subsection (26) of that
84 section, to read:
85 1002.33 Charter schools.—
86 (5) SPONSOR; DUTIES.—
87 (b) Sponsor duties.—
88 1.a. The sponsor shall monitor and review the charter
89 school in its progress toward the goals established in the
90 charter.
91 b. The sponsor shall monitor the revenues and expenditures
92 of the charter school and perform the duties provided in s.
93 1002.345.
94 c. The sponsor may approve a charter for a charter school
95 before the applicant has identified space, equipment, or
96 personnel, if the applicant indicates approval is necessary for
97 it to raise working funds.
98 d. The sponsor may not apply its policies to a charter
99 school unless mutually agreed to by both the sponsor and the
100 charter school. If the sponsor subsequently amends any agreed
101 upon sponsor policy, the version of the policy in effect at the
102 time of the execution of the charter, or any subsequent
103 modification thereof, shall remain in effect and the sponsor may
104 not hold the charter school responsible for any provision of a
105 newly revised policy until the revised policy is mutually agreed
106 upon.
107 e. The sponsor shall ensure that the charter is innovative
108 and consistent with the state education goals established by s.
109 1000.03(5).
110 f. The sponsor shall ensure that the charter school
111 participates in the state’s education accountability system. If
112 a charter school falls short of performance measures included in
113 the approved charter, the sponsor shall report such shortcomings
114 to the Department of Education.
115 g. The sponsor is not liable for civil damages under state
116 law for personal injury, property damage, or death resulting
117 from an act or omission of an officer, employee, agent, or
118 governing body of the charter school.
119 h. The sponsor is not liable for civil damages under state
120 law for any employment actions taken by an officer, employee,
121 agent, or governing body of the charter school.
122 i. The sponsor’s duties to monitor the charter school do
123 not constitute the basis for a private cause of action.
124 j. The sponsor may not impose additional reporting
125 requirements on a charter school as long as the charter school
126 has not been identified as having a deteriorating financial
127 condition or financial emergency pursuant to s. 1002.345.
128 k. The sponsor may not impose upon a charter school
129 administrative deadlines that are earlier than the sponsor’s own
130 corresponding deadlines for similar reports or submissions. Any
131 deadline imposed upon a charter school for financial audits or
132 other administrative requirements may not be earlier than 15
133 days before the sponsor’s own deadline for similar submissions
134 to the department.
135 l.k. The sponsor shall submit an annual report to the
136 Department of Education in a web-based format to be determined
137 by the department.
138 (I) The report must shall include the following
139 information:
140 (A) The number of applications received during the school
141 year and up to August 1 and each applicant’s contact
142 information.
143 (B) The date each application was approved, denied, or
144 withdrawn.
145 (C) The date each final contract was executed.
146 (II) Annually, by November 1, the sponsor shall submit to
147 the department the information for the applications submitted
148 the previous year.
149 (III) The department shall compile an annual report, by
150 sponsor, and post the report on its website by January 15 of
151 each year.
152 2. Immunity for the sponsor of a charter school under
153 subparagraph 1. applies only with respect to acts or omissions
154 not under the sponsor’s direct authority as described in this
155 section.
156 3. This paragraph does not waive a sponsor’s sovereign
157 immunity.
158 4. A Florida College System institution may work with the
159 school district or school districts in its designated service
160 area to develop charter schools that offer secondary education.
161 These charter schools must include an option for students to
162 receive an associate degree upon high school graduation. If a
163 Florida College System institution operates an approved teacher
164 preparation program under s. 1004.04 or s. 1004.85, the
165 institution may operate charter schools that serve students in
166 kindergarten through grade 12 in any school district within the
167 service area of the institution. District school boards shall
168 cooperate with and assist the Florida College System institution
169 on the charter application. Florida College System institution
170 applications for charter schools are not subject to the time
171 deadlines outlined in subsection (6) and may be approved by the
172 district school board at any time during the year. Florida
173 College System institutions may not report FTE for any students
174 participating under this subparagraph who receive FTE funding
175 through the Florida Education Finance Program.
176 5. For purposes of assisting the development of a charter
177 school, a school district may enter into nonexclusive interlocal
178 agreements with federal and state agencies, counties,
179 municipalities, and other governmental entities that operate
180 within the geographical borders of the school district to act on
181 behalf of such governmental entities in the inspection,
182 issuance, and other necessary activities for all necessary
183 permits, licenses, and other permissions that a charter school
184 needs in order for development, construction, or operation. A
185 charter school may use, but may not be required to use, a school
186 district for these services. The interlocal agreement must
187 include, but need not be limited to, the identification of fees
188 that charter schools will be charged for such services. The fees
189 must consist of the governmental entity’s fees plus a fee for
190 the school district to recover no more than actual costs for
191 providing such services. These services and fees are not
192 included within the services to be provided pursuant to
193 subsection (20). Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an
194 interlocal agreement or ordinance that imposes a greater
195 regulatory burden on charter schools than school districts or
196 that prohibits or limits the creation of a charter school is
197 void and unenforceable. An interlocal agreement entered into by
198 a school district for the development of only its own schools,
199 including provisions relating to the extension of
200 infrastructure, may be used by charter schools.
