HB 1627

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to charter schools; amending s. 1002.33,
3F.S.; authorizing community colleges and state
4universities to sponsor charter schools on their own or in
5partnership with independent postsecondary educational
6institutions; revising provisions relating to compliance
7with building construction standards; exempting charter
8school facilities from complying with certain Florida
9Building Code provisions; providing jurisdiction for
10inspections; providing an exemption from assessment of
11fees; providing for the use of educational impact fees;
12requiring a charter school sponsor to provide additional
13services; amending s. 1013.62, F.S.; revising provisions
14relating to eligibility for charter school capital outlay
15funding and the purposes for which such funds may be used;
16deleting certain provisions relating to allocation of
17appropriated funds; amending s. 1002.32, F.S., to conform;
18providing an effective date.
19
20Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
21
22     Section 1.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (5), subsection
23(18), and paragraph (a) of subsection (20) of section 1002.33,
24Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
25     1002.33  Charter schools.--
26     (5)  SPONSOR; DUTIES.--
27     (a)  Sponsoring entities.--
28     1.  A district school board may sponsor a charter school in
29the county over which the district school board has
30jurisdiction.
31     2.  A community college may sponsor a charter school within
32each community college district on its own or in partnership
33with an independent postsecondary educational institution.
34     3.  A state university may sponsor a charter school on its
35own or in partnership with an independent postsecondary
36educational institution.
37     4.2.  A state university may grant a charter to a lab
38school created under s. 1002.32 and shall be considered to be
39the school's sponsor. Such school shall be considered a charter
40lab school.
41
42A community college may work with the school district or school
43districts in its designated service area to develop charter
44schools that offer secondary education. These charter schools
45must include an option for students to receive an associate
46degree upon high school graduation. District school boards shall
47cooperate with and assist the community college on the charter
48application. Community college applications for charter schools
49are not subject to the time deadlines outlined in subsection (6)
50and may be approved by the district school board at any time
51during the year. Community colleges shall not report FTE for any
52students who receive FTE funding through the Florida Education
53Finance Program.
54     (18)  FACILITIES.--
55     (a)  A charter school shall utilize facilities which comply
56with the Florida State Uniform Building Code for Public
57Educational Facilities Construction adopted pursuant to s.
581013.37 or with applicable state minimum building codes pursuant
59to chapter 553 and the Florida Fire Prevention Code state
60minimum fire protection codes pursuant to s. 633.025, as adopted
61by the authority in whose jurisdiction the facility is located.
62     (b)  Any facility, or portion thereof, used to house a
63charter school whose charter has been approved by the sponsor
64and the governing board, pursuant to subsection (7), shall be
65exempt from ad valorem taxes pursuant to s. 196.1983.
66     (c)  Charter school facilities are not required to shall
67utilize facilities which comply with s. 423 of the Florida
68Building Code, "State Requirements for Educational Facilities,"
69adopted pursuant to s. 1013.37. The agencies having jurisdiction
70for inspection of a facility and issuance of a certificate of
71occupancy shall be the local school district in conjunction with
72the local fire marshal. Such inspections shall be scheduled and
73performed jointly by the local school district and the local
74fire marshal pursuant to chapter 553, and the Florida Fire
75Prevention Code, pursuant to chapter 633.
76     (d)  Charter school facilities are exempt from assessments
77of fees for building permits, except as provided in s. 553.80,
78and building licenses and from assessments of impact fees or
79service availability fees.
80     (e)  If a district school board facility or property is
81available because it is surplus, marked for disposal, or
82otherwise unused, it shall be provided for a charter school's
83use on the same basis as it is made available to other public
84schools in the district. A charter school receiving property
85from the school district may not sell or dispose of such
86property without written permission of the school district.
87Similarly, for an existing public school converting to charter
88status, no rental or leasing fee for the existing facility or
89for the property normally inventoried to the conversion school
90may be charged by the district school board to the parents and
91teachers organizing the charter school. The charter organizers
92shall agree to reasonable maintenance provisions in order to
93maintain the facility in a manner similar to district school
94board standards. The Public Education Capital Outlay maintenance
95funds or any other maintenance funds generated by the facility
96operated as a conversion school shall remain with the conversion
97school.
