HB 0527 2003
1	CHAMBER ACTION
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6	The Committee on Education K-20 recommends the following:
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8	Committee Substitute
9	Remove the entire bill and insert:
10	A bill to be entitled
11	An act relating to educational facilities benefit
12	districts and community development districts; amending s.
13	1002.33, F.S.; authorizing application by an educational
14	facilities benefit district or a community development
15	district for conversion of a group of schools to charter
16	schools; amending s. 1013.355, F.S.; expanding the purpose
17	and powers of educational facilities benefit districts;
18	authorizing creation of an educational facilities benefit
19	district by the local general purpose government; amending
20	s. 1013.356, F.S.; expanding the purpose and funding for
21	educational facilities benefit districts and community
22	development districts; authorizing leases for use of land
23	or facilities; providing an effective date.
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25	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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27	Section 1. Subsections (3) and (10) of section 1002.33,
28	Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
29	1002.33 Charter schools.--
30	(3) APPLICATION FOR CHARTER STATUS.--
31	(a) An application for a new charter school may be made by
32	an individual, teachers, parents, a group of individuals, a
33	municipality, or a legal entity organized under the laws of this
34	state.
35	(b) An application for a conversion charter school shall
36	be made by the district school board, the principal, teachers,
37	parents, and/or the school advisory council at an existing
38	public school that has been in operation for at least 2 years
39	prior to the application to convert, including a public school-
40	within-a-school that is designated as a school by the district
41	school board, or by an educational facilities benefit district
42	or a community development district. An application submitted
43	proposing to convert an existing public school to a charter
44	school shall demonstrate the support of at least 50 percent of
45	the teachers employed at the school and 50 percent of the
46	parents voting whose children are enrolled at the school,
47	provided that a majority of the parents eligible to vote
48	participate in the ballot process, according to rules adopted by
49	the State Board of Education. A district school board denying an
50	application for a conversion charter school shall provide notice
51	of denial to the applicants in writing within 30 days after the
52	meeting at which the district school board denied the
53	application. The notice must specify the exact reasons for
54	denial and must provide documentation supporting those reasons.
55	A private school, parochial school, or home education program
56	shall not be eligible for charter school status.
57	(c) An application for the conversion of a group of public
58	schools to charter schools may be made by an educational
59	facilities benefit district or community development district as
60	provided in s. 1013.355 for schools contained within the
61	boundaries of the educational facilities benefit district or the
62	community development district.
63	(10) ELIGIBLE STUDENTS.--
64	(a) A charter school shall be open to any student covered
65	in an interdistrict agreement or residing in the school district
66	in which the charter school is located; however, in the case of
67	a charter lab school, the charter lab school shall be open to
68	any student eligible to attend the lab school as provided in s.
69	1002.32 or who resides in the school district in which the
70	charter lab school is located. Any eligible student shall be
71	allowed interdistrict transfer to attend a charter school when
72	based on good cause.
73	(b) The charter school shall enroll an eligible student
74	who submits a timely application, unless the number of
75	applications exceeds the capacity of a program, class, grade
76	level, or building. In such case, all applicants shall have an
77	equal chance of being admitted through a random selection
78	process.
79	(c) When a public school converts to charter status,
80	enrollment preference shall be given to students who would have
81	otherwise attended that public school.
82	(d) A charter school may give enrollment preference to the
83	following student populations:
84	1. Students who are siblings of a student enrolled in the
85	charter school.
86	2. Students who are the children of a member of the
87	governing board of the charter school.
88	3. Students who are the children of an employee of the
89	charter school.
90	(e) A charter school may limit the enrollment process only
91	to target the following student populations:
92	1. Students within specific age groups or grade levels.
93	2. Students considered at risk of dropping out of school
94	or academic failure. Such students shall include exceptional
95	education students.
96	3. Students enrolling in a charter school-in-the-workplace
97	or charter school-in-a-municipality established pursuant to
98	subsection (16), or in a charter school located within an
99	educational facilities benefit district or community development
100	district.