201 6. The board of trustees of a sponsoring state university
202 or Florida College System institution under paragraph (a) is the
203 local educational agency for all charter schools it sponsors for
204 purposes of receiving federal funds and accepts full
205 responsibility for all local educational agency requirements and
206 the schools for which it will perform local educational agency
207 responsibilities. A student enrolled in a charter school that is
208 sponsored by a state university or Florida College System
209 institution may not be included in the calculation of the school
210 district’s grade under s. 1008.34(5) for the school district in
211 which he or she resides.
212 (c) Sponsor accountability.—
213 1. The department shall, in collaboration with charter
214 school sponsors and charter school operators, develop a sponsor
215 evaluation framework that must address, at a minimum:
216 a. The sponsor’s strategic vision for charter school
217 authorization and the sponsor’s progress toward that vision.
218 b. The alignment of the sponsor’s policies and practices to
219 best practices for charter school authorization.
220 c. The academic and financial performance of all operating
221 charter schools overseen by the sponsor.
222 d. The status of charter schools authorized by the sponsor,
223 including approved, operating, and closed schools.
224 2. The department shall compile the results by sponsor and
225 include the results in the report required under sub-sub
226 subparagraph (b)1.l.(III) (b)1.k.(III).
227 (9) CHARTER SCHOOL REQUIREMENTS.—
228 (s) A charter school governing board may adopt its own code
229 of student conduct. The code of student conduct must meet or
230 exceed the minimum standards set forth in the sponsor’s code of
231 student conduct. Any provision of the code of student conduct
232 which is more stringent than the sponsor’s code of student
233 conduct must align with the mission of the charter school. The
234 sponsor may review the code and offer recommendations. Any
235 complaint or appeal related to the code of student conduct must
236 be resolved by the charter school’s governing board using the
237 board’s established procedures and must be in compliance with
238 applicable law and rules.
239 (10) ELIGIBLE STUDENTS.—
240 (d) A charter school may give enrollment preference to the
241 following student populations:
242 1. Students who are siblings of a student enrolled in the
243 charter school.
244 2. Students who are the children of a member of the
245 governing board of the charter school.
246 3. Students who are the children of an employee of the
247 charter school.
248 4. Students who are the children of:
249 a. An employee of the business partner of a charter school
250 in-the-workplace established under paragraph (15)(b) or a
251 resident of the municipality in which such charter school is
252 located; or
253 b. A resident or employee of a municipality that operates a
254 charter school-in-a-municipality pursuant to paragraph (15)(c)
255 or allows a charter school to use a school facility or portion
256 of land provided by the municipality for the operation of the
257 charter school.
258 5. Students who have successfully completed, during the
259 previous year, a voluntary prekindergarten education program
260 under ss. 1002.51-1002.79 provided by the charter school, the
261 charter school’s governing board, or a voluntary prekindergarten
262 provider that has a written agreement with the governing board.
263 6. Students who are the children of an active duty member
264 of any branch of the United States Armed Forces.
265 7. Students who attended or are assigned to failing schools
266 pursuant to s. 1002.38(2).
267 8. Students who are the children of a safe-school officer,
268 as defined in s. 1006.12, at the school.
269 9. Students who transfer from a classical school in this
270 state to a charter classical school in this state. For purposes
271 of this subparagraph, the term “classical school” means a
272 traditional public school or charter school that implements a
273 classical education model that emphasizes the development of
274 students in the principles of moral character and civic virtue
275 through a well-rounded education in the liberal arts and
276 sciences which is based on the classical trivium stages of
277 grammar, logic, and rhetoric.
278 (h) The capacity of the charter school shall be determined
279 annually by the governing board, in conjunction with the
280 sponsor, of the charter school in consideration of the factors
281 identified in this subsection and subsection (18) unless the
282 charter school is designated as a high-performing charter school
283 pursuant to s. 1002.331. A sponsor may not require a charter
284 school to waive the provisions of s. 1002.331 or require a
285 student enrollment cap that prohibits a high-performing charter
286 school from increasing enrollment in accordance with s.