98     (f)  To the extent that charter school facilities are
99specifically created to mitigate the educational impact created
100by the development of new residential dwelling units, any
101educational impact fees required to be paid in connection with
102the new residential dwelling units may be designated instead for
103the construction of the charter school facilities that will
104mitigate the impact. The party responsible for payment of the
105educational impact fees and the local zoning authority levying
106the educational impact fees shall enter into an agreement that
107designates the educational impact fees that will be allocated
108for the charter school student stations and ensures the timely
109and concurrent construction of the charter school student
110stations.
111     (20)  SERVICES.--
112     (a)  A sponsor shall provide certain administrative and
113educational services to charter schools. These services shall
114include contract management services;, full-time equivalent and
115data reporting services;, exceptional student education
116administration services;, test administration services,
117including payment of the costs of state or district required
118tests;, processing of teacher certificate data services;, and
119information services, including equal access to all data
120management systems that are used by public schools in the
121district in which the charter school is located. A total
122administrative fee for the provision of such services shall be
123calculated based upon 5 percent of the available funds defined
124in paragraph (17)(b) for all students. However, a sponsor may
125only withhold a 5-percent administrative fee for enrollment for
126up to and including 500 students. For charter schools with a
127population of 501 or more students, the difference between the
128total administrative fee calculation and the amount of the
129administrative fee withheld may only be used for capital outlay
130purposes specified in s. 1013.62(2).
131     Section 2.  Subsections (1), (2), and (7) of section
1321013.62, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
133     1013.62  Charter schools capital outlay funding.--
134     (1)  In each year in which funds are appropriated for
135charter school capital outlay purposes, the Commissioner of
136Education shall allocate the funds among eligible charter
137schools. To be eligible for a funding allocation, a charter
138school must:
139     (a)1.  Have received capital outlay funding for the 2003-
1402004 school year;
141     2.1.  Have been in operation for 3 or more years;
142     3.2.  Be an expanded feeder chain of a charter school
143within the same school district that is currently receiving
144charter school capital outlay funds; or
145     4.3.  Have been accredited by the Commission on Schools of
146the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
147     (b)  Have financial stability for future operation as a
148charter school.
149     (c)  Have satisfactory student achievement based on state
150accountability standards applicable to the charter school.
151     (d)  Have received final approval from its sponsor pursuant
152to s. 1002.33 for operation during that fiscal year.
153     (e)  Serve students in facilities that are not provided by
154the charter school's sponsor.
155
156Prior to the release of capital outlay funds to a school
157district on behalf of the charter school, the Department of
158Education shall ensure that the district school board and the
159charter school governing board enter into a written agreement
160that includes provisions for the reversion of any unencumbered
161funds and all equipment and property purchased with public
162education funds to the ownership of the district school board,
163as provided for in subsection (3), in the event that the school
164terminates operations. Any funds recovered by the state shall be
165deposited in the General Revenue Fund. A charter school is not
166eligible for a funding allocation if it was created by the
167conversion of a public school and operates in facilities
168provided by the charter school's sponsor for a nominal fee or at
169no charge or if it is directly or indirectly operated by the
170school district. Unless otherwise provided in the General
171Appropriations Act, the funding allocation for each eligible
172charter school shall be determined by multiplying the school's
173projected student enrollment by one-fifteenth of the cost-per-
174student station specified in s. 1013.64(6)(b) for an elementary,
175middle, or high school, as appropriate. If the funds
176appropriated are not sufficient, the commissioner shall prorate
177the available funds among eligible charter schools. However, no
178charter school or charter lab school shall receive state charter
179school capital outlay funds in excess of the one-fifteenth cost
180per student station formula if the charter school's combination
181of state charter school capital outlay funds, capital outlay
182funds calculated through the reduction in the administrative fee
183provided in s. 1002.33(20), and capital outlay funds allowed in
184s. 1002.32(9)(e) and (h) exceeds the one-fifteenth cost per
185student station formula. Funds shall be distributed on the basis
186of the capital outlay full-time equivalent membership by grade
187level, which shall be calculated by averaging the results of the
188second and third enrollment surveys. The Department of Education
189shall distribute capital outlay funds monthly, beginning in the
190first quarter of the fiscal year, based on one-twelfth of the
191amount the department reasonably expects the charter school to
192receive during that fiscal year. The commissioner shall adjust
193subsequent distributions as necessary to reflect each charter
194school's actual student enrollment as reflected in the second
195and third enrollment surveys. The commissioner shall establish
196the intervals and procedures for determining the projected and
197actual student enrollment of eligible charter schools.
