Promote quality charter schools and let them expand in high-needs areas. Deal with weak charter applications before they reach school boards. Hold school districts accountable for the charters they approve.
Those are some of the ideas behind proposed legislation taking shape in Tallahassee two weeks before the start of Florida’s 60-day legislative session.
The most detailed proposal so far is a draft bill unveiled last week in the House, which avoids some of the more contentious ideas from last year.
This year, Rep. Manny Diaz, R-Hialeah, who chairs the House’s main panel on school choice issues, said lawmakers are looking for ways to improve the quality of Florida’s charter schools, and stem closures of schools that aren’t qualified to operate, without piling on new regulations.
Among other things, the draft legislation would:
- Give school boards more authority to look at charter operators’ academic and financial track records when considering their applications to open new schools.
- Create a new institute, housed within Florida state university, that would advise charter schools and districts on issues from charter applications to teacher preparation
- Subject the operators of virtual charter schools to the same automatic termination rules as brick-and-mortar charter schools (under the bill they would lose the ability to operate if they receive two straight F’s from the state; right now they face more stringent rules).
- Require districts to report detailed information on the charter applications they approve or reject, and the performance of the schools they authorize.
- Allow the state Board of Education to impose sanctions, from increasing state involvement to requiring the sharing of local facilities funding, for districts that approve larger proportions of poorly performing charters.
Groups that promote charter school quality have suggested Florida collect more data on the performance of the charters each district approves, and consider “authorizer accountability” provisions for districts that could reward or punish them based on how the charters they authorize perform.
Some districts new state grant program, like Broward County, have already indicated they will start producing reports on the performance of charters they authorize.
However, the idea that the state could penalize districts with low-performing charter schools was among the most contentious portions of the proposed legislation when it was discussed last week by the House Choice and Innovation Subcommittee.
“It appears to me that we are taking local authority away and giving it to Tallahassee,” said Rep. Cynthia Stafford, D-Miami.
Diaz said the proposed charter school institute is intended to help districts manage their charter school portfolios, and could help free up resources for them to improve their oversight. Among other functions, it’s intended to create a “non-judgemental” venue that can vet the proposals of would-be charter applicants and help them improve their plans (or, if they’re completely unqualified to run a school, advise them to find a different line of work).
“I think the efficiencies that are created there would save some costs for our districts,” he said.
The House’s plan is expected to come up for a committee vote during the first week of the Legislative session, which begins March 3. The Senate is expected to have its own ideas, but they haven’t all surfaced yet. Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, has filed a bill aimed at making Florida more attractive to high-performing, out-of-state charter networks.
Just as notable is what’s missing from the proposals: A pair of policies that helped bog down last year’s major charter school bill, which ultimately died. Provisions streamlining the charter school application process drew stiff opposition from school boards. A provision supported by school districts, meanwhile, would have required charter schools post a bond before they could open.
Diaz said he was worried requiring surety bonds could create roadblocks for mom-and-pop charter schools, which might already have a hard time securing financing for a school that hadn’t opened yet.
“If it is not done right, it becomes a barrier to entry,” he said. “We don’t want to stifle innovation from smaller operators.”
