Florida Senate - 2026 SENATOR AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for CS for SB 182
Ì899512/Î899512
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
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Floor: 1/AD/RM . Floor: C
03/12/2026 02:23 PM . 03/12/2026 07:03 PM
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Senator Jones moved the following:
1 Senate Amendment to House Amendment (696291) (with title
2 amendment)
3
4 Delete lines 5 - 33
5 and insert:
6 Section 1. Paragraph (e) of subsection (10) of section
7 1002.33, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
8 1002.33 Charter schools.—
9 (10) ELIGIBLE STUDENTS.—
10 (e) A charter school may limit the enrollment process only
11 to target the following student populations:
12 1. Students within specific age groups or grade levels.
13 2. Students considered at risk of dropping out of school or
14 academic failure. Such students shall include exceptional
15 education students.
16 3. Students enrolling in a charter school-in-the-workplace
17 or charter school-in-a-municipality established pursuant to
18 subsection (15).
19 4. Students residing within a reasonable distance of the
20 charter school, as described in paragraph (20)(c). Such students
21 shall be subject to a random lottery and to the racial/ethnic
22 balance provisions described in subparagraph (7)(a)8. or any
23 federal provisions that require a school to achieve a
24 racial/ethnic balance reflective of the community it serves or
25 within the racial/ethnic range of other nearby public schools.
26 5. Students who meet reasonable academic, artistic, or
27 other eligibility standards established by the charter school
28 and included in the charter school application and charter or,
29 in the case of existing charter schools, standards that are
30 consistent with the school’s mission and purpose. Such standards
31 shall be in accordance with current state law and practice in
32 public schools and may not discriminate against otherwise
33 qualified individuals. A school that limits enrollment for such
34 purposes must place a student on a progress monitoring plan for
35 at least one semester before dismissing such student from the
36 school. A student may not be dismissed based on academic
37 performance while a school is implementing a school improvement
38 plan pursuant to paragraph (9)(n) or corrective action plan
39 pursuant to s. 1002.345.
40 6. Students articulating from one charter school to another
41 pursuant to an articulation agreement between the charter
42 schools that has been approved by the sponsor.
43 7. Students living in a development, or students whose
44 parent or legal guardian maintains a physical or permanent
45 employment presence within the development, in which a
46 developer, including any affiliated business entity or
47 charitable foundation, contributes to the formation,
48 acquisition, construction, or operation of one or more charter
49 schools or charter school facilities and related property in an
50 amount equal to or having a total appraised value of at least $5
51 million to be used as charter schools to mitigate the
52 educational impact created by the development of new residential
53 dwelling units. Students living in the development are entitled
54 to 50 percent of the student stations in the charter schools.
55 The students who are eligible for enrollment are subject to a
56 random lottery, the racial/ethnic balance provisions, or any
57 federal provisions, as described in subparagraph 4. The
58 remainder of the student stations must be filled in accordance
59 with subparagraph 4.
60 8. Students whose parent or legal guardian is employed
61 within a reasonable distance of the charter school, as described
62 in paragraph (20)(c). The students who are eligible for
63 enrollment are subject to a random lottery.
64 Section 2. Paragraphs (g) and (h) of subsection (11) of
65 section 1002.395, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
66 1002.395 Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program.—
67 (11) SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT AND PAYMENT.—
68 (g) Reimbursements for program expenditures may continue
69 until the account balance is expended or the scholarship account
70 is closed remaining funds have reverted to the state.
71 (h)1. A student’s scholarship account must be closed and
72 any remaining funds must shall revert to the organization state
73 after:
74 a.1. Denial or revocation of program eligibility by the
75 commissioner for fraud or abuse, including, but not limited to,
76 the student or student’s parent accepting any payment, refund,
77 or rebate, in any manner, from a provider of any services
78 received pursuant to paragraph (6)(d);
79 b.2. Two consecutive fiscal years in which an account has
80 been inactive; or
81 c.3. The student remains unenrolled in an eligible private
82 school for 30 days while receiving a scholarship that requires
83 full-time enrollment.
84 2. All funds that revert to the organization must be
85 separately accounted for and used to fund scholarships in the
86 fiscal year the reversion occurs. Any funds remaining at the end
87 of the fiscal year may be carried forward to the following
88 fiscal year and must be fully expended for annual or partial
89 year scholarships in the following fiscal year.
90 3. By July 1 of each year, an organization must report to
91 the Department of Education the total number of scholarship
92 accounts that were closed during the prior fiscal year and the
93 amount of funds that reverted to the organization.
94 Section 3. Subsection (19) of section 1002.42, Florida
95 Statutes, is amended to read:
96 1002.42 Private schools.—
97 (19) FACILITIES AND LAND USE.—
98 (a) A private school may use facilities on property owned
99 or leased by a library, community service organization, museum,
100 performing arts venue, theater, cinema, or church facility under
101 s. 170.201, which is or was actively used as such within 5 years
102 of any executed agreement with a private school to use the
103 facilities; any facility or land owned by a Florida College
104 System institution or university; any similar public
105 institutional facilities; and any facility recently used to
106 house a school or child care facility licensed under s. 402.305,
107 under any such facility’s preexisting zoning and land use
108 designations without rezoning or obtaining a special exception
109 or a land use change, and without complying with any mitigation
110 requirements or conditions. The facility must be located on
111 property used solely for purposes described in this paragraph,
112 and must meet applicable state and local health, safety, and
113 welfare laws, codes, and rules, including firesafety and
114 building safety.
