Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

       Florida Senate - 2023                                    SB 1680



       By Senator Calatayud





       38-00945A-23                                          20231680__
                      A bill to be entitled                      
       An act relating to charter schools; amending s.
       1002.33, F.S.; authorizing a charter school to assign
       its charter to another governing board that meets
       specified requirements; authorizing the sponsor of a
       charter school to require the proposed governing board
       to provide certain information and to deny a request
       for assignment only if the proposed governing board
       does not meet specified requirements; authorizing
       certain unrestricted capital assets to be used for
       other charter schools in this state, rather than in
       the same school district; revising the circumstances
       under which certain laws apply to a charter school
       governing board; specifying the circumstances under
       which the landlord of a charter school or certain
       other individuals may serve on a charter school
       governing board; amending s. 1002.331, F.S.;
       conforming provisions to changes made by the act;
       providing an effective date.
        
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

       Section 1. Paragraph (d) of subsection (7), paragraph (b)
of subsection (17), and paragraph (a) of subsection (26) of
section 1002.33, Florida Statues, are amended, and paragraph (d)
is added to subsection (26) of that section, to read:
       1002.33 Charter schools.—
       (7) CHARTER.—The terms and conditions for the operation of
a charter school, including a virtual charter school, shall be
set forth by the sponsor and the applicant in a written
contractual agreement, called a charter. The sponsor and the
governing board of the charter school or virtual charter school
shall use the standard charter contract or standard virtual
charter contract, respectively, pursuant to subsection (21),
which shall incorporate the approved application and any addenda
approved with the application. Any term or condition of a
proposed charter contract or proposed virtual charter contract
that differs from the standard charter or virtual charter
contract adopted by rule of the State Board of Education shall
be presumed a limitation on charter school flexibility. The
sponsor may not impose unreasonable rules or regulations that
violate the intent of giving charter schools greater flexibility
to meet educational goals. The charter shall be signed by the
governing board of the charter school and the sponsor, following
a public hearing to ensure community input.
       (d) A charter may be modified during its term upon the
recommendation of the sponsor or the charter school’s governing
board and the approval of both parties to the agreement. Changes
to curriculum which are consistent with state standards are
shall be deemed approved unless the sponsor and the Department
of Education determine in writing that the curriculum is
inconsistent with state standards. Modification during any term
may include, but is not limited to, consolidation of multiple
charters into a single charter if the charters are operated
under the same governing board, regardless of the renewal cycle.
A charter school may assign its charter to another governing
board if the proposed governing board is a nonprofit entity or
otherwise meets the requirements of paragraph (12)(i). A sponsor
may require the proposed governing board to provide information
required by subparagraph (6)(a)6. and may deny a request for
assignment only if the sponsor demonstrates by clear and
convincing evidence that the proposed governing board does not
meet the requirements of this subsection. A charter school that
is not subject to a school improvement plan and that closes as
part of a consolidation shall be reported by the sponsor as a
consolidation. A request for consolidation of multiple charters
must be approved or denied within 60 days after the submission
of the request. If the request is denied, the sponsor must shall
notify the charter school’s governing board of the denial and
must provide the specific reasons, in reasonable detail, for the
denial of the request for consolidation within 10 days.
       (17) FUNDING.—Students enrolled in a charter school,
regardless of the sponsorship, shall be funded as if they are in
a basic program or a special program, the same as students
enrolled in other public schools in a school district. Funding
for a charter lab school shall be as provided in s. 1002.32.
       (b)1. The basis for the agreement for funding students
enrolled in a charter school shall be the sum of the school
district’s operating funds from the Florida Education Finance
Program as provided in s. 1011.62 and the General Appropriations
Act, including gross state and local funds, discretionary
lottery funds, and funds from the school district’s current
operating discretionary millage levy; divided by total funded
weighted full-time equivalent students in the school district;
and multiplied by the weighted full-time equivalent students for
the charter school. Charter schools whose students or programs
meet the eligibility criteria in law are entitled to their
proportionate share of categorical program funds included in the
total funds available in the Florida Education Finance Program
by the Legislature, including transportation, and the evidence
based reading allocation. Total funding for each charter school
shall be recalculated during the year to reflect the revised
calculations under the Florida Education Finance Program by the
state and the actual weighted full-time equivalent students
