Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

       Florida Senate - 2021                                    SB 1468
       
       
        
       By Senator Gruters
       
       
       
       
       
       23-01333A-21                                          20211468__
                      A bill to be entitled                      
       An act relating to charter schools; amending s.
       1002.33, F.S.; revising requirements for the charter
       school application process; authorizing certain assets
       of specified charter schools to be used for certain
       other charter schools across the state; amending s.
       1002.331, F.S.; revising provisions relating to the
       opening of additional high-performing charter schools;
       providing applicability; amending s. 1002.45, F.S.;
       authorizing a virtual charter school to provide part
       time virtual instruction and be an approved provider;
       authorizing a virtual charter school to contract with
       a public or charter school, rather than enter into an
       agreement with a school district, for specified
       purposes; providing an effective date.
        
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

       Section 1.âParagraph (b) of subsection (5), paragraph (b)
of subsection (6), and paragraph (b) of subsection (17) of
section 1002.33, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
       1002.33âCharter schools.â
       (5)âSPONSOR; DUTIES.â
       (b)âSponsor duties.â
       1.a.âThe sponsor shall monitor and review the charter
school in its progress toward the goals established in the
charter.
       b.âThe sponsor shall monitor the revenues and expenditures
of the charter school and perform the duties provided in s.
1002.345.
       c.âThe sponsor may approve a charter for a charter school
before the applicant has identified space, equipment, or
personnel, if the applicant indicates approval is necessary for
it to raise working funds.
       d.âThe sponsor shall not apply its policies to a charter
school unless mutually agreed to by both the sponsor and the
charter school. If the sponsor subsequently amends any agreed
upon sponsor policy, the version of the policy in effect at the
time of the execution of the charter, or any subsequent
modification thereof, shall remain in effect and the sponsor may
not hold the charter school responsible for any provision of a
newly revised policy until the revised policy is mutually agreed
upon.
       e.âThe sponsor shall ensure that the charter is innovative
and consistent with the state education goals established by s.
1000.03(5).
       f.âThe sponsor shall ensure that the charter school
participates in the stateâs education accountability system. If
a charter school falls short of performance measures included in
the approved charter, the sponsor shall report such shortcomings
to the Department of Education.
       g.âThe sponsor shall not be liable for civil damages under
state law for personal injury, property damage, or death
resulting from an act or omission of an officer, employee,
agent, or governing body of the charter school.
       h.âThe sponsor shall not be liable for civil damages under
state law for any employment actions taken by an officer,
employee, agent, or governing body of the charter school.
       i.âThe sponsorâs duties to monitor the charter school shall
not constitute the basis for a private cause of action.
       j.âThe sponsor shall not impose additional reporting
requirements on a charter school without providing reasonable
and specific justification in writing to the charter school.
       k.âThe sponsor shall submit an annual report to the
Department of Education in a web-based format to be determined
by the department.
       (I)âThe report shall include the following information:
       (A)âThe number of draft applications received on or before
May 1 and each applicantâs contact information.
       (B)âThe number of final applications received on or before
August 1 and each applicantâs contact information.
       (C)âThe date each application was approved, denied, or
withdrawn.
       (D)âThe date each final contract was executed.
       (II)âBeginning August 31, 2013, and each year thereafter,
the sponsor shall submit to the department the information for
the applications submitted the previous year.
       (III)âThe department shall compile an annual report, by
district, and post the report on its website by November 1 of
each year.
       2.âImmunity for the sponsor of a charter school under
subparagraph 1. applies only with respect to acts or omissions
not under the sponsorâs direct authority as described in this
section.
       3.âThis paragraph does not waive a district school boardâs
sovereign immunity.
       4.âA Florida College System institution may work with the
school district or school districts in its designated service
area to develop charter schools that offer secondary education.
These charter schools must include an option for students to
receive an associate degree upon high school graduation. If a
Florida College System institution operates an approved teacher
preparation program under s. 1004.04 or s. 1004.85, the
institution may operate no more than one charter school that
serves students in kindergarten through grade 12. In
kindergarten through grade 8, the charter school shall implement
innovative blended learning instructional models in which, for a
given course, a student learns in part through online delivery
of content and instruction with some element of student control
over time, place, path, or pace and in part at a supervised
brick-and-mortar location away from home. A student in a blended
learning course must be a full-time student of the charter
school and receive the online instruction in a classroom setting
at the charter school. District school boards shall cooperate
with and assist the Florida College System institution on the
charter application. Florida College System institution
applications for charter schools are not subject to the time
deadlines outlined in subsection (6) and may be approved by the
district school board at any time during the year. Florida
College System institutions may not report FTE for any students
who receive FTE funding through the Florida Education Finance
Program.
       5.âA school district may enter into nonexclusive interlocal
agreements with federal and state agencies, counties,
municipalities, and other governmental entities that operate
within the geographical borders of the school district to act on
behalf of such governmental entities in the inspection,
issuance, and other necessary activities for all necessary
permits, licenses, and other permissions that a charter school
needs in order for development, construction, or operation. A
charter school may use, but may not be required to use, a school
district for these services. The interlocal agreement must
include, but need not be limited to, the identification of fees
that charter schools will be charged for such services. The fees
must consist of the governmental entityâs fees plus a fee for
the school district to recover no more than actual costs for
providing such services. These services and fees are not
included within the services to be provided pursuant to
subsection (20).
       (6)âAPPLICATION PROCESS AND REVIEW.âCharter school
applications are subject to the following requirements:
       (b)âA sponsor shall receive and review all applications for
a charter school using the evaluation instrument developed by
the Department of Education. A sponsor shall receive and
consider charter school applications received during on or
before August 1 of each calendar year for charter schools to be
opened at the beginning of the school districtâs next school
year, or to be opened at a time determined agreed to by the
applicant and the sponsor. A sponsor may not refuse to receive a
charter school application submitted by an applicant during the
calendar year before August 1 and may receive an application
submitted later than August 1 if it chooses. Beginning in 2018
and thereafter, a sponsor shall receive and consider charter
school applications received on or before February 1 of each
calendar year for charter schools to be opened 18 months later
at the beginning of the school districtâs school year, or to be
opened at a time determined by the applicant. A sponsor may not
refuse to receive a charter school application submitted before
February 1 and may receive an application submitted later than
February 1 if it chooses. A sponsor may not charge an applicant
for a charter any fee for the processing or consideration of an
application, and a sponsor may not base its consideration or
approval of a final application upon the promise of future
payment of any kind. Before approving or denying any
application, the sponsor shall allow the applicant, upon receipt
of written notification, at least 7 calendar days to make
technical or nonsubstantive corrections and clarifications,
including, but not limited to, corrections of grammatical,
typographical, and like errors or missing signatures, if such
errors are identified by the sponsor as cause to deny the final
application.
       1.âIn order to facilitate an accurate budget projection
process, a sponsor shall be held harmless for FTE students who
are not included in the FTE projection due to approval of
charter school applications after the FTE projection deadline.
In a further effort to facilitate an accurate budget projection,
within 15 calendar days after receipt of a charter school
application, a sponsor shall report to the Department of
Education the name of the applicant entity, the proposed charter
school location, and its projected FTE.
       2.âIn order to ensure fiscal responsibility, an application
for a charter school shall include a full accounting of expected
assets, a projection of expected sources and amounts of income,
including income derived from projected student enrollments and
from community support, and an expense projection that includes
full accounting of the costs of operation, including start-up
costs.
       3.a.âA sponsor shall by a majority vote approve or deny an
application no later than 90 calendar days after the application
is received, unless the sponsor and the applicant mutually agree
in writing to temporarily postpone the vote to a specific date,
at which time the sponsor shall by a majority vote approve or
deny the application. If the sponsor fails to act on the
application, an applicant may appeal to the State Board of
Education as provided in paragraph (c). If an application is
denied, the sponsor shall, within 10 calendar days after such
denial, articulate in writing the specific reasons, based upon
good cause, supporting its denial of the application and shall
provide the letter of denial and supporting documentation to the
applicant and to the Department of Education.
       b.âAn application submitted by a high-performing charter
school identified pursuant to s. 1002.331 or a high-performing
charter school system identified pursuant to s. 1002.332 may be
denied by the sponsor only if the sponsor demonstrates by clear
and convincing evidence that:
       (I)âThe application of a high-performing charter school
does not materially comply with the requirements in paragraph
(a) or, for a high-performing charter school system, the
application does not materially comply with s. 1002.332(2)(b);
       (II)âThe charter school proposed in the application does
not materially comply with the requirements in paragraphs
(9)(a)-(f);
       (III)âThe proposed charter schoolâs educational program
does not substantially replicate that of the applicant or one of
the applicantâs high-performing charter schools;
       (IV)âThe applicant has made a material misrepresentation or
false statement or concealed an essential or material fact
during the application process; or
       (V)âThe proposed charter schoolâs educational program and
financial management practices do not materially comply with the
requirements of this section.

