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Florida Statutes (Last Updated: April 21, 2021) |
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TITLE XLVIII. K-20 EDUCATION CODE |
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CHAPTER 1002. STUDENT AND PARENTAL RIGHTS AND EDUCATIONAL CHOICES |
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PART III. EDUCATIONAL CHOICE |
- 112(1) 3A charter school is a high-performing charter school if it:13(a) 14Received at least two school grades of “A” and no school grade below “B,” pursuant to s. 321008.34, 33during each of the previous 3 school years or received at least two consecutive school grades of “A” in the most recent 2 school years.58(b) 59Received an unqualified opinion on each annual financial audit required under s. 71218.39 72in the most recent 3 fiscal years for which such audits are available.85(c) 86Did not receive a financial audit that revealed one or more of the financial emergency conditions set forth in s. 106218.503(1) 107in the most recent 3 fiscal years for which such audits are available. However, this requirement is deemed met for a charter school-in-the-workplace if there is a finding in an audit that the school has the monetary resources available to cover any reported deficiency or that the deficiency does not result in a deteriorating financial condition pursuant to s. 1661002.345(1)(a)3167.
168For purposes of determining initial eligibility, the requirements of paragraphs (b) and (c) only apply for the most recent 2 fiscal years if the charter school earns two consecutive grades of “A.” A virtual charter school established under s. 2071002.33 208is not eligible for designation as a high-performing charter school.
218(2) 219A high-performing charter school is authorized to:2261227(a) 228Increase its student enrollment once per school year to more than the capacity identified in the charter, but student enrollment may not exceed the capacity of the facility at the time the enrollment increase will take effect. Facility capacity for purposes of grade level expansion shall include any improvements to an existing facility or any new facility in which a majority of the students of the high-performing charter school will enroll.299(b) 300Expand grade levels within kindergarten through grade 12 to add grade levels not already served if any annual enrollment increase resulting from grade level expansion is within the limit established in paragraph (a).333(c) 334Submit a quarterly, rather than a monthly, financial statement to the sponsor pursuant to s. 3491002.33(9)(g)350.351(d) 352Consolidate under a single charter the charters of multiple high-performing charter schools operated in the same school district by the charter schools’ governing board regardless of the renewal cycle.381(e) 382Receive a modification of its charter to a term of 15 years or a 15-year charter renewal. The charter may be modified or renewed for a shorter term at the option of the high-performing charter school. The charter must be consistent with s. 4251002.33(7)(a)19426. and (10)(h) and (i), is subject to annual review by the sponsor, and may be terminated during its term pursuant to s. 4491002.33(8)450.451A high-performing charter school shall notify its sponsor in writing by March 1 if it intends to increase enrollment or expand grade levels the following school year. The written notice shall specify the amount of the enrollment increase and the grade levels that will be added, as applicable. If a charter school notifies the sponsor of its intent to expand, the sponsor shall modify the charter within 90 days to include the new enrollment maximum and may not make any other changes. The sponsor may deny a request to increase the enrollment of a high-performing charter school if the commissioner has declassified the charter school as high-performing. If a high-performing charter school requests to consolidate multiple charters, the sponsor shall have 40 days after receipt of that request to provide an initial draft charter to the charter school. The sponsor and charter school shall have 50 days thereafter to negotiate and notice the charter contract for final approval by the sponsor.
612(3)(a)1. 613A high-performing charter school may submit an application pursuant to s. 6241002.33(6) 625in any school district in the state to establish and operate a new charter school that will substantially replicate its educational program. An application submitted by a high-performing charter school must state that the application is being submitted pursuant to this paragraph and must include the verification letter provided by the Commissioner of Education pursuant to subsection (4).6832. 684If the sponsor fails to act on the application within 90 days after receipt, the application is deemed approved and the procedure in s. 7081002.33(7) 709applies.7101711(b) 712A high-performing charter school may not establish more than two charter schools within the state under paragraph (a) in any year. A subsequent application to establish a charter school under paragraph (a) may not be submitted unless each charter school established in this manner achieves high-performing charter school status. However, a high-performing charter school may establish more than one charter school within the state under paragraph (a) in any year if it operates in the area of a persistently low-performing school and serves students from that school.799(4) 800The Commissioner of Education, upon request by a charter school, shall verify that the charter school meets the criteria in subsection (1) and provide a letter to the charter school and the sponsor stating that the charter school is a high-performing charter school pursuant to this section. The commissioner shall annually determine whether a high-performing charter school under subsection (1) continues to meet the criteria in that subsection. Such high-performing charter school shall maintain its high-performing status unless the commissioner determines that the charter school no longer meets the criteria in subsection (1), at which time the commissioner shall send a letter providing notification of its declassification as a high-performing charter school.912(5) 913A high-performing charter school replicated under this section may not be replicated as a virtual charter school.
Note
“(1) The Department of Revenue is authorized, and all conditions are deemed to be met, to adopt emergency rules pursuant to s. 120.54(4), Florida Statutes, for the purpose of administering the provisions of this act.
“(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, emergency rules adopted pursuant to subsection (1) are effective for 6 months after adoption and may be renewed during the pendency of procedures to adopt permanent rules addressing the subject of the emergency rules.
“(3) This section shall take effect upon this act becoming a law and shall expire January 1, 2022.”