101	4. Students residing within a reasonable distance of the
102	charter school, as described in paragraph (21)(c). Such students
103	shall be subject to a random lottery and to the racial/ethnic
104	balance provisions described in subparagraph (7)(a)8. or any
105	federal provisions that require a school to achieve a
106	racial/ethnic balance reflective of the community it serves or
107	within the racial/ethnic range of other public schools in the
108	same school district.
109	5. Students who meet reasonable academic, artistic, or
110	other eligibility standards established by the charter school
111	and included in the charter school application and charter or,
112	in the case of existing charter schools, standards that are
113	consistent with the school's mission and purpose. Such standards
114	shall be in accordance with current state law and practice in
115	public schools and may not discriminate against otherwise
116	qualified individuals.
117	6. Students articulating from one charter school to
118	another pursuant to an articulation agreement between the
119	charter schools that has been approved by the sponsor.
120	(f) Students with handicapping conditions and students
121	served in English for Speakers of Other Languages programs shall
122	have an equal opportunity of being selected for enrollment in a
123	charter school.
124	(g) A student may withdraw from a charter school at any
125	time and enroll in another public school as determined by
126	district school board rule.
127	(h) The capacity of the charter school shall be determined
128	annually by the governing board, in conjunction with the
129	sponsor, of the charter school in consideration of the factors
130	identified in this subsection.
131	Section 2. Subsections (2), (3), and (4) of section
132	1013.355, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
133	1013.355 Educational facilities benefit districts.--
134	(2) The Legislature hereby authorizes the creation of
135	educational facilities benefit districts pursuant to interlocal
136	cooperation agreements between a district school board and all
137	local general purpose governments within whose jurisdiction a
138	district is located. The purpose of educational facilities
139	benefit districts is to assist in financing the construction,
140	operation,and maintenance of educational facilities.
141	(3)(a) An educational facilities benefit district may be
142	created pursuant to this act and chapters 125, 163, 166, and
143	189. An educational facilities benefit district charter may be
144	created by a county or municipality by entering into an
145	interlocal agreement, as authorized by s. 163.01, with the
146	district school board and any local general purpose government
147	within whose jurisdiction a portion of the district is located
148	and adoption of an ordinance that includes all provisions
149	contained within s. 189.4041. The creating entity shall be the
150	local general purpose government within whose boundaries a
151	majority of the educational facilities benefit district's lands
152	are located.
153	(b) Creation of any educational facilities benefit
154	district shall be conditioned upon the consent of the district
155	school board, all local general purpose governments within whose
156	jurisdiction any portion of the educational facilities benefit
157	district is located, and all landowners within the district.
158	Decisions of the school district regarding the establishment of
159	an educational facilities benefit district may be appealed
160	pursuant to s. 1002.33 (6)(b).The membership of the governing
161	board of any educational facilities benefit district shall
162	include representation of the district school board, each
163	cooperating local general purpose government, and the landowners
164	within the district. In the case of an educational facilities
165	benefit district's decision to create a charter school, the
166	board of directors of the charter school may constitute the
167	members of the governing board for the educational facilities
168	benefit district. An educational facilities benefit district may
169	also be created by the local general purpose government within
170	whose jurisdiction the educational facilities benefit district
171	is located by adoption of an ordinance establishing the
172	district.
173	(4) The educational facilities benefit district shall
174	have, and its governing board may exercise, the following
175	powers:
176	(a) To acquire, finance,and construct educational
177	facilities within the district's boundaries.
178	(b) To sue and be sued in the name of the district; to
179	adopt and use a seal and authorize the use of a facsimile
180	thereof; to acquire, by purchase, gift, devise, or otherwise,
181	and to dispose of real and personal property or any estate
182	therein; and to make and execute contracts and other instruments
183	necessary or convenient to the exercise of its powers.
184	(c) To contract for the services of consultants to perform
185	planning, engineering, legal, or other appropriate services of a
186	professional nature. Such contracts shall be subject to the
187	public bidding or competitive negotiations required of local
188	general purpose governments.
189	(d) To borrow money and accept gifts; to apply for unused
190	grants or loans of money or other property from the United
191	States, the state, a unit of local government, or any person for
192	any district purposes and enter into agreements required in
193	connection therewith; and to hold, use, and dispose of such
194	moneys or property for any district purposes in accordance with
195	the terms of the gift, grant, loan, or agreement relating
196	thereto.
