Florida Senate - 2023                                    SB 1680
       
       
        
       By Senator Calatayud
       
       
       
       
       
       38-00945A-23                                          20231680__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to charter schools; amending s.
    3         1002.33, F.S.; authorizing a charter school to assign
    4         its charter to another governing board that meets
    5         specified requirements; authorizing the sponsor of a
    6         charter school to require the proposed governing board
    7         to provide certain information and to deny a request
    8         for assignment only if the proposed governing board
    9         does not meet specified requirements; authorizing
   10         certain unrestricted capital assets to be used for
   11         other charter schools in this state, rather than in
   12         the same school district; revising the circumstances
   13         under which certain laws apply to a charter school
   14         governing board; specifying the circumstances under
   15         which the landlord of a charter school or certain
   16         other individuals may serve on a charter school
   17         governing board; amending s. 1002.331, F.S.;
   18         conforming provisions to changes made by the act;
   19         providing an effective date.
   20          
   21  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   22  
   23         Section 1. Paragraph (d) of subsection (7), paragraph (b)
   24  of subsection (17), and paragraph (a) of subsection (26) of
   25  section 1002.33, Florida Statues, are amended, and paragraph (d)
   26  is added to subsection (26) of that section, to read:
   27         1002.33 Charter schools.—
   28         (7) CHARTER.—The terms and conditions for the operation of
   29  a charter school, including a virtual charter school, shall be
   30  set forth by the sponsor and the applicant in a written
   31  contractual agreement, called a charter. The sponsor and the
   32  governing board of the charter school or virtual charter school
   33  shall use the standard charter contract or standard virtual
   34  charter contract, respectively, pursuant to subsection (21),
   35  which shall incorporate the approved application and any addenda
   36  approved with the application. Any term or condition of a
   37  proposed charter contract or proposed virtual charter contract
   38  that differs from the standard charter or virtual charter
   39  contract adopted by rule of the State Board of Education shall
   40  be presumed a limitation on charter school flexibility. The
   41  sponsor may not impose unreasonable rules or regulations that
   42  violate the intent of giving charter schools greater flexibility
   43  to meet educational goals. The charter shall be signed by the
   44  governing board of the charter school and the sponsor, following
   45  a public hearing to ensure community input.
   46         (d) A charter may be modified during its term upon the
   47  recommendation of the sponsor or the charter school’s governing
   48  board and the approval of both parties to the agreement. Changes
   49  to curriculum which are consistent with state standards are
   50  shall be deemed approved unless the sponsor and the Department
   51  of Education determine in writing that the curriculum is
   52  inconsistent with state standards. Modification during any term
   53  may include, but is not limited to, consolidation of multiple
   54  charters into a single charter if the charters are operated
   55  under the same governing board, regardless of the renewal cycle.
   56  A charter school may assign its charter to another governing
   57  board if the proposed governing board is a nonprofit entity or
   58  otherwise meets the requirements of paragraph (12)(i). A sponsor
   59  may require the proposed governing board to provide information
   60  required by subparagraph (6)(a)6. and may deny a request for
   61  assignment only if the sponsor demonstrates by clear and
   62  convincing evidence that the proposed governing board does not
   63  meet the requirements of this subsection. A charter school that
   64  is not subject to a school improvement plan and that closes as
   65  part of a consolidation shall be reported by the sponsor as a
   66  consolidation. A request for consolidation of multiple charters
   67  must be approved or denied within 60 days after the submission
   68  of the request. If the request is denied, the sponsor must shall
   69  notify the charter school’s governing board of the denial and
   70  must provide the specific reasons, in reasonable detail, for the
   71  denial of the request for consolidation within 10 days.
   72         (17) FUNDING.—Students enrolled in a charter school,
   73  regardless of the sponsorship, shall be funded as if they are in
   74  a basic program or a special program, the same as students
   75  enrolled in other public schools in a school district. Funding
   76  for a charter lab school shall be as provided in s. 1002.32.
   77         (b)1. The basis for the agreement for funding students
   78  enrolled in a charter school shall be the sum of the school
   79  district’s operating funds from the Florida Education Finance
   80  Program as provided in s. 1011.62 and the General Appropriations
   81  Act, including gross state and local funds, discretionary
   82  lottery funds, and funds from the school district’s current
   83  operating discretionary millage levy; divided by total funded
   84  weighted full-time equivalent students in the school district;
   85  and multiplied by the weighted full-time equivalent students for
   86  the charter school. Charter schools whose students or programs
   87  meet the eligibility criteria in law are entitled to their
   88  proportionate share of categorical program funds included in the
   89  total funds available in the Florida Education Finance Program
   90  by the Legislature, including transportation, and the evidence
   91  based reading allocation. Total funding for each charter school
   92  shall be recalculated during the year to reflect the revised
   93  calculations under the Florida Education Finance Program by the
   94  state and the actual weighted full-time equivalent students
   95  reported by the charter school during the full-time equivalent
   96  student survey periods designated by the Commissioner of
