Florida Senate - 2011                                    SB 1596
       
       
       
       By Senator Sobel
       
       
       
       
       31-01166-11                                           20111596__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to charter schools; amending s.
    3         1002.33, F.S.; providing a requirement for the
    4         composition of a charter school’s governing body;
    5         conforming cross-references; providing for the shared
    6         use of facilities by charter schools; providing
    7         requirements for the transfer of enrolled students to
    8         certain charter schools; providing conditions that
    9         render a charter school ineligible for state
   10         implementation grant funds; providing capacity
   11         restrictions; amending s. 1002.345, F.S.; conforming
   12         cross-references; providing an effective date.
   13  
   14  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   15  
   16         Section 1. Paragraphs (j) through (o) of subsection (9) of
   17  section 1002.33, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as
   18  paragraphs (k) through (p), respectively, present paragraph (p)
   19  is redesignated as paragraph (q) and amended, a new paragraph
   20  (j) is added to that subsection, subsection (23) is amended,
   21  subsection (26) is renumbered as subsection (27), and a new
   22  subsection (26) is added to that section, to read:
   23         1002.33 Charter schools.—
   24         (9) CHARTER SCHOOL REQUIREMENTS.—
   25         (j) The majority of the members of the charter school’s
   26  governing body shall reside in the school district in which the
   27  charter school is located.
   28         (q)(p) The director and a representative of the governing
   29  body of a graded charter school that has submitted a school
   30  improvement plan or has been placed on probation under paragraph
   31  (p) (o) shall appear before the sponsor or the sponsor’s staff
   32  at least once a year to present information regarding the
   33  corrective strategies that are being implemented by the school
   34  pursuant to the school improvement plan. The sponsor shall
   35  communicate at the meeting, and in writing to the director, the
   36  services provided to the school to help the school address its
   37  deficiencies.
   38         (23) ANALYSIS OF CHARTER SCHOOL PERFORMANCE.—Upon receipt
   39  of the annual report required by paragraph (9)(l)(k), the
   40  Department of Education shall provide to the State Board of
   41  Education, the Commissioner of Education, the Governor, the
   42  President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
   43  Representatives an analysis and comparison of the overall
   44  performance of charter school students, to include all students
   45  whose scores are counted as part of the statewide assessment
   46  program, versus comparable public school students in the
   47  district as determined by the statewide assessment program
   48  currently administered in the school district, and other
   49  assessments administered pursuant to s. 1008.22(3).
   50         (26) SHARED USE OF FACILITIES BY CHARTER SCHOOLS.—
   51         (a) A charter school may not transfer an enrolled student
   52  to another charter school having a separate Master School
   53  Identification Number (MSID) without first obtaining the written
   54  approval of the student’s parent.
   55         (b) A charter school is ineligible for state implementation
   56  grant funds during any period of time during which it:
   57         1. Shares an educational facility with an existing charter
   58  school having a separate Master School Identification Number
   59  (MSID) and serving students in any of the grades offered by that
   60  charter school; or
   61         2. Shares administrative, instructional, or support staff
   62  with another charter school having a separate Master School
   63  Identification Number (MSID) and operating within the same
   64  educational facility.
   65  
   66  If a charter school has received state implementation grant
   67  funds and subsequently becomes ineligible for such funds
   68  pursuant to this paragraph, the charter school must return to
   69  the state the prorated amount of such funds for any period of
   70  ineligibility.
   71         (c) If more than one charter school having separate Master
   72  School Identification Numbers (MSIDs) is operated at an
   73  educational facility, the combined student enrollment of those
   74  charter schools and their combined projected student enrollments
   75  may not exceed the capacity approved by building officials
   76  having jurisdiction over the educational facility.
   77         Section 2. Paragraph (d) of subsection (1) and paragraph
   78  (b) of subsection (2) of section 1002.345, Florida Statutes, are
   79  amended to read:
   80         1002.345 Determination of deteriorating financial
   81  conditions and financial emergencies for charter schools and
   82  charter technical career centers.—This section applies to
   83  charter schools operating pursuant to s. 1002.33 and to charter
   84  technical career centers operating pursuant to s. 1002.34.
   85         (1) EXPEDITED REVIEW; REQUIREMENTS.—
   86         (d) The governing board shall include the corrective action
   87  plan and the status of its implementation in the annual progress
   88  report to the sponsor which is required pursuant to s.
   89  1002.33(9)(l)(k) or s. 1002.34(14).
   90         (2) FINANCIAL EMERGENCY; REQUIREMENTS.—
   91         (b) The governing board shall include the financial
   92  recovery plan and the status of its implementation in the annual
   93  progress report to the sponsor which is required under s.
   94  1002.33(9)(l)(k) or s. 1002.34(14).
   95         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.