Material noncompliance is a failure to follow requirements or a
violation of prohibitions applicable to charter school
applications, which failure is quantitatively or qualitatively
significant either individually or when aggregated with other
noncompliance. An applicant is considered to be replicating a
high-performing charter school if the proposed school is
substantially similar to at least one of the applicantâs high
performing charter schools and the organization or individuals
involved in the establishment and operation of the proposed
school are significantly involved in the operation of replicated
schools.
       c.âIf the sponsor denies an application submitted by a
high-performing charter school or a high-performing charter
school system, the sponsor must, within 10 calendar days after
such denial, state in writing the specific reasons, based upon
the criteria in sub-subparagraph b., supporting its denial of
the application and must provide the letter of denial and
supporting documentation to the applicant and to the Department
of Education. The applicant may appeal the sponsorâs denial of
the application in accordance with paragraph (c).
       4.âFor budget projection purposes, the sponsor shall report
to the Department of Education the approval or denial of an
application within 10 calendar days after such approval or
denial. In the event of approval, the report to the Department
of Education shall include the final projected FTE for the
approved charter school.
       5.âUpon approval of an application, the initial startup
shall commence with the beginning of the public school calendar
for the district in which the charter is granted. A charter
school may defer the opening of the schoolâs operations for up
to 3 years to provide time for adequate facility planning. The
charter school must provide written notice of such intent to the
sponsor and the parents of enrolled students at least 30
calendar days before the first day of school.
       (17)âFUNDING.â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 the school district. Funding
for a charter lab school shall be as provided in s. 1002.32.
       (b)âThe basis for the agreement for funding students
enrolled in a charter school shall be the sum of the school
districtâ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 districtâs current
operating discretionary millage levy; divided by total funded
weighted full-time equivalent students in the school district;
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, the research-based
reading allocation, and the Florida digital classrooms
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 schoolâ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 shall be used in accordance with s. 1011.62, and
any unrestricted capital assets shall be used in accordance with
s. 1013.62(2).
       Section 2.âPara