Florida Senate - 2016 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 830
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LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
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The Committee on Education Pre-K - 12 (Montford) recommended the
following:
1 Senate Amendment (with directory and title amendments)
2
3 Between lines 191 and 192
4 insert:
5 (7) CHARTER.—The major issues involving the operation of a
6 charter school shall be considered in advance and written into
7 the charter. The charter shall be signed by the governing board
8 of the charter school and the sponsor, following a public
9 hearing to ensure community input.
10 (a) The charter shall address and criteria for approval of
11 the charter shall be based on:
12 1. The school’s mission, the students to be served, and the
13 ages and grades to be included.
14 2. The focus of the curriculum, the instructional methods
15 to be used, any distinctive instructional techniques to be
16 employed, and identification and acquisition of appropriate
17 technologies needed to improve educational and administrative
18 performance which include a means for promoting safe, ethical,
19 and appropriate uses of technology which comply with legal and
20 professional standards.
21 a. The charter shall ensure that reading is a primary focus
22 of the curriculum and that resources are provided to identify
23 and provide specialized instruction for students who are reading
24 below grade level. The curriculum and instructional strategies
25 for reading must be consistent with the Next Generation Sunshine
26 State Standards and grounded in scientifically based reading
27 research.
28 b. In order to provide students with access to diverse
29 instructional delivery models, to facilitate the integration of
30 technology within traditional classroom instruction, and to
31 provide students with the skills they need to compete in the
32 21st century economy, the Legislature encourages instructional
33 methods for blended learning courses consisting of both
34 traditional classroom and online instructional techniques.
35 Charter schools may implement blended learning courses which
36 combine traditional classroom instruction and virtual
37 instruction. Students in a blended learning course must be full
38 time students of the charter school and receive the online
39 instruction in a classroom setting at the charter school.
40 Instructional personnel certified pursuant to s. 1012.55 who
41 provide virtual instruction for blended learning courses may be
42 employees of the charter school or may be under contract to
43 provide instructional services to charter school students. At a
44 minimum, such instructional personnel must hold an active state
45 or school district adjunct certification under s. 1012.57 for
46 the subject area of the blended learning course. The funding and
47 performance accountability requirements for blended learning
48 courses are the same as those for traditional courses.
49 3. The current incoming baseline standard of student
50 academic achievement, the outcomes to be achieved, and the
51 method of measurement that will be used. The criteria listed in
52 this subparagraph shall include a detailed description of:
53 a. How the baseline student academic achievement levels and
54 prior rates of academic progress will be established.
55 b. How these baseline rates will be compared to rates of
56 academic progress achieved by these same students while
57 attending the charter school.
58 c. To the extent possible, how these rates of progress will
59 be evaluated and compared with rates of progress of other
60 closely comparable student populations.
61
62 The district school board is required to provide academic
63 student performance data to charter schools for each of their
64 students coming from the district school system, as well as
65 rates of academic progress of comparable student populations in
66 the district school system.
67 4. The methods used to identify the educational strengths
68 and needs of students and how well educational goals and
69 performance standards are met by students attending the charter
70 school. The methods shall provide a means for the charter school
71 to ensure accountability to its constituents by analyzing
72 student performance data and by evaluating the effectiveness and
73 efficiency of its major educational programs. Students in
74 charter schools shall, at a minimum, participate in the
75 statewide assessment program created under s. 1008.22.
76 5. In secondary charter schools, a method for determining
77 that a student has satisfied the requirements for graduation in
78 s. 1002.3105(5), s. 1003.4281, or s. 1003.4282.
79 6. A method for resolving conflicts between the governing
80 board of the charter school and the sponsor.
81 7. The admissions procedures and dismissal procedures,
82 including the school’s code of student conduct.
83 8. The ways by which the school will achieve a
84 racial/ethnic balance reflective of the community it serves or
85 within the racial/ethnic range of other public schools in the
86 same school district.
87 9. The financial and administrative management of the
88 school, including a reasonable demonstration of the professional
89 experience or competence of those individuals or organizations
90 applying to operate the charter school or those hired or
91 retained to perform such professional services and the
92 description of clearly delineated responsibilities and the
93 policies and practices needed to effectively manage the charter
94 school. A description of internal audit procedures and
95 establishment of controls to ensure that financial resources are
96 properly managed must be included. Both public sector and
97 private sector professional experience shall be equally valid in
98 such a consideration. The charter must document that the charter
99 school governing board is independent of any management company
100 and may, at its sole discretion, terminate the contract with the
101 management company at any time.