115 (b) A private school may use facilities on property
116 purchased from a library, community service organization,
117 museum, performing arts venue, theater, cinema, or church
118 facility under s. 170.201, which is actively or was actively
119 used as such within 5 years of any executed agreement with a
120 private school to purchase the facilities; any facility or land
121 owned by a Florida College System institution or university; any
122 similar public institutional facilities; and any facility
123 recently used to house a school or child care facility licensed
124 under s. 402.305, under any such facility’s preexisting zoning
125 and land use designations without obtaining a special exception,
126 rezoning, or a land use change, and without complying with any
127 mitigation requirements or conditions. The facility must be
128 located on property used solely for purposes described in this
129 paragraph, and must meet applicable state and local health,
130 safety, and welfare laws, codes, and rules, including firesafety
131 and building safety.
132 (c) A private school located in a county with four
133 incorporated municipalities may construct new facilities, which
134 may be temporary or permanent, on property purchased from or
135 owned or leased by a library, community service organization,
136 museum, performing arts venue, theater, cinema, or church under
137 s. 170.201, which is or was actively used as such within 5 years
138 of any executed agreement with a private school; any land owned
139 by a Florida College System institution or state university; and
140 any land recently used to house a school or child care facility
141 licensed under s. 402.305, under its preexisting zoning and land
142 use designations without rezoning or obtaining a special
143 exception or a land use change, and without complying with any
144 mitigation requirements or conditions. Any new facility must be
145 located on property used solely for purposes described in this
146 paragraph, and must meet applicable state and local health,
147 safety, and welfare laws, codes, and rules, including firesafety
148 and building safety.
149 (d) A private school enrolling 150 or fewer students, or
150 located within the unincorporated area of a county as defined in
151 s. 125.011, shall be considered a permitted use and occupancy in
152 a commercial or mixed-use zoning district within a county or
153 municipality without rezoning or obtaining a special exception
154 or a land use change, and without complying with any mitigation
155 requirements, conditions, performance standards, ordinances,
156 rules, codes, or policies, except that a county or municipality
157 may require proportionate mitigation measures necessary to
158 mitigate vehicular traffic and pedestrian safety.
159 1. The vehicular traffic and pedestrian safety mitigation
160 measures required by a county or municipality pursuant to this
161 subsection shall be limited to those impacts reasonably and
162 directly attributable to the operation of the private school at
163 the site and shall be no greater in cost or scope than what is
164 required of all other uses, education or otherwise, within the
165 same zoning district.
166 2. The private school subject to vehicular traffic and
167 pedestrian safety mitigation measures may, in lieu of complying
168 with such mitigation measures, provide a traffic study that
169 demonstrates the school will not have disproportionate impact on
170 vehicular traffic or pedestrian safety compared to other
171 allowable uses within the same zoning district.
172 (e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a private
173 school enrolling 150 or fewer students may operate in a facility
174 that is an existing assembly, day care, mercantile, or business
175 occupancy, as defined in the Florida Fire Prevention Code. A
176 private school operating in such a facility must meet the
177 standards for existing educational occupancy requirements under
178 the Florida Fire Prevention Code, adopted by the State Fire
179 Marshal. Completion of the fire safety evaluation system for
180 educational occupancies in the National Fire Protection
181 Association, Life Safety Code, NFPA 101A: Guide on Alternative
182 Approaches to Life Safety, adopted by the State Fire Marshal, by
183 a registered design professional licensed under chapter 471 or
184 chapter 481, with a determination of achieving at a minimum an
185 “at least equivalent” conclusion, is considered evidence of
186 compliance with the Florida Fire Prevention Code. The State Fire
187 Marshal may adopt rules to implement this paragraph.
188 Section 4. Paragraph (w) is added to subsection (2) of
189 section 1003.42, Florida Statutes, to read:
190 1003.42 Required instruction.—
191 (2) Members of the instructional staff of the public
192 schools, subject to the rules of the State Board of Education
193 and the district school board, shall teach efficiently and
194 faithfully, using the books and materials required that meet the
195 highest standards for professionalism and historical accuracy,
196 following the prescribed courses of study, and employing
197 approved methods of instruction, the following:
198 (w)1. For students in grades 3 through 5, the study of
199 cursive writing and the development of the skills necessary for
200 legible cursive writing, including:
201 a. Letter formation.
202 b. Proper spacing and alignment.
203 c. Practice in writing complete words and sentences in
204 cursive.
205 2. By the end of grade 5, each student must demonstrate
206 proficiency in cursive writing. For purposes of this
207 subparagraph, the term “proficiency in cursive writing” means
208 all of the following:
209 a. The ability to write uppercase and lowercase letters of
210 the alphabet in cursive writing.
211 b. Writing words and sentences in cursive legibly and
212 maintaining proper spacing and alignment.
213 c. The ability to read and apply cursive writing in a
214 manner that supports literacy development, including writing
215 essays and assignments in cursive writing in accordance with
216 state academic standards.
217
218 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
219 And the title is amended as follows:
220 Delete line 61
221 and insert:
222 An act relating to education; amending s. 1002.33,
223 F.S.; providing that students may not be dismissed
224 from certain charter schools based on academic
225 performance; amending s. 1002.395, F.S.; adding a
226 condition for Florida Tax Credit (FTC) scholarship
227 reimbursements; requiring that certain FTC scholarship
228 funds revert to the organization; amending s. 1002.42,
229 F.S.; providing that certain private schools are
230 considered a permitted use in certain zoning
231 districts; authorizing certain private schools to
232 operate in facilities that meet specified
233 requirements; providing exceptions; requiring certain
234 private schools operating in such facilities to meet
235 specified Florida Fire Prevention Code standards;
236 providing that completion of a specified evaluation
237 system with certain ratings by specified persons
238 constitutes evidence of compliance with the Florida
239 Fire Prevention Code for such private schools;
240 authorizing the State Fire Marshal to adopt rules;
241 amending s. 1003.42,