HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: HB 5101 PCB PKA 24-01 Education
SPONSOR(S): PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee, Tomkow
TIED BILLS: IDEN./SIM. BILLS:
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
Orig. Comm.: PreK-12 Appropriations 12 Y, 0 N Bailey Potvin
Subcommittee
1) Appropriations Committee 27 Y, 0 N Bailey Pridgeon
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
HB 5101 conforms law to the General Appropriations Act proposed by the House of Representatives for Fiscal
Year 2024-2025 for prekindergarten through grade 12 education. Specifically, the bill:
Establishes a transportation stipend that a public school student enrolled in kindergarten through grade
8 may receive from an eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organization (SFO) for transportation to a
Florida nonvirtual public school that is different from the school the student is assigned to or to a
developmental research (lab) school.
o Deletes transportation as an eligible use of the Family Empowerment Scholarship for
Educational Options (FES EO) and the Florida Tax Credit (FTC) scholarships and deletes the
funding amount of the transportation scholarship.
o Repeals the Driving Choice Grant Program.
Codifies:
o the transfer of the students enrolled at the Florida Atlantic University Charter Lab K-12 School in
St. Lucie County to the St. Lucie School District; and
o the establishment of the Florida State University Charter Lab K-12 School in Leon County.
Requires that students enrolled at a charter school sponsored by a Florida College System (FCS)
institution or state university are funded in the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) and
establishes the FEFP calculation methodology for such charter school students.
Establishes the funding source and calculation methodology for capital outlay funds for a charter school
sponsored by a FCS institution or state university.
Establishes the Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) summer bridge program.
Clarifies that the education foundation of the Florida Virtual School (FLVS) is eligible to participate in
the matching grant program funded by the Florida Academic Improvement Trust Fund.
The bill provides for an effective date of July 1, 2024.
This docum ent does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives .
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FULL ANALYSIS
I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS
A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
Developmental Research (Lab) Schools
Present Situation
There is a category of public schools established as developmental research (lab) schools. 1 A non-
charter lab school must be affiliated with the college of education within the state university of closest
geographic proximity. A charter lab school must be affiliated with the college of education within the
state university that issued the charter but is not subject to the requirement that the state university be
of closest geographic proximity. For purposes of state funding, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical
University, Florida Atlantic University (FAU), Florida State University (FSU), the University of Florida,
and other universities approved by the State Board of Education (SBE) and the Legislature are
authorized to sponsor a lab school.2
The limitation of one lab school per university does not apply to the following legislatively allowed
charter lab schools:
FSU Charter Lab K-12 School in Broward County,
FAU Charter Lab K-12 School in Palm Beach County, and
FAU Charter Lab K-12 School in St. Lucie County.3
For purposes of adopting the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Public Schools PreK-12 Enrollments forecast, the
Department of Education (DOE) provided information to the principals of the Education Estimating
Conference that verified beginning in Fiscal Year 2024-2025, the FAU Charter Lab K-12 in St. Lucie
County would no longer be a charter lab school and the school’s current year full-time equivalent (FTE)
students would be transferred to St. Lucie School District. The Public Schools PreK-12 Enrollments
forecast adopted at the January 10, 2024, Education Estimating Conference includes this transfer.4
Effects of Proposed Changes
The bill deletes the FAU Charter Lab K-12 School in St. Lucie County as an authorized charter lab
school and the student currently attending this school will be transferred to the St. Lucie School District.
Charter Schools
Present Situation
Charter schools are tuition-free public schools created through an agreement or “charter” that provides
flexibility relative to regulations created for traditional public schools. 5 During the 2022-2023 school
year, over 382,367 students were enrolled in 726 charter schools in 46 Florida school districts. 6
Prior to 2021, a district school board was authorized to sponsor a charter school in the county over
which the board had jurisdiction. In addition, a state university was authorized to sponsor a charter lab
school.7 A Florida College System (FCS) institution was authorized to work with school districts in the
FCS institution’s designated service area to develop a charter school that offered secondary education,
1 Section 1002.32(2), F.S.
2 Id.
3 Id.
4 See, Education Estimating Conference Public Schools PreK-12 Enrollment (state.fl.us). (Last visited January 18, 2024).
5 Florida Department of Education, Fact Sheet Office of School Choice, Florida’s Charter Schools (October 2023), available at
https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/7778/urlt/Charter-Sept-2022.pdf. (Last visited January 17, 2024).
