The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Fiscal Policy
BILL: CS/CS/CS/SB 986
INTRODUCER: Fiscal Policy Committee; Appropriations Committee on Education; Education Pre-K -12
Committee; and Senator Burgess
SUBJECT: Education
DATE: April 26, 2023 REVISED:
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Sagues Bouck ED Fav/CS
2. Gray Elwell AED Fav/CS
3. Sagues Yeatman FP Fav/CS
Please see Section IX. for Additional Information:
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE - Substantial Changes
I. Summary:
CS/CS/CS/SB 986 modifies provisions related to charter school enrollment preferences, charter
school sponsors, and the Florida Teachers Classroom Supply Assistance Program. The bill
authorizes a charter school to give enrollment preference to students who are the children of a
school safety officer assigned to the charter school, authorizes charter schools operated by a not-
for-profit entity to loan unrestricted current or capital assets to other charter schools operated by
the same entity within the state, and adds accountability measures for charter school sponsors by
requiring the:
Sponsor to provide training to charter schools on systems the sponsor will require the charter
school to use.
Sponsor to annually provide a report to its charter schools and the Florida Department of
Education on what services are being rendered from the sponsor’s portion of the
administrative fee.
Sponsor to make timely payments and reimbursement of eligible federal grant funds.
State Board of Education to adopt rules for a standard charter school monitoring tool.
In addition, the bill modifies the Florida Teachers Classroom Supply Assistance Program
(Program) to support more classroom teachers by:
Expanding the definition of a classroom teacher for purposes of the Program.
Requiring a school district to calculate a prorated share of the funds to a classroom teacher
who teaches less than full time.
BILL: CS/CS/CS/SB 986 Page 2
The Bill requires the district to post step-by-step instructions on how to provide first aid for
choking in each public school cafeteria within the district.
Lastly, the bill authorizes private tutoring for up to 25 students in identified facilities.
The bill takes effect on July 1, 2023.
II. Present Situation:
Charter Schools
Charter schools are tuition-free public schools created through an agreement or “charter” that
provides flexibility relative to regulations created for traditional public schools.1 Forty-five states
and the District of Columbia have enacted charter school laws as of January 2020.2 Nationally,
between the 2009-2010 and 2018-2019 school years, the percentage of all public schools that
were charter schools increased from 5 to 8 percent, and the total number of charter schools
increased from 5,000 to 7,400. The percentage of public school students nationwide attending
charter schools increased from 3 to 7 percent between fall 2009 and fall 2018.3
All charter schools in Florida are public schools and are part of the state’s public education
system.4 During the 2021-2022 school year, 361,939 students were enrolled in 703 charter
schools in 47 districts. Seventy percent of the students attending charter schools in the 2021-
2022 school year were minorities. Hispanic students comprised 45 percent of Florida’s charter
school enrollment, and 19 percent were African-American students. 5
Charter School Student Eligibility
Charter schools are open to all students residing within the district; however, charter schools are
allowed to target students within specific age groups or grade levels, students considered at-risk
of dropping out or failing, students wishing to enroll in a charter school-in-the-workplace or
charter school-in-a-municipality, students residing within a reasonable distance of the school,
students who meet reasonable academic, artistic or other eligibility standards established by the
charter school, or students articulating from one charter school to another. Additionally, a charter
school may give enrollment preference to the following student populations: 6
Siblings of current charter school students.
Children of a charter school governing board member or employee.
1
Florida Department of Education, Office of Independent Education & Parental Choice, Fact Sheet Florida’s Charter
Schools (September 2022), available at https:https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/7696/urlt/Charter-Sept-2022.pdf.
2
Education Commission of the States, 50-State Comparison: Charter School Policies https://www.ecs.org/charter-school-
policies/ (last visited Mar. 5, 2022).
3
National Center for Education Statistics, Public Charter School Enrollment, https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cgb
(last visited Mar. 5, 2022).
4
Section 1002.33(1), F.S.
5
Florida Department of Education, Fact Sheet Office of Independent Education & Parental Choice, Florida’s Charter
Schools (September 2022), available at https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/7696/urlt/Charter-Sept-2022.pdf.
6
Florida Department of Education, Frequently Asked Questions (Charter Schools), https://www.fldoe.org/schools/school-
choice/charter-schools/charter-school-faqs.stml (last visited Mar. 27, 2023). Section 1002.33(10), F.S.