102 10. The asset and liability projections required in the
103 application which are incorporated into the charter and shall be
104 compared with information provided in the annual report of the
105 charter school.
106 11. A description of procedures that identify various risks
107 and provide for a comprehensive approach to reduce the impact of
108 losses; plans to ensure the safety and security of students and
109 staff; plans to identify, minimize, and protect others from
110 violent or disruptive student behavior; and the manner in which
111 the school will be insured, including whether or not the school
112 will be required to have liability insurance, and, if so, the
113 terms and conditions thereof and the amounts of coverage.
114 12. The term of the charter which shall provide for
115 cancellation of the charter if insufficient progress has been
116 made in attaining the student achievement objectives of the
117 charter and if it is not likely that such objectives can be
118 achieved before expiration of the charter. The initial term of a
119 charter shall be for 4 or 5 years. In order to facilitate access
120 to long-term financial resources for charter school
121 construction, charter schools that are operated by a
122 municipality or other public entity as provided by law are
123 eligible for up to a 15-year charter, subject to approval by the
124 district school board. A charter lab school is eligible for a
125 charter for a term of up to 15 years. In addition, to facilitate
126 access to long-term financial resources for charter school
127 construction, charter schools that are operated by a private,
128 not-for-profit, s. 501(c)(3) status corporation are eligible for
129 up to a 15-year charter, subject to approval by the district
130 school board. Such long-term charters remain subject to annual
131 review and may be terminated during the term of the charter, but
132 only according to the provisions set forth in subsection (8).
133 13. The facilities to be used and their location. The
134 sponsor may not require a charter school to have a certificate
135 of occupancy or a temporary certificate of occupancy for such a
136 facility earlier than 15 calendar days before the first day of
137 school.
138 14. The qualifications to be required of the teachers and
139 the potential strategies used to recruit, hire, train, and
140 retain qualified staff to achieve best value.
141 15. The governance structure of the school, including the
142 status of the charter school as a public or private employer as
143 required in paragraph (12)(i). At least one member of the
144 charter school governing board must be the parent of a student
145 enrolled in that school.
146 16. A timetable for implementing the charter which
147 addresses the implementation of each element thereof and the
148 date by which the charter shall be awarded in order to meet this
149 timetable.
150 17. In the case of an existing public school that is being
151 converted to charter status, alternative arrangements for
152 current students who choose not to attend the charter school and
153 for current teachers who choose not to teach in the charter
154 school after conversion in accordance with the existing
155 collective bargaining agreement or district school board rule in
156 the absence of a collective bargaining agreement. However,
157 alternative arrangements shall not be required for current
158 teachers who choose not to teach in a charter lab school, except
159 as authorized by the employment policies of the state university
160 which grants the charter to the lab school.
161 18. Full disclosure of the identity of all relatives
162 employed by the charter school who are related to the charter
163 school owner, president, chairperson of the governing board of
164 directors, superintendent, governing board member, principal,
165 assistant principal, or any other person employed by the charter
166 school who has equivalent decisionmaking authority. For the
167 purpose of this subparagraph, the term “relative” means father,
168 mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, first
169 cousin, nephew, niece, husband, wife, father-in-law, mother-in
170 law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law,
171 stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother,
172 stepsister, half brother, or half sister.
173 19. Implementation of the activities authorized under s.
174 1002.331 by the charter school when it satisfies the eligibility
175 requirements for a high-performing charter school. A high
176 performing charter school shall notify its sponsor in writing by
177 March 1 if it intends to increase enrollment or expand grade
178 levels the following school year. The written notice shall
179 specify the amount of the enrollment increase and the grade
180 levels that will be added, as applicable.
181
182 ====== D I R E C T O R Y C L A U S E A M E N D M E N T ======
183 And the directory clause is amended as follows:
184 Between lines 40 and 41
185 insert:
186 paragraph (a) of subsection (7),
187
188 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
189 And the title is amended as follows:
190 Delete line 4
191 and insert:
192 school application; revising the information that a
193 charter must address; revising the membership of the
194 charter school governing board; providing for the
195 automatic