287 1002.331(2) as a condition of approval or renewal of a charter.
288 (16) EXEMPTION FROM STATUTES.—
289 (b) Additionally, a charter school shall be in compliance
290 with the following statutes:
291 1. Section 286.011, relating to public meetings and
292 records, public inspection, and criminal and civil penalties.
293 2. Chapter 119, relating to public records.
294 3. Section 1003.03, relating to the maximum class size,
295 except that the calculation for compliance pursuant to s.
296 1003.03 shall be the average at the school level.
297 4. Section 1012.22(1)(c), relating to compensation and
298 salary schedules.
299 5. Section 1012.33(5), relating to workforce reductions.
300 6. Section 1012.335, relating to contracts with
301 instructional personnel hired on or after July 1, 2011.
302 7. Section 1012.34, relating to the substantive
303 requirements for performance evaluations for instructional
304 personnel and school administrators.
305 8. Section 1006.12, relating to safe-school officers.
306 9. Section 1006.07(7), relating to threat management teams.
307 10. Section 1006.07(9), relating to School Environmental
308 Safety Incident Reporting.
309 11. Section 1006.07(10), relating to reporting of
310 involuntary examinations.
311 12. Section 1006.1493, relating to the Florida Safe Schools
312 Assessment Tool.
313 13. Section 1006.07(6)(d), relating to adopting an active
314 assailant response plan.
315 14. Section 943.082(4)(b), relating to the mobile
316 suspicious activity reporting tool.
317 15. Section 1012.584, relating to youth mental health
318 awareness and assistance training.
319 16. Section 1001.42(4)(f)2., relating to middle school and
320 high school start times. A charter school-in-the-workplace is
321 exempt from this requirement.
322 17. Section 1001.42(8)(c), relating to student welfare.
323 (18) FACILITIES.—
324 (h) A charter school that is not implementing a school
325 improvement plan pursuant to paragraph (9)(n) or a corrective
326 action plan pursuant to s. 1002.345 may increase its student
327 enrollment to more than the capacity identified in the charter,
328 but student enrollment may not exceed the capacity of the
329 facility at the time the enrollment increase will take effect.
330 Facility capacity for purposes of expansion must include any
331 improvements to an existing facility or any new facility in
332 which the students of the charter school will enroll. A charter
333 school must notify its sponsor in writing by March 1 if it
334 intends to increase enrollment for the following school year.
335 The written notice must specify the amount of the enrollment
336 increase.
337 (20) SERVICES.—
338 (a)1. A sponsor shall provide certain administrative and
339 educational services to charter schools. These services shall
340 include contract management services; full-time equivalent and
341 data reporting services; exceptional student education
342 administration services; services related to eligibility and
343 reporting duties required to ensure that school lunch services
344 under the National School Lunch Program, consistent with the
345 needs of the charter school, are provided by the sponsor at the
346 request of the charter school, that any funds due to the charter
347 school under the National School Lunch Program be paid to the
348 charter school as soon as the charter school begins serving food
349 under the National School Lunch Program, and that the charter
350 school is paid at the same time and in the same manner under the
351 National School Lunch Program as other public schools serviced
352 by the sponsor or the school district; test administration
353 services, including payment of the costs of state-required or
354 district-required student assessments; processing of teacher
355 certificate data services; and information services, including
356 equal access to the sponsor’s student information systems that
357 are used by public schools in the district in which the charter
358 school is located or by schools in the sponsor’s portfolio of
359 charter schools if the sponsor is not a school district. Access
360 to the sponsor’s student information system must be provided to
361 the charter school and its contractor, unless prohibited by
362 general or federal law. Student performance data for each
363 student in a charter school, including, but not limited to,
364 statewide FCAT scores, standardized test scores, coordinated
365 screening and progress monitoring student results, previous
366 public school student report cards, and student performance
367 measures, shall be provided by the sponsor to a charter school
368 in the same manner provided to other public schools in the
369 district or by schools in the sponsor’s portfolio of charter
370 schools if the sponsor is not a school district. The department
371 shall provide student performance data to a charter school and
372 its contractor, unless prohibited by general or federal law.
373 2. A sponsor shall provide training to charter schools on
374 systems the sponsor will require the charter school to use.
375 3. A sponsor may withhold an administrative fee for the
376 provision of such services which shall be a percentage of the
377 available funds defined in paragraph (17)(b) calculated based on
378 weighted full-time equivalent students. If the charter school
379 serves 75 percent or more exceptional education students as
380 defined in s. 1003.01(9), the percentage shall be calculated
381 based on unweighted full-time equivalent students. The
382 administrative fee shall be calculated as follows:
383 a. Up to 5 percent for:
384 (I) Enrollment of up to and including 250 students in a
385 charter school as defined in this section.