6 Id.
7 Section 1002.33(5)(a)1. and 2., F.S.
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including an option for students to receive an associate degree upon high school graduation. If a FCS
institution offered a teacher preparation program, it was authorized to operate one charter school for
students in kindergarten through grade 12 and had to implement innovative blended learning
instructional models for students in kindergarten through grade 8. 8
In 2021, to address the needs of educational capacity, workforce qualifications, and career education
opportunities that may extend beyond a school district’s boundaries, the Legislature passed legislation 9
that modified the law to:
Authorize the FCS institutions and state universities to solicit applications and sponsor charter
schools upon approval by the State Board of Education (SBE). Additionally:
o A state university-sponsored charter school may serve students from multiple school
districts to meet regional education or workforce demands.
o A FCS-sponsored charter school may exist in any county within its service area10 to
meet workforce demands. A FCS-sponsored charter school may offer postsecondary
programs leading to industry certifications for eligible charter school students.
Remove the requirements that a FCS institution that operates an approved teacher preparation
program:
o May operate only one charter school; and
o Must implement an innovative blended learning instructional model for students in
kindergarten through grade 8 at a charter school it operates.
Prohibit a FCS institution from reporting the FTE for any students participating in FCS-
sponsored charter schools who receive FTE funding through the Florida Education Finance
Program (FEFP).
Clarify that a student enrolled in a charter school sponsored by a FCS institution or state
university may not be included in the calculation of the school district’s grade.
Additionally, the legislation established a methodology for determining the amount of funding students
enrolled in a charter school sponsored by a FCS institution or state university would receive which is
the sum of the total operating funds from the FEFP for the school district in which the school is located
including gross state and local funds; discretionary lottery funds; and funds from each school district’s
current operating discretionary millage, divided by the total funded weighted FTE, and multiplied by the
FTE membership of the charter school.11
The DOE is required to develop a tool that each FCS institution and state university sponsoring a
charter school must 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 (GAA) to the charter school. 12
Capital outlay funding for a charter school sponsored by a FCS institution or state university is provided
the same as a charter school sponsored by a district school board and consists of state funds when
such funds are appropriated in the GAA and revenue resulting from the discretionary millage authorized
in statute.13
Tallahassee Collegiate Academy
In January 2023, the SBE approved Tallahassee Community College’s application to sponsor a charter
school.14 On August 10, 2023, the Tallahassee Collegiate Academy (TCA) opened its doors to
welcome the school’s first students.15
8 Section 1002.33(5)(b)4., F.S.
9 Chapter 2021-35, Laws of Fla.
10 FCS institution service areas are defined in s. 1000.21(3), F.S.
11 Section 1002.33(17)(b)2.a., F.S.
12 Id.
13 Section 1002.33(17)(b)2.b., F.S.
14 State Board of Education, January 18, 2023, meeting.
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The TCA is a STEM charter public high school and allows students to earn an associate in science
degree while in high school. The enrollment for the 2023-2024 school year is 142 students as
follows 16:
Grade Level Number Percentage
9th 82 57%
th
10 49 35%
11th 11 8%
For Fiscal Year 2023-2024, $1.6 million in recurring funds from the General Revenue Fund is
appropriated to the TCA; this funding is not included in the FEFP. 17
Effect of Proposed Changes
The bill establishes that funding for a charter school sponsored by a FCS institution or state university
is included in the FEFP; this aligns with how charter schools sponsored by district school boards and
charter lab schools that are funded.
The bill establishes the methodology for calculating the amount of FEFP funds that a student enrolled
at a charter school sponsored by a FCS institution or state university will receive. This methodology
includes the sum of the basic amount for current operations established in s. 1011.62(1)(s), F.S., the
discretionary millage compression supplement established in s. 1011.62(5), F.S., and the state-funded
discretionary contribution established in s. 1011.62(6), F.S. 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 FEFP.
Additionally, the bill provides that:
The nonvoted required local millage established pursuant to s. 1011.71(1), F.S., that would
otherwise be required for the charter schools, will be allocated from state funds.
