Florida charter schools would be certain to lose "high-performing" status when their letter grades fall below B's under legislation proposed in both the state House and Senate.
The legislation would clarify an issue at the center of a legal dispute between the state and a Central Florida charter school, decided earlier this month by an appellate court.
Charters with strong academic ratings can receive a high-performing label, which gives them certain privileges. They can expand and replicate more easily. They pay lower administrative fees to school districts. They can enter 15-year charter contracts instead of the usual five.
A 2013 law change required the state education commissioner to review the state's high-performing charters each year to make sure they still met all the criteria, which include earning at least two A's and no grades below a B in the three most recent school years.
Right now, 167 of Florida's more than 650 charter schools are classified as high-performing. The number has risen, even as dozens of charters lost the label due to falling grades.
Last year, Imagine Schools at South Lake was one of 10 schools stripped of high-performing status after their state-issued grades slipped to a C. The non-profit overseeing the school, Educational Charter Foundation of Florida, took the state Department of Education to court.
A Central Florida charter school has taken the state to court in a bid to keep its classification as a "high-performing" charter - and the financial benefits that come with it.
Imagine Schools at South Lake sued the state after the Department of Education informed the school it lost high-performing status when its school grade dropped earlier this year.
Its lawsuit argues there is a conflict in the state's law designating high-performing charter schools, and it should be able to keep the status until lawmakers resolve the issue. The case could affect the reputation and finances of other charters around the state.
The school is managed by Imagine Schools, the well-known operator of 67 schools around the country and 21 in Florida. It won a preliminary victory last month, when a Leon County judge agreed the school can keep its high-performing classification until the case gets decided. Judge George Reynolds is set to hear arguments in the case next week, and court documents show he has already indicated he's leaning toward siding with the school.
Lawmakers created the high-performing classification to reward charter schools with strong academic track records and help them grow. Schools qualify by receiving clean financial audits and earning a string of A's and B's over three years.
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More than three dozen Florida charter schools have lost "high-performing" status since a new state law required them to have their designation reviewed annually.
The state allows charter schools with good grades and sound finances to be labeled high-performing, which entitles them to certain privileges under the law.
Legislation passed in 2013, which some charter school advocates say needs to be clarified, requires the state to review high-performing charter schools every year to see if they still qualify. In the two years since the change, 37 schools — including 16 after this summer's release of school grades — have lost their status as high-performing schools.
Losing that status can affect schools' budgets or expansion plans. High-performing charters pay lower administrative fees to school districts. They are allowed to enter 15-year charter contracts, and state law lets them to expand or replicate more easily.
Charters can only qualify for high-performing status if they receive two A's in 3 years and nothing less than a B. They also have to keep a clean bill of financial health.
Rod Sasse, a vice president with Imagine Schools, said the Imagine School at South Lake received a letter earlier this month announcing it had lost high-performing status. The state graded the school a C this year. But he said the school might have kept the designation if the law had not been changed last year. He pointed to this provision from the original high-performing charter law:
(4) A high-performing charter school may not increase enrollment or expand grade levels following any school year in which it receives a school grade of “C” or below. If the charter school receives a school grade of “C” or below in any 2 years during the term of the charter awarded under subsection (2), the term of the charter may be modified by the sponsor and the charter school loses its high-performing charter school status until it regains that status under subsection (1).
Sasse said that provision, which remains on the books, suggests a charter could remain high-performing unless it receives multiple grades of C or lower. Under last year's legislation, charter schools can only remain high-performing if they meet these standards each year:
(1) A charter school is a high-performing charter school if it:
(a) Received at least two school grades of “A” and no school grade below “B,” pursuant to s. 1008.34, during each of the previous 3 school years.
(b) Received an unqualified opinion on each annual financial audit required under s. 218.39 in the most recent 3 fiscal years for which such audits are available.
(c) Did not receive a financial audit that revealed one or more of the financial emergency conditions set forth in s. 218.503(1) in 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. 1002.345(1)(a)3.
State Rep. Janet Adkins, R-Fernandina Beach, heard concerns charter advocates' concerns about the potentially conflicting requirements during a recent task force meeting in Fort Lauderdale. She said it might make sense to clarify the rules so that once they earn the status initially, charters can remain high-performing if they maintain "all B's, all A's, or any combination thereof."
School districts can only keep 2 percent of high-performing charters' funding to cover their oversight costs, instead of the usual 5 percent. As a result, Sasse said some schools fearing an immediate hit to their budget might look for ways to stave off action by the state until the Legislature has a chance to clarify the rules.
There are currently a total of 148 high-performing charters in the state, including nine that achieved the status recently. Here are the 16 schools that lost high-performing status after this summer's release of school grades. In most cases, they either slipped from a B to a C, or they earned a B for the second year in a row. (more…)