386 (II) Enrollment of up to and including 500 students within
387 a charter school system which meets all of the following:
388 (A) Includes conversion charter schools and nonconversion
389 charter schools.
390 (B) Has all of its schools located in the same county.
391 (C) Has a total enrollment exceeding the total enrollment
392 of at least one school district in this state.
393 (D) Has the same governing board for all of its schools.
394 (E) Does not contract with a for-profit service provider
395 for management of school operations.
396 (III) Enrollment of up to and including 250 students in a
397 virtual charter school.
398 b. Up to 2 percent for enrollment of up to and including
399 250 students in a high-performing charter school as defined in
400 s. 1002.331.
401 c. Up to 2 percent for enrollment of up to and including
402 250 students in an exceptional student education center that
403 meets the requirements of the rules adopted by the State Board
404 of Education pursuant to s. 1008.3415(3).
405 4. A sponsor may not charge charter schools any additional
406 fees or surcharges for administrative and educational services
407 in addition to the maximum percentage of administrative fees
408 withheld pursuant to this paragraph. A sponsor may not charge or
409 withhold any administrative fee against a charter school for any
410 funds specifically allocated by the Legislature for teacher
411 compensation.
412 5. A sponsor shall provide to the department by September
413 15 of each year the total amount of funding withheld from
414 charter schools pursuant to this subsection for the prior fiscal
415 year. The department must include the information in the report
416 required under sub-sub-subparagraph (5)(b)1.k.(III).
417 6. A sponsor shall annually provide a report to its charter
418 schools on what services are being rendered from the sponsor’s
419 portion of the administrative fee. The report must include the
420 listed services and be submitted to the department by September
421 15 of each year.
422 (26) STANDARDS OF CONDUCT AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE.—
423 (d) A landlord of a charter school or his or her spouse or
424 an officer, a director, or an employee of an entity that is a
425 landlord of a charter school or his or her spouse may not be a
426 member of a governing board of a charter school unless the
427 charter school was established pursuant to paragraph (15)(c).
428 Section 3. Subsection (2) of section 1002.331, Florida
429 Statutes, is amended to read:
430 1002.331 High-performing charter schools.—
431 (2) A high-performing charter school is authorized to:
432 (a) Increase its student enrollment once per school year to
433 more than the capacity identified in the charter, but student
434 enrollment may not exceed the capacity of the facility at the
435 time the enrollment increase will take effect. Facility capacity
436 for purposes of expansion must shall include any improvements to
437 an existing facility or any new facility in which the students
438 of the high-performing charter school will enroll.
439 (b) Expand grade levels within kindergarten through grade
440 12 to add grade levels not already served if any annual
441 enrollment increase resulting from grade level expansion is
442 within the limit established in paragraph (a).
443 (c) Submit a quarterly, rather than a monthly, financial
444 statement to the sponsor pursuant to s. 1002.33(9)(g).
445 (d) Consolidate under a single charter the charters of
446 multiple high-performing charter schools operated in the same
447 school district by the charter schools’ governing board
448 regardless of the renewal cycle.
449 (e) Receive a modification of its charter to a term of 15
450 years or a 15-year charter renewal. The charter may be modified
451 or renewed for a shorter term at the option of the high
452 performing charter school. The charter must be consistent with
453 s. 1002.33(7)(a)19. and (10)(h) and (i), is subject to annual
454 review by the sponsor, and may be terminated during its term
455 pursuant to s. 1002.33(8).
456 (f) Assume the charter of an existing charter school within
457 the same school district in which it operates. Any request to
458 assume a charter must be initiated by a school in a written
459 format to the high-performing charter school.
460
461 A high-performing charter school shall notify its sponsor in
462 writing by March 1 if it intends to increase enrollment or
463 expand grade levels the following school year. The written
464 notice shall specify the amount of the enrollment increase and
465 the grade levels that will be added, as applicable. If a charter
466 school notifies the sponsor of its intent to expand, the sponsor
467 shall modify the charter within 90 days to include the new
468 enrollment maximum and may not make any other changes. The
469 sponsor may deny a request to increase the enrollment of a high
470 performing charter school if the commissioner has declassified
471 the charter school as high-performing. If a high-performing
472 charter school requests to consolidate multiple charters or to
473 assume an existing charter, the sponsor has shall have 40 days
474 after receipt of that request to provide an initial draft
475 charter to the charter school. The sponsor and charter school
476 shall have 50 days thereafter to negotiate and notice the
477 charter contract for final approval by the sponsor.
478 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.