Bill Text: FL S1028 | 2021 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Education
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2021-06-02 - Chapter No. 2021-35, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HB 845 (Ch. 2021-217), CS/HB 1159 (Ch. 2021-228), CS/CS/SB 52 (Ch. 2021-160), CS/CS/SB 366 (Ch. 2021-162) [S1028 Detail]
Download: Florida-2021-S1028-Enrolled.html
ENROLLED 2021 Legislature CS for CS for SB 1028, 2nd Engrossed 20211028er 1 2 An act relating to education; amending s. 1001.43, 3 F.S.; authorizing members of certain committees of a 4 district school board to attend meetings in person or 5 through the use of telecommunications networks; 6 amending s. 1002.32, F.S.; providing that the 7 limitation on lab schools does not apply to a school 8 serving a military installation; amending s. 1002.321, 9 F.S.; conforming a provision to changes made by the 10 act; amending s. 1002.33, F.S.; authorizing state 11 universities and Florida College System institutions 12 to solicit applications and sponsor charter schools 13 under certain circumstances; prohibiting certain 14 charter schools from being sponsored by a Florida 15 College System institution until such charter schools’ 16 existing charter expires; authorizing a state 17 university or Florida College System institution to, 18 at its discretion, deny an application for a charter 19 school; revising the contents of an annual report that 20 charter school sponsors must provide to the Department 21 of Education; revising the date by which the 22 department must post a specified annual report; 23 revising provisions relating to Florida College System 24 institutions that are operating charter schools; 25 prohibiting certain interlocal agreements; requiring 26 the board of trustees of a state university or Florida 27 College System institution that is sponsoring a 28 charter school to serve as the local educational 29 agency for such school; prohibiting certain charter 30 school students from being included in specified 31 school district grade calculations; requiring the 32 department to develop a sponsor evaluation framework; 33 providing requirements for the framework; requiring 34 the department to compile results in a specified 35 manner; deleting obsolete language; revising 36 requirements for the charter school application 37 process; requiring certain school districts to reduce 38 administrative fees withheld; requiring such school 39 districts to file monthly reports; authorizing school 40 districts to resume withholding the full amount of 41 administrative fees under specified circumstance; 42 authