The Florida Board of Education this morning approved a higher academic bar for charter schools that receive state facilities funding.
The rule would deny capital funding to charters that earn multiple D’s through the state’s A-F accountability system.
The state Department of Education revised the proposal after groups like the Florida Association of Independent Public Schools challenged it before the state’s administrative law court.
After the revisions, charter schools would still have to meet the higher academic standard to get access to the Charter School Capital Outlay, but it won’t take effect until the 2017-18 school year.
Members of the advocacy group indicated they still opposed the new rule.
“This seems like Deja Vu All over again,” said Mark Gotz, the president of School Development Group, which helped finance Miami Community Charter School in Florida City. “Charter schools are public schools and need to be treated equally and equitably.”
That argument piqued the interest of state board members who signed off on the previous version of the rule.
“I think actually they make a good point,” said Gary Chartrand, who has long backed efforts to bring more charters into high-needs communities. “Why do we treat charter schools differently than traditional public schools?”
Department staff told the board they were trying to carry out a requirement in the law, which says the state can only offer capital funding to charter schools with “satisfactory student achievement.”
That standard does not exist for traditional public schools. Board members approved the new rule after deciding they needed to meet requirements set by the Legislature.
A state Senate bill is aimed at bringing more “high-impact” charter schools into academically struggling areas. One provision of SB 976 would do away with the requirement that charter schools post satisfactory achievement results before they qualify for capital outlay funding.
The bill has not been heard, and a similar proposal has not been heard in the state House, but key legislative leaders have made clear that they plan to address charter school facilities funding and high-impact schools. It’s just not yet clear how those issues will intersect.