An equivalent amount of funds for the operating discretionary millage authorized in s.
1011.71(1), F.S., will be allocated to each charter school through a state-funded discretionary
contribution established pursuant to s. 1011.62(6), F.S.
The comparable wage factor as provided in s. 1011.62(2), F.S., is established as 1.000.
The bill also specifies that capital outlay funding for a charter school sponsored by a FCS institution or
state university is determined as follows: multiply the maximum allowable nonvoted discretionary
millage under s. 1011.71(2), F.S., by 96 percent of the current year’s taxable value for school purposes
for the district in which the charter school is located; divide the result by the total FTE student
membership; and multiply the result by the FTE student membership of the charter school. The amount
obtained is the discretionary capital improvement funds; these funds are from state funds provided in
the GAA.
School Choice Scholarships for Transportation
Present Situation
With the establishment of the Florida Tax Credit (FTC) scholarship program in 2001 and the Family
Empowerment Scholarship Program for Educational Options (FES EO) in 2019, Florida has two
scholarship programs that allow parents to apply for and receive a scholarship for their students to
attend an eligible private school.
15 See, Home - Tallahassee Collegiate Academy (fl.edu). (Last visited January 17, 2024.)
16 See, Charter Schools Program, Presentation by Tallahassee Community College at the December 6, 2023, PreK-12 Appropriations
Subcommittee meeting.
17 Specific appropriation 97A of ch. 2023-239, Laws of Fla.
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In 2021, the Legislature expanded the eligible uses of the FTC and FES-EO scholarship funds to
include transportation to a Florida public school if the student elected to attend a Florida public school
that is different from the public school the student is assigned to attend or to a lab school as defined in
s. 1002.32, F.S. The amount of the transportation scholarship was $750, if the school district does not
provide the student with transportation to the public school.18
The Student Transportation Allocation in the FEFP is the funding source for the transportation
scholarship. The Student Transportation Allocation is a categorical in the FEFP and provides funds to
assist school districts with their costs associated with providing transportation to public school
programs, including charter schools, for kindergarten through grade 12 student and migrant and
exceptional student programs below kindergarten.19
For Fiscal Year 2021-2022, no transportation scholarships were funded.20
In 2022, the Legislature adjusted the amount of the transportation scholarship as follows: a scholarship
of $750 or an amount equal to the school district expenditure per student riding a school bus, as
determined by the DOE, whichever is greater.21
For Fiscal Year 2022-2023, a total of 696 transportation scholarships were funded for a total of
$415,875. All transportation scholarships were funded as either a full scholarship at $750 or a half
scholarship at $375.22
For Fiscal Year 2023-2024, based on the 3rd calculation of the FEFP, a total of 4,504 transportation
scholarships have been funded for a total of $5.9 million.23 The amounts of the transportation
scholarships range from $750 to $2,232.24 As a result of the removal of the income eligibility
requirement for the FES-EO scholarship beginning in Fiscal Year 2023-2024, the number of funded
transportation scholarships increased by 547% compared to Fiscal Year 2022-2023.
Effect of Proposed Changes
The bill establishes a transportation stipend, contingent upon a legislative appropriation and on a first-
come, first-served basis, for kindergarten through grade 8 public school students who enroll in a Florida
nonvirtual public school which is not the public school the student is assigned to attend or to a lab
school. The amount of the stipend is established in the GAA and an eligible nonprofit scholarship-
funding organization (SFO) is the administrator of the stipend program.
With the establishment of the transportation stipend program, the bill also eliminates transportation as
an eligible use of the FTC and FES-EO scholarships.
Driving Choice Grant Program
The Driving Choice Grant Program was established in 202225 within the DOE to improve access to
reliable and safe transportation for students who participate in public educational school choices and to
support innovative solutions that increase the efficiency of public school transportation. Grant
proposals may include:
Transportation resource planning and sharing among school districts and local governments.
Developing or contracting with rideshare programs or developing carpool strategies.
18 Chapter 2021-27, Laws of Fla.
19 Section 1011.68, F.S.
20 See Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) Calculations (fldoe.org). (Last visited January 18, 2024).
21 Chapter 2022-154, Laws of Fla.
22 See Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) Calculations (fldoe.org). (Last visited January 18, 2024).
23 See