A bill allowing charter schools to “co-locate” inside traditional public schools was approved by Florida lawmakers on the 105th day of the legislative session, which was scheduled to last 60 days.
In a state that has long served as a national model for conservative education policy, this is the most recent action taken by the Republican-controlled Legislature to increase school choice.
Democratic lawmakers and supporters of public education fiercely opposed the plan to expand what are known as “schools of hope,” and it seemed to die on the last day of the regularly scheduled May session.
However, lawmakers revived the measure and slipped it into the budget package as budget talks continued into the summer, circumventing the standard legislative review process.
Only a few members of the public were in the chamber galleries on Monday when lawmakers gave the bill final approval after 10 p.m.
Citadel Enterprise Americas, the investment company founded by Miami-based hedge fund billionaire and Republican megadonor Ken Gryphon, who has donated millions to education initiatives, including charter schools, was one of the organisations that advocated for the measure.
More charter school operators will be able to open schools of hope and operate rent-free out of underenrolled public schools thanks to the bill, which is currently on its way to Republican Governor Ron DeSantis.
In order to provide students and families in those neighbourhoods with a means of rescuing a school that had been struggling for years, state lawmakers established the programme in 2017 to encourage more publicly funded, privately run schools to open in areas where traditional public schools had been failing for years.
“We’re seeing a lot of vacant and underused buildings paid for by our taxpayer dollars,” Republican state Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka stated.
“We have operators that want to come in and give the best education to those who are in schools that haven’t been getting the greatest education,” she added, saying, “let’s give them the opportunity.”
For-profit corporate interests are frequently associated with charter schools. Some lawmakers and their families have financial ties to the school choice landscape that the Florida Legislature has been expanding for years.
According to a legislative staff analysis of an early draft of the bill, lawmakers are also changing the criteria for determining which schools qualify as academically struggling, which will “significantly increase the number of schools being designated as persistently low performing schools.”
According to the bill, schools of hope can now open inside public schools, even those with excellent academic records, if the campus has underutilised or empty space.
Democratic lawmakers were concerned about that clause at a time when enrolment in public districts of all sizes is dropping as more families in Florida opt for homeschooling, charter schools, or private education.
“It changes everything in the state for traditional public schools,” Democratic state Rep. Robin Bartleman stated.
Read Also: Judge Sides With Trans, Nonbinary Individuals in Passport Gender Marker Case
She questioned her Republican colleagues, “Why are you messing with schools that are working? This is a sin.”
By submitting an application to a public college or university—many of which are now run by former Republican lawmakers—charter school operators can also circumvent local school districts thanks to Florida’s measure.
The Republican-controlled Statehouse in Tennessee approved a bypass bill this year that would allow charter school applicants to submit a direct application to a state commission in the event that a local school board rejects their application three times in a three-year period.
There has been a persistent effort to find ways for operators to apply to the state because Republican leaders there have long perceived that many local school boards are antagonistic to prospective charter school operators.
In recent years, Florida lawmakers have expanded the state’s voucher programme to allow all K-12 students to be eligible for taxpayer-funded scholarships, regardless of household income, making it easier than ever for families to drop out of public schools.
