SECTION 1002.31. Controlled open enrollment; Public school parental choice.

• (1) As used in this section, “controlled open enrollment” means a public education delivery system that allows school districts to make student school assignments using parents’ indicated preferential educational choice as a significant factor.
  (2)(a) Beginning by the 2017-2018 school year, as part of a school district’s or charter school’s controlled open enrollment process, and in addition to the existing public school choice programs provided in s. 1002.20(6)(a), each district school board or charter school shall allow a parent from any school district in the state whose child is not subject to a current expulsion or suspension to enroll his or her child in and transport his or her child to any public school, including charter schools, that has not reached capacity in the district, subject to the maximum class size pursuant to s. 1003.03 and s. 1, Art. IX of the State Constitution. The school district or charter school shall accept the student, pursuant to that school district’s or charter school’s controlled open enrollment process, and report the student for purposes of the school district’s or charter school’s funding pursuant to the Florida Education Finance Program. A school district or charter school may provide transportation to students described under this section.

  (b) Each school district and charter school capacity determinations for its schools must be current and must be identified on the school district and charter school’s websites. In determining the capacity of each district school, the district school board shall incorporate the specifications, plans, elements, and commitments contained in the school district educational facilities plan and the long-term work programs required under s. 1013.35. Each charter school governing board shall determine capacity based upon its charter school contract.

  (c) Each district school board must provide preferential treatment in its controlled open enrollment process to all of the following:

  1. Dependent children of active duty military personnel whose move resulted from military orders.

  2. Children who have been relocated due to a foster care placement in a different school zone.

  3. Children who move due to a court-ordered change in custody due to separation or divorce, or the serious illness or death of a custodial parent.

  4. Students residing in the school district.

  (d) As part of its controlled open enrollment process, a charter school may provide preferential treatment in its controlled open enrollment participation process to the enrollment limitations pursuant to s. 1002.33(10), if such special purposes are identified in the charter agreement. Each charter school shall annually post on its website the application process required to participate in controlled open enrollment, consistent with this section and s. 1002.33.

  (e) Students residing in the district, including charter school students, may not be displaced by a student from another district seeking enrollment under the controlled open enrollment process.

  (f) For purposes of continuity of educational choice, a student who transfers pursuant to this section may remain at the school chosen by the parent until the student completes the highest grade level at the school.
  (3) Each district school board shall adopt by rule and post on its website the process required to participate in controlled open enrollment. The process must:

  (a) Adhere to federal desegregation requirements.

  (b) Allow parents to declare school preferences, including placement of siblings within the same school.

  (c) Provide a lottery procedure to determine student assignment and establish an appeals process for hardship cases.

  (d) Afford parents of students in multiple session schools preferred access to controlled open enrollment.

  (e) Maintain socioeconomic, demographic, and racial balance.

  (f) Address the availability of transportation.

  (g) Maintain existing academic eligibility criteria for public school choice programs pursuant to s. 1002.20(6)(a).

  (h) Identify schools that have not reached capacity, as determined by the school district.

  (i) Ensure that each district school board adopts a policy to provide preferential treatment pursuant to paragraph (2)(c).
  (4) In accordance with the reporting requirements of s. 1011.62, each district school board shall annually report the number of students exercising public school choice, by type, in accordance with rules adopted by the State Board of Education.
  (5) For a school or program that is a public school of choice under this section, the calculation for compliance with maximum class size pursuant to s. 1003.03(4) is the average number of students at the school level.
  (6)(a) A school district or charter school may not delay eligibility or otherwise prevent a student participating in controlled open enrollment or a choice program from being immediately eligible to participate in interscholastic and intrascholastic extracurricular activities.

  (b) A student may not participate in a sport if the student participated in that same sport at another school during that school year, unless the student meets one of the following criteria:

  1. Dependent children of active duty military personnel whose move resulted from military orders.

  2. Children who have been relocated due to a foster care placement in a different school zone.

  3. Children who move due to a court-ordered change in custody due to separation or divorce, or the serious illness or death of a custodial parent.

  4. Authorized for good cause in district or charter school policy.

History.-s. 96, ch. 2002-387; s. 3, ch. 2008-147; s. 9, ch. 2013-250; s. 21, ch. 2014-39; s. 5, ch. 2016-237.

History.-s. 96, ch. 2002-387; s. 3, ch. 2008-147; s. 9, ch. 2013-250; s. 21, ch. 2014-39; s. 5, ch. 2016-237.