BILL: CS/CS/CS/SB 986 Page 3
Children of employees of the business partner of a charter school-in-the-workplace7 or
resident of the municipality in which such a charter is located.
Children of residents of a municipality that operates a charter school-in-a-municipality.8
Students who have successfully completed a voluntary prekindergarten program provided by
the charter school during the previous year.
Children of an active-duty member of any branch of the US Armed Forces.
Students who attended or are assigned to failing schools.9
Charter School Sponsors
A district school board may sponsor a charter school in the county over which the district school
board has jurisdiction. A state university may sponsor a charter school (charter lab school) and
upon the approval by the State Board of Education (SBE), may sponsor a charter school to meet
regional education or workforce demands by serving students from multiple school districts.
Additionally, Florida College System (FCS) institutions, upon the approval of the SBE, may
sponsor a charter school in any county within its service area to meet workforce demands and
may offer postsecondary programs leading to industry certification to eligible charter school
students.
A charter school sponsor has several responsibilities, including:
Approving or denying charter school applications.
Overseeing each sponsored school’s progress toward the goals established in the charter.
Monitoring the revenues and expenditures of the school.
Ensuring that the school participates in the state’s education accountability system.
Ensuring that the charter is innovative and consistent with state education goals.
Intervening when a sponsored school demonstrates deficient student performance or financial
instability.10
Administrative and Educational Services
A sponsor must provide administrative and educational services including contract management
services; full-time equivalent and data reporting services; exceptional student education
administration services; services related to eligibility and reporting duties required to ensure
school lunch services under the National School Lunch Program; test administration services;
processing of teacher certificate data services; and information services.
A sponsor may withhold an administrative fee of up to five percent of each charter school’s total
operating funds for enrollment of up to and including:
250 students in a charter school or virtual charter school.
500 students within a charter school system which meets specified conditions.
7
Section 1002.33(15), F.S.
8
Id.
9
Section 1002.38, F.S.
10
Section 1002.33(5), F.S. and Section 1002.34(3)(b), F.S.
BILL: CS/CS/CS/SB 986 Page 4
A sponsor may withhold an administrative fee of up to 2 percent of each charter school’s total
operating funds for enrollment of up to and including 250 students in a high performing charter
school or 250 students in an exceptional student education center that meets specified
requirements.11
Charter School Funding
Like traditional public schools, charter school operations are funded through the Florida
Education Finance Program (FEFP) based on student enrollment. Each charter school reports
student enrollment to its sponsor for inclusion in the district’s report of student enrollment.12
A charter school is also entitled to a proportionate share of categorical funds included in the
FEFP for students who qualify for the categorical.13 Categorical funds must be spent for
specified purposes, which include student transportation, safe schools, supplemental academic
instruction, evidence-based reading instruction, mental health assistance, instructional materials,
teacher classroom supplies, class-size reduction operating funds, and teacher salary increases.14
Total funding for each charter school is recalculated during the year to reflect the revised
calculations under the FEFP by the state and the actual weighted FTE reported by the charter
school during the survey periods.15 For charter schools operated by a not-for-profit or municipal
entity, any unrestricted current16 and capital assets17 identified in the charter school’s annual
financial audit may be used for other charter schools operated by the not-for-profit or municipal
entity within the school district.18
Safe-school Officers
For the protection and safety of school personnel, property, students, and visitors, each district
school board and school district superintendent must partner with law enforcement agencies or
security agencies to establish or assign one or more safe-school officers at each school facility
11
Section 1002.33(20), F.S.
12
Section 1002.33(17)(a)-(b), F.S. To reflect any changes in enrollment, the charter school’s funding is recalculated during
the school year, based upon the October and February FTE enrollment surveys. See s. 1002.33(17)(b), F.S.
13
Section 1002.33(17)(b), F.S.
14
See, e.g., s. 1011.62(6), F.S. (general categoricals); s. 1011.68, F.S. (student transportation); s. 1011.62(12), F.S. (safe
schools allocation); s. 1011.62(1)(f), F.S. (supplemental academic instruction); s. 1011.62(18), F.S. (evidence-based reading
instruction allocation); s. 1011.62(13), F.S. (mental health assistance); s. 1011.67, F.S. (instructional materials); s. 1012.71,
F.S. (Florida Teachers Classroom Supply Assistance Program); s. 1011.685, F.S. (class size reduction); and s. 1011.62(14),
F.S. (teacher salary increase allocation).