   97  Education. For charter schools operated by a not-for-profit or
   98  municipal entity, any unrestricted current and capital assets
   99  identified in the charter school’s annual financial audit may be
  100  used for other charter schools operated by the not-for-profit or
  101  municipal entity within this state the school district.
  102  Unrestricted current assets must shall be used in accordance
  103  with s. 1011.62, and any unrestricted capital assets must shall
  104  be used in accordance with s. 1013.62(2).
  105         2.a. Students enrolled in a charter school sponsored by a
  106  state university or Florida College System institution pursuant
  107  to paragraph (5)(a) shall be funded as if they are in a basic
  108  program or a special program in the school district. The basis
  109  for funding these students is the sum of the total operating
  110  funds from the Florida Education Finance Program for the school
  111  district in which the school is located as provided in s.
  112  1011.62 and the General Appropriations Act, including gross
  113  state and local funds, discretionary lottery funds, and funds
  114  from each school district’s current operating discretionary
  115  millage levy, divided by total funded weighted full-time
  116  equivalent students in the district, and multiplied by the full
  117  time equivalent membership of the charter school. The Department
  118  of Education shall develop a tool that each state university or
  119  Florida College System institution sponsoring a charter school
  120  shall use for purposes of calculating the funding amount for
  121  each eligible charter school student. The total amount obtained
  122  from the calculation must be appropriated from state funds in
  123  the General Appropriations Act to the charter school.
  124         b. Capital outlay funding for a charter school sponsored by
  125  a state university or Florida College System institution
  126  pursuant to paragraph (5)(a) is determined pursuant to s.
  127  1013.62 and the General Appropriations Act.
  128         (26) STANDARDS OF CONDUCT AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE.—
  129         (a) A member of a governing board of a charter school,
  130  including a charter school operated by a private entity, is
  131  subject to ss. 112.313(2), (3), (7), and (12) and 112.3143(3) to
  132  the extent that such statutes concern employment or contractual
  133  relationships with for-profit businesses or transactions between
  134  the charter school and for-profit businesses.
  135         (d) The landlord of a charter school, or his or her spouse,
  136  or an officer, director, or employee of an entity that is a
  137  landlord of a charter school, or his or her spouse, may not be a
  138  member of the governing board of the charter school unless:
  139         1. The charter school is established under paragraph
  140  (15)(c) and the landlord is a municipal entity; or
  141         2. The landlord is a not-for-profit entity and a two-thirds
  142  majority vote of the charter school board, excluding the vote of
  143  landlord-affiliated board members, approves the landlord
  144  affiliated board member to be elected to, or to remain on, the
  145  board.
  146         Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 1002.331, Florida
  147  Statutes, is amended to read:
  148         1002.331 High-performing charter schools.—
  149         (2) A high-performing charter school is authorized to:
  150         (a) Increase its student enrollment once per school year to
  151  more than the capacity identified in the charter, but student
  152  enrollment may not exceed the capacity of the facility at the
  153  time the enrollment increase will take effect. Facility capacity
  154  for purposes of expansion must shall include any improvements to
  155  an existing facility or any new facility in which the students
  156  of the high-performing charter school will enroll.
  157         (b) Expand grade levels within kindergarten through grade
  158  12 to add grade levels not already served if any annual
  159  enrollment increase resulting from grade level expansion is
  160  within the limit established in paragraph (a).
  161         (c) Submit a quarterly, rather than a monthly, financial
  162  statement to the sponsor pursuant to s. 1002.33(9)(g).
  163         (d) Consolidate under a single charter the charters of
  164  multiple high-performing charter schools operated in the same
  165  school district by the charter schools’ governing board
  166  regardless of the renewal cycle.
  167         (e) Receive a modification of its charter to a term of 15
  168  years or a 15-year charter renewal. The charter may be modified
  169  or renewed for a shorter term at the option of the high
  170  performing charter school. The charter must be consistent with
  171  s. 1002.33(7)(a)19. and (10)(h) and (i), is subject to annual
  172  review by the sponsor, and may be terminated during its term
  173  pursuant to s. 1002.33(8).
  174         (f) Assign its charter to another operator, provided that
  175  the proposed operator meets the requirements of s.
  176  1002.33(12)(i).
  177  
  178  A high-performing charter school shall notify its sponsor in
  179  writing by March 1 if it intends to increase enrollment or
  180  expand grade levels the following school year. The written
  181  notice must shall specify the amount of the enrollment increase
  182  and the grade levels that will be added, as applicable. If a
  183  charter school notifies the sponsor of its intent to expand, the
  184  sponsor must shall modify the charter within 90 days to include
  185  the new enrollment maximum and may not make any other changes.
  186  The sponsor may deny a request to increase the enrollment of a
  187  high-performing charter school if the commissioner has
  188  declassified the charter school as high-performing. If a high
  189  performing charter school requests to consolidate multiple
  190  charters or assign an existing charter, the sponsor has shall
  191  have 40 days after receipt of that request to provide an initial
  192  draft charter to the charter school. The sponsor and charter
  193  school shall have 50 days thereafter to negotiate and notice the
  194  charter contract for final approval by the sponsor.
  195         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.