reported by the charter school during the full-time equivalent
student survey periods designated by the Commissioner of
Education. For charter schools operated by a not-for-profit or
municipal entity, any unrestricted current and capital assets
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 this state the school district.
Unrestricted current assets must shall be used in accordance
with s. 1011.62, and any unrestricted capital assets must shall
be used in accordance with s. 1013.62(2).
       2.a. Students enrolled in a charter school sponsored by a
state university or Florida College System institution pursuant
to paragraph (5)(a) shall be funded as if they are in a basic
program or a special program in the school district. The basis
for funding these students is the sum of the total operating
funds from the Florida Education Finance Program for the school
district in which the school is located as provided in s.
1011.62 and the General Appropriations Act, including gross
state and local funds, discretionary lottery funds, and funds
from each school district’s current operating discretionary
millage levy, divided by total funded weighted full-time
equivalent students in the district, and multiplied by the full
time equivalent membership of the charter school. The Department
of Education shall develop a tool that each state university or
Florida College System institution sponsoring a charter school
shall use for purposes of calculating the funding amount for
each eligible charter school student. The total amount obtained
from the calculation must be appropriated from state funds in
the General Appropriations Act to the charter school.
       b. Capital outlay funding for a charter school sponsored by
a state university or Florida College System institution
pursuant to paragraph (5)(a) is determined pursuant to s.
1013.62 and the General Appropriations Act.
       (26) STANDARDS OF CONDUCT AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE.—
       (a) A member of a governing board of a charter school,
including a charter school operated by a private entity, is
subject to ss. 112.313(2), (3), (7), and (12) and 112.3143(3) to
the extent that such statutes concern employment or contractual
relationships with for-profit businesses or transactions between
the charter school and for-profit businesses.
       (d) The landlord of a charter school, or his or her spouse,
or an officer, director, or employee of an entity that is a
landlord of a charter school, or his or her spouse, may not be a
member of the governing board of the charter school unless:
       1. The charter school is established under paragraph
(15)(c) and the landlord is a municipal entity; or
       2. The landlord is a not-for-profit entity and a two-thirds
majority vote of the charter school board, excluding the vote of
landlord-affiliated board members, approves the landlord
affiliated board member to be elected to, or to remain on, the
board.
       Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 1002.331, Florida
Statutes, is amended to read:
       1002.331 High-performing charter schools.—
       (2) A high-performing charter school is authorized to:
       (a) Increase its student enrollment once per school year to
more than the capacity identified in the charter, but student
enrollment may not exceed the capacity of the facility at the
time the enrollment increase will take effect. Facility capacity
for purposes of expansion must shall include any improvements to
an existing facility or any new facility in which the students
of the high-performing charter school will enroll.
       (b) Expand grade levels within kindergarten through grade
12 to add grade levels not already served if any annual
enrollment increase resulting from grade level expansion is
within the limit established in paragraph (a).
       (c) Submit a quarterly, rather than a monthly, financial
statement to the sponsor pursuant to s. 1002.33(9)(g).
       (d) Consolidate under a single charter the charters of
multiple high-performing charter schools operated in the same
school district by the charter schools’ governing board
regardless of the renewal cycle.
       (e) Receive a modification of its charter to a term of 15
years or a 15-year charter renewal. The charter may be modified
or renewed for a shorter term at the option of the high
performing charter school. The charter must be consistent with
s. 1002.33(7)(a)19. and (10)(h) and (i), is subject to annual
review by the sponsor, and may be terminated during its term
pursuant to s. 1002.33(8).
       (f) Assign its charter to another operator, provided that
the proposed operator meets the requirements of s.
1002.33(12)(i).

A high-performing charter school shall notify its sponsor in
writing by March 1 if it intends to increase enrollment or
expand grade levels the following school year. The written
notice must shall specify the amount of the enrollment increase
and the grade levels that will be added, as applicable. If a
charter school notifies the sponsor of its intent to expand, the
sponsor must shall modify the charter within 90 days to include
the new enrollment maximum and may not make any other changes.
The sponsor may deny a request to increase the enrollment of a
high-performing charter school if the commissioner has
declassified the charter school as high-performing. If a high
performing charter school requests to consolidate multiple
charters or assign an existing charter, the sponsor has shall
have 40 days after receipt of that request to provide an initial
draft charter to the charter school. The sponsor and charter
school shall have 50 days thereafter to negotiate and notice the
charter contract for final approval by the sponsor.
       Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.
Statutes affected: 
S 1680 Filed: 1002.331