Florida school districts would be able to start more charter-like schools under a proposal aimed at closing a loophole in state class-size rules.
Sen. John Legg
SB 1634, filed late last week by Senate Education Chairman John Legg, would overhaul a concept lawmakers created in 2013. The nearly three-year-old law allows districts to create "innovation schools of technology," which can receive more operational freedom if they enter performance contracts with the state.
So far, districts have yet to embrace the concept. That could change under Legg's proposal.
Last year, the Trinity Republican received data from the state Department of Education, which he said showed school districts had attached a "choice" label to some schools, giving them more flexibility under state class-size limits, without really creating new programs or opening enrollment to students outside their attendance zones.
Legg's bill would close that loophole. But it would also give districts more flexibility to create innovation schools.
Under the proposal, districts could apply to the state Board of Education to start any number of "innovation schools of choice." The bill would eliminate restrictions that have so far kept some districts from applying, such as a requirement that innovation schools experiment with blended learning.
The schools of choice would be subject to fewer state regulations, and they would have the same flexibility charter schools receive under state class-size limits, which were set in a 2002 constitutional amendment.
In short, districts would have new opportunities to receive greater autonomy in exchange for increased accountability. To get that charter-like bargain, they would have to set targets for academic performance, and demonstrate to the state board that their programs are unique and innovative.
The bill would also create similar requirements for charter schools. To keep their class-size flexibility, in which penalties for exceeding constitutional limits are based on school-wide averages rather than classroom-by-classroom student counts, charter schools would have to add language to their contracts that, among other things, "clearly articulates how the charter school distinctly and uniquely defines and provides schoolwide innovation."
Right now, there's no House version of the bill. The Senate Education Committee, which Legg chairs, is set to talk school choice and class size when it meets this afternoon.