197	(e) To adopt resolutions and policies prescribing the
198	powers, duties, and functions of the officers of the district,
199	the conduct of the business of the district, and the maintenance
200	of records and documents of the district.
201	(f) To maintain an office at such place or places as it
202	may designate within the district or within the boundaries of
203	the local general purpose government that created the district.
204	(g) To lease as lessor or lessee to or from any person,
205	firm, corporation, association, or body, public or private, any
206	projects of the type that the district is authorized to
207	undertake and facilities or property of any nature for use of
208	the district to carry out any of the purposes authorized by this
209	act.
210	(h) To borrow money and issue bonds, certificates,
211	warrants, notes, or other evidence of indebtedness pursuant to
212	this act for periods not longer than 30 years, provided such
213	bonds, certificates, warrants, notes, or other indebtedness
214	shall only be guaranteed by non-ad valorem assessments legally
215	imposed by the district and other available sources of funds
216	provided in this act and shall not pledge the full faith and
217	credit of any local general purpose government or the district
218	school board.
219	(i) To cooperate with or contract with other governmental
220	agencies as may be necessary, convenient, incidental, or proper
221	in connection with any of the powers, duties, or purposes
222	authorized by this act and to accept funding from local and
223	state agencies as provided in this act.
224	(j) To levy, impose, collect, and enforce non-ad valorem
225	assessments, as defined by s. 197.3632(1)(d), pursuant to this
226	act, chapters 125 and 166, and ss. 197.3631, 197.3632, and
227	197.3635.
228	(k) To exercise all powers necessary, convenient,
229	incidental, or proper in connection with any of the powers,
230	duties, or purposes authorized by this act.
231	Section 3. Section 1013.356, Florida Statutes, is amended
232	to read:
233	1013.356 Local funding for educational facilities benefit
234	districts or community development districts.--Upon confirmation
235	by a district school board of the commitment of revenues by an
236	educational facilities benefit district or community development
237	district necessary to construct, operate,and maintain an
238	educational facility contained within an individual district
239	facilities work program or proposed by an approved charter
240	school or a charter school applicant, the following funds shall
241	be provided to the educational facilities benefit district or
242	community development district annually, beginning with the next
243	fiscal year after confirmation until the district's financial
244	obligations are completed:
245	(1) All educational facilities impact fee revenue
246	collected for new development within the educational facilities
247	benefit district or community development district. Funds
248	provided under this subsection shall be used to fund the
249	acquisition, construction,and capital maintenance costs of
250	educational facilities.
251	(2) For construction and capital maintenance costs not
252	covered by the funds provided under subsection (1), an annual
253	amount contributed by the district school board equal to one-
254	half of the remaining costs of construction and capital
255	maintenance of the educational facility. Any construction costs
256	above the cost-per-student criteria established for the SIT
257	Program in s. 1013.72(2) shall be funded exclusively by the
258	educational facilities benefit district or the community
259	development district. Funds contributed by a district school
260	board shall not be used to fund operational costs.
261	(3) In lieu of subsection (2), if an educational
262	facilities benefit district or a community development district
263	elects to so receive, the required local effort funds calculated
264	pursuant to s. 1011.62 paid by properties located within the
265	educational facilities benefit district or the community
266	development district, including amounts generated by nonvoted
267	discretionary millage for operations pursuant to s. 1011.71(1)
268	and for capital improvements pursuant to s. 1011.71(2).
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270	Educational facilities funded pursuant to this act may be
271	constructed on land that is owned by any person after the
272	district school board, the charter school, the educational
273	facilities benefit district, or the community development
274	districthas acquired from the owner of the land a long-term
275	lease for the use of this land or facilitiesfor a period of not
276	less than 40 years or the life expectancy of the permanent
277	facilities constructed thereon, whichever is longer. All
278	interlocal agreements entered into pursuant to this act shall
279	provide for ownership of educational facilities funded pursuant
280	to this act to revert to the district school board if such
281	facilities cease to be used for public educational purposes
282	prior to 40 years after construction or prior to the end of the
283	life expectancy of the educational facilities, whichever is
284	longer.
285	Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.