Florida Senate - 2026                                     SB 824
       
       
        
       By Senator Truenow
       
       
       
       
       
       13-00754A-26                                           2026824__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to charter schools; amending s.
    3         1002.33, F.S.; defining terms; requiring a school
    4         district to have an agreement to construct a school on
    5         vacant land by a specified date; requiring a school
    6         district to offer vacant land to charter school
    7         operators within the district before other parties,
    8         under certain conditions; requiring a school district
    9         to award vacant land within a specified timeframe to
   10         the charter school operator that submits the most
   11         advantageous proposal within a specified timeframe;
   12         providing an effective date.
   13          
   14  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   15  
   16         Section 1. Paragraph (i) is added to subsection (18) of
   17  section 1002.33, Florida Statutes, to read:
   18         1002.33 Charter schools.—
   19         (18) FACILITIES.—
   20         (i)1. For the purposes of this subsection, the term:
   21         a. “Charter school operator” means an organization holding
   22  a charter contract with an authorizer as described in s.
   23  1002.333(2)(a) and charter school management organizations that
   24  are accredited by a regional accreditation agency, including
   25  Cognia, the North Central Association Commission on
   26  Accreditation and School Improvement, the Northwest
   27  Accreditation Commission, and the Southern Association of
   28  Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School
   29  Improvement.
   30         b. “Vacant land” means a parcel of real property upon which
   31  no buildings, structures, or other permanent improvements have
   32  been constructed or installed which is owned by a district
   33  school board for 3 or more years in a district that has
   34  experienced a decrease in student enrollment, year over year,
   35  for 3 or more consecutive years, excluding student enrollment of
   36  charter schools within the district.
   37         2.a. Vacant land must first be offered by the district
   38  school board to all charter school operators within the school
   39  district. A school district that owns vacant land must have an
   40  agreement to construct a school on such land with a developer or
   41  contractor by July 1, 2027. If such an agreement is not in place
   42  by July 1, 2027, the school district has 60 days to offer the
   43  vacant land to all charter school operators within the school
   44  district.
   45         b. Charter school operators have 120 days after receiving
   46  notice of an offer from the school district to submit a proposal
   47  for constructing a charter school on the vacant land. A school
   48  district has 60 days after receiving such proposals to award the
   49  vacant land by sending a written notice to the charter school
   50  operator determined by the school district to have made the most
   51  advantageous proposal.
   52         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.