Florida Senate - 2024 SB 246



By Senator Harrell





31-00431-24 2024246__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to conversion charter schools;
3 amending s. 1002.33, F.S.; revising the requirements
4 for an application for a conversion charter school;
5 authorizing municipalities to apply for the conversion
6 of specified public schools to charter schools;
7 authorizing the Charter School Review Commission to
8 solicit and review applications for conversion charter
9 schools; providing an effective date.
10
11 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
12
13 Section 1. Paragraph (c) is added to subsection (3) of
14 section 1002.33, Florida Statutes, and paragraph (b) of
15 subsection (3) and paragraph (a) of subsection (5) of that
16 section are amended, to read:
17 1002.33 Charter schools.—
18 (3) APPLICATION FOR CHARTER STATUS.—
19 (b) An application for a conversion charter school shall be
20 made by a municipality, the district school board, the
21 principal, teachers, parents, and/or the school advisory council
22 at an existing public school that has been in operation for at
23 least 2 years prior to the application to convert. A public
24 school-within-a-school that is designated as a school by the
25 district school board may also submit an application to convert
26 to charter status. An application submitted proposing to convert
27 an existing public school to a charter school shall demonstrate
28 the support of at least 50 percent of the teachers employed at
29 the school and 50 percent of the parents voting whose children
30 are enrolled at the school, provided that a majority of the
31 parents eligible to vote participate in the ballot process,
32 according to rules adopted by the State Board of Education. The
33 Charter School Review Commission or a district school board
34 denying an application for a conversion charter school shall
35 provide notice of denial to the applicants in writing within 10
36 days after the meeting at which the commission or district
37 school board denied the application. The notice must articulate
38 in writing the specific reasons for denial and must provide
39 documentation supporting those reasons. A private school,
40 parochial school, or home education program shall not be
41 eligible for charter school status.
42 (c) A municipality may submit an application for conversion
43 for any or all of the public schools within its jurisdictional
44 boundary as part of a single application for approval.
45 (5) SPONSOR; DUTIES.—
46 (a) Sponsoring entities.—
47 1. A district school board may sponsor a charter school in
48 the county over which the district school board has
49 jurisdiction.
50 2. A state university may grant a charter to a lab school
51 created under s. 1002.32 and shall be considered to be the
52 school’s sponsor. Such school shall be considered a charter lab
53 school.
54 3. Because needs relating to educational capacity,
55 workforce qualifications, and career education opportunities are
56 constantly changing and extend beyond school district
57 boundaries:
58 a. A state university may, upon approval by the Department
59 of Education, solicit applications and sponsor a charter school
60 to meet regional education or workforce demands by serving
61 students from multiple school districts.
62 b. A Florida College System institution may, upon approval
63 by the Department of Education, solicit applications and sponsor
64 a charter school in any county within its service area to meet
65 workforce demands and may offer postsecondary programs leading
66 to industry certifications to eligible charter school students.
67 A charter school established under subparagraph (b)4. may not be
68 sponsored by a Florida College System institution until its
69 existing charter with the school district expires as provided
70 under subsection (7).
71 c. Notwithstanding paragraph (6)(b), a state university or
72 Florida College System institution may, at its discretion, deny
73 an application for a charter school.
74 d. The Charter School Review Commission, as authorized
75 under s. 1002.3301, may solicit and review applications for
76 conversion charter schools and charter schools overseen by
77 district school boards and, upon the commission approving an
78 application, the district school board that oversees the school
79 district in which the charter school will be located shall serve
80 as sponsor.
81 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.