198     (2)  A charter school's governing body may use charter
199school capital outlay funds for any capital outlay purpose that
200is directly related to the functioning of the charter school,
201including the following purposes:
202     (a)  Purchase of real property.
203     (b)  Construction of school facilities.
204     (c)  Purchase, lease-purchase, or lease of permanent or
205relocatable school facilities.
206     (d)  Purchase of vehicles to transport students to and from
207the charter school.
208     (e)  Renovation, repair, and maintenance of school
209facilities that the charter school owns or is purchasing through
210a lease-purchase or long-term lease of 5 years or longer.
211
212Conversion charter schools may use capital outlay funds received
213through the reduction in the administrative fee provided in s.
2141002.33(20) for renovation, repair, and maintenance of school
215facilities that are owned by the sponsor.
216     (7)  Notwithstanding the provisions of this section,
217beginning in the 2003-2004 fiscal year:
218     (a)  If the appropriation for charter school capital outlay
219funds is no greater than the 2002-2003 appropriation, the funds
220shall be allocated according to the formula outlined in
221subsection (1) to:
222     1.  The same schools that received funding in 2002-2003.
223     2.  Schools that are an expanded feeder pattern of schools
224that received funding in 2002-2003.
225     3.  Schools that have an approved charter and are serving
226students at the start of the 2003-2004 school year and either
227incurred long-term financial obligations prior to January 31,
2282003, or began construction on educational facilities prior to
229December 31, 2002.
230     (b)  If the appropriation for charter school capital outlay
231funds is less than the 2002-2003 appropriation, the funds shall
232be prorated among the schools eligible in paragraph (a).
233     (c)  If the appropriation for charter school capital outlay
234funds is greater than the 2002-2003 appropriation, the amount of
235funds provided in the 2002-2003 appropriation shall be allocated
236according to paragraph (a). First priority for allocating the
237amount in excess of the 2002-2003 appropriation shall be to
238prorate the excess funds among the charter schools with long-
239term debt or long-term lease to the extent that the initial
240allocation is insufficient to provide one-fifteenth of the cost
241per student station specified in s. 1013.64(6)(b), and second
242priority shall be to other eligible charter schools.
243     Section 3.  Subsection (2) and paragraph (h) of subsection
244(9) of section 1002.32, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
245     1002.32  Developmental research (laboratory) schools.--
246     (2)  ESTABLISHMENT.--There is established a category of
247public schools to be known as developmental research
248(laboratory) schools (lab schools). Each lab school shall
249provide sequential instruction and shall be affiliated with the
250college of education within the state university of closest
251geographic proximity. A lab school to which a charter has been
252issued under s. 1002.33(5)(a)4.2. must be affiliated with the
253college of education within the state university that issued the
254charter, but is not subject to the requirement that the state
255university be of closest geographic proximity. For the purpose
256of state funding, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical
257University, Florida Atlantic University, Florida State
258University, the University of Florida, and other universities
259approved by the State Board of Education and the Legislature are
260authorized to sponsor a lab school. The limitation of one lab
261school per university shall not apply to the following charter
262lab schools authorized prior to June 1, 2003: Florida State
263University Charter Lab Elementary School in Broward County,
264Florida Atlantic University Charter Lab 9-12 High School in Palm
265Beach County, and Florida Atlantic University Charter Lab K-12
266School in St. Lucie County.
267     (9)  FUNDING.--Funding for a lab school, including a
268charter lab school, shall be provided as follows:
269     (h)  A lab school to which a charter has been issued under
270s. 1002.33(5)(a)4.2. is eligible to receive funding for charter
271school capital outlay if it meets the eligibility requirements
272of s. 1013.62. If the lab school receives funds from charter
273school capital outlay, the school shall receive capital outlay
274funds otherwise provided in this subsection only to the extent
275that funds allocated pursuant to s. 1013.62 are insufficient to
276provide capital outlay funds to the lab school at one-fifteenth
277of the cost per student station.
278     Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2004.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.