15
Section 1002.33(17)(b)1., F.S.
16
Current assets include cash or other assets that are reasonably expected to be realized in cash or sold or consumed within a
year. See Florida Department of Education, Financial and Program Cost Accounting and Reporting for Florida Schools
(2021), at 2-1, available at https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/7507/urlt/REDBK.pdf.
17
Capital assets include, but are not limited to, land, land improvements, buildings, building improvements, vehicles,
machinery, furniture, equipment, and all other tangible and intangible assets that are used in operations and have useful lives
that extend beyond a single accounting period. See Florida Department of Education, Financial and Program Cost
Accounting and Reporting for Florida Schools (2021), at 2-3, available at
https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/7507/urlt/REDBK.pdf.
18
Id. Unrestricted current assets must be used in accordance with s. 1011.62, F.S., and any unrestricted capital assets shall be
used in accordance with s. 1013.62(2). Id.
BILL: CS/CS/CS/SB 986 Page 5
within the district, including charter schools. A district school board must collaborate with
charter school governing boards to facilitate charter school access to all safe-school officer
options available under this section. The school district may implement any combination of the
following options in to best meet the needs of the school district and charter schools:
School Resource Officer.
School Safety Officer.
School Guardian.
School Security Guard. 19
First Aid for a Choking Student
Approximately 66 to 77 children under the age of 10 die from choking on food each year in the
United States. 20 The Florida Department of Health (DOH) published an Emergency Guidelines
for Schools which contains step-by-step instructions for performing emergency first aid on a
choking conscious individual. The DOH recommends that schools designate at least one
employee who has received instruction in choking rescue be present in the cafeteria at all
meals.21
The Florida Teachers Classroom Supply Assistance Program
The Florida Teachers Classroom Supply Assistance Program (Program) provides funds for
classroom teachers to purchase supplemental materials and supplies for public school students
assigned to them. Program funds are appropriated by the Legislature in the General
Appropriations Act (GAA) and distributed by July 15 to each school district by the
Commissioner of Education based on each district’s unweighted full-time equivalent student
enrollment.22
School districts are required to calculate an identical amount from the funds available to the
school districts for the program for each classroom teacher who will be employed by the district
or a charter school in the district on September 1. A job-share classroom teacher may receive a
prorated share of the amount provided to a full-time classroom teacher. As of July 1, if a teacher
is expected to be employed by a school district or a charter school in the district on September 1,
the district school board and each charter school board may provide the teacher with the
teacher’s proportionate share of funds by August 1. If a teacher’s expected employment is
determined after July 1, the district school board and each charter school board must provide the
teacher with the teacher’s proportionate share of funds by September 30.23
19
Section 1006.12, F.S.
20
American Academy of Pediatrics, Prevention of Choking Among Children,
https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/125/3/601/72642/Prevention-of-Choking-Among-Children (last visited Apr.
10, 2023)
21
Florida Department of Health, Emergency Guidelines for Schools (2019), https://www.floridahealth.gov/programs-and-
services/childrens-health/school-health/_documents/emergency-guidelines-for-schools-2019.pdf
22
Section 1012.71, F.S.
23
Section 1012.71(3), F.S. A job-share classroom teacher is one of two teachers whose combined full-time equivalent
employment for the same teaching assignment equals one full-time classroom teacher.
BILL: CS/CS/CS/SB 986 Page 6
A teacher must acknowledge receipt of the funds and keep receipts for at least four years to show
that funds were spent in accordance with Program requirements. Any unused funds must be
returned to the district school board at the end of the school year.24
The 2022-2023 GAA appropriated $54,143,275 to the Program.25
III. Effect of Proposed Changes:
CS/CS/CS/SB 986 modifies provisions related to charter schools, school district requirements,
private tutoring and the Florida Teachers Classroom Supply Assistance Program (Program).
Charter Schools
The bill modifies s. 1002.33, F.S., to authorize a charter school to give enrollment preference to
students who are the children of a school safety officer assigned to the charter school, authorizes
charter schools operated by a not-for-profit entity to loan unrestricted current or capital assets to
other charter schools operated by the same entity within the state, and adds accountability
measures for charter school sponsors by requiring the sponsor to:
Provide training to charter schools on systems the sponsor will require the charter school to
use.
Annually provide a report to its charter schools on the ser