Florida Senate - 2026 SB 1100
By Senator Massullo
11-01272A-26 20261100__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to charter schools; amending s.
3 1002.33, F.S.; authorizing Florida College System
4 institutions and state universities to sponsor job
5 engine charter schools; requiring that specified tax
6 funds be provided annually to the sponsor of a job
7 engine charter school; defining the term “attendance
8 zone”; providing an effective date.
9
10 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
11
12 Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (3) and paragraph
13 (a) of subsection (5) of section 1002.33, Florida Statutes, are
14 amended, and paragraph (e) is added to subsection (15) of that
15 section, to read:
16 1002.33 Charter schools.—
17 (3) APPLICATION FOR CHARTER STATUS.—
18 (b) An application for a conversion charter school must be
19 made by the district school board, the principal, teachers,
20 parents whose children are enrolled at the school, or the school
21 advisory council at an existing public school that has been in
22 operation for at least 2 years before the application to
23 convert. A public school-within-a-school designated as a school
24 by the district school board may also apply to convert to
25 charter status. A municipality seeking to attract job-producing
26 entities by establishing a job engine charter school pursuant to
27 paragraph (15)(c) may apply to a the district school board,
28 Florida College System institution, or state university to
29 convert an existing public school to a charter school. An
30 application submitted proposing to convert an existing public
31 school to a charter school must demonstrate the support of at
32 least 50 percent of the parents voting whose children are
33 enrolled at the school, provided that a majority of the parents
34 eligible to vote participate in the ballot process, according to
35 rules adopted by the State Board of Education. A district school
36 board, Florida College System institution, or state university
37 that denies an application for a conversion charter school shall
38 provide notice of denial to the applicants in writing within 10
39 days after the meeting at which the district school board denied
40 the application. The notice must articulate in writing the
41 specific reasons for denial and must provide documentation
42 supporting those reasons. A private school, parochial school, or
43 home education program is not eligible for charter school
44 status.
45 (5) SPONSOR; DUTIES.—
46 (a) Sponsoring entities.—
47 1. A district school board may sponsor a charter school in
48 the county over which the district school board has
49 jurisdiction.
50 2.a. A state university may grant a charter to a lab school
51 created under s. 1002.32 and shall be considered to be the
52 school’s sponsor. Such school shall be considered a charter lab
53 school.
54 b. A state university may grant a charter to a municipality
55 establishing a job engine charter school.
56 3. Because needs relating to educational capacity,
57 workforce qualifications, and career education opportunities are
58 constantly changing and extend beyond school district
59 boundaries:
60 a. A state university may, upon approval by the Department
61 of Education, solicit applications and sponsor a charter school
62 to meet regional education or workforce demands by serving
63 students from multiple school districts.
64 b. A Florida College System institution may, upon approval
65 by the Department of Education, solicit applications and sponsor
66 a charter school or a job engine charter school in any county
67 within its service area to meet workforce demands and may offer
68 postsecondary programs leading to industry certifications to
69 eligible charter school students. A charter school established
70 under subparagraph (b)4. may not be sponsored by a Florida
71 College System institution until its existing charter with the
72 school district expires as provided under subsection (7).
73 c. Notwithstanding paragraph (6)(b), a state university or
74 Florida College System institution may, at its discretion, deny
75 an application for a charter school.
76 d. The Charter School Review Commission, as authorized
77 under s. 1002.3301, may solicit and review applications for
78 charter schools overseen by district school boards and, upon the
79 commission approving an application, the district school board
80 that oversees the school district in which the charter school
81 will be located shall serve as sponsor.
82 (15) CHARTER SCHOOLS-IN-THE-WORKPLACE; CHARTER SCHOOLS-IN
83 A-MUNICIPALITY.—
84 (e) All taxes levied by the school district within the
85 attendance zone of a conversion job engine charter school
86 sponsored by a Florida College System institution or state
87 university shall be provided to the sponsor annually, beginning
88 with the next fiscal year after such school is established. For
89 purposes of this paragraph, the term “attendance zone” means the
90 attendance zone of the public school at the time of the school’s
91 conversion to a job engine charter school.
92 Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.