Bill Text: FL S0934 | 2019 | Regular Session | Comm Sub

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Bill Title: High-performing Charter Schools

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Failed) 2019-05-03 - Died in Appropriations [S0934 Detail]

Download: Florida-2019-S0934-Comm_Sub.html

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       Florida Senate - 2019                              CS for SB 934
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Education; and Senator Diaz
       
       
       
       
       
       581-03256-19                                           2019934c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to high-performing charter schools;
    3         amending s. 1002.331, F.S.; revising requirements for
    4         a high-performing charter school; revising the
    5         facility capacity measurement used when a high
    6         performing charter school increases its student
    7         enrollment; revising the number of charter schools
    8         that a high-performing charter school may establish in
    9         any year from two to one; providing an effective date.
   10          
   11  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   12  
   13         Section 1. Subsection (1), paragraph (a) of subsection (2),
   14  and paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section 1002.331, Florida
   15  Statutes, are amended to read:
   16         1002.331 High-performing charter schools.—
   17         (1) A charter school is a high-performing charter school if
   18  it:
   19         (a) Received at least two school grades of “A” and no
   20  school grade below “B,” pursuant to s. 1008.34, during each of
   21  the previous 3 school years or, for charter schools that receive
   22  a school improvement rating under s. 1008.341, at least two
   23  school improvement ratings of “commendable” and no school
   24  improvement rating below “maintaining” during each of the
   25  previous 3 school years or received at least two consecutive
   26  school grades of “A” in the most recent 2 school years.
   27         (b) Received an unqualified opinion on each annual
   28  financial audit required under s. 218.39 in the most recent 3
   29  fiscal years for which such audits are available.
   30         (c) Did not receive a financial audit that revealed one or
   31  more of the financial emergency conditions set forth in s.
   32  218.503(1) in the most recent 3 fiscal years for which such
   33  audits are available. However, this requirement is deemed met
   34  for a charter school-in-the-workplace if there is a finding in
   35  an audit that the school has the monetary resources available to
   36  cover any reported deficiency or that the deficiency does not
   37  result in a deteriorating financial condition pursuant to s.
   38  1002.345(1)(a)3.
   39  
   40  For purposes of determining initial eligibility, the
   41  requirements of paragraphs (b) and (c) only apply for the most
   42  recent 2 fiscal years if the charter school earns two
   43  consecutive grades of “A.” A virtual charter school established
   44  under s. 1002.33 is not eligible for designation as a high
   45  performing charter school.
   46         (2) A high-performing charter school is authorized to:
   47         (a) Increase its student enrollment once per school year to
   48  more than the capacity identified in the charter, but student
   49  enrollment may not exceed the current facility capacity of the
   50  facility at the time the enrollment increase will take effect.
   51  Facility capacity for purposes of grade level expansion shall
   52  include any improvements to an existing facility or any new
   53  facility in which a majority of the students of the high
   54  performing charter school will enroll.
   55  
   56  A high-performing charter school shall notify its sponsor in
   57  writing by March 1 if it intends to increase enrollment or
   58  expand grade levels the following school year. The written
   59  notice shall specify the amount of the enrollment increase and
   60  the grade levels that will be added, as applicable. If a charter
   61  school notifies the sponsor of its intent to expand, the sponsor
   62  shall modify the charter within 90 days to include the new
   63  enrollment maximum and may not make any other changes. The
   64  sponsor may deny a request to increase the enrollment of a high
   65  performing charter school if the commissioner has declassified
   66  the charter school as high-performing. If a high-performing
   67  charter school requests to consolidate multiple charters, the
   68  sponsor shall have 40 days after receipt of that request to
   69  provide an initial draft charter to the charter school. The
   70  sponsor and charter school shall have 50 days thereafter to
   71  negotiate and notice the charter contract for final approval by
   72  the sponsor.
   73         (3)
   74         (b) A high-performing charter school may not establish more
   75  than one charter school two charter schools within the state
   76  under paragraph (a) in any year. A subsequent application to
   77  establish a charter school under paragraph (a) may not be
   78  submitted unless each charter school established in this manner
   79  achieves high-performing charter school status. However, a high
   80  performing charter school may establish more than one charter
   81  school within the state under paragraph (a) in any year if it
   82  operates in the area of a persistently low-performing school and
   83  serves students from that school.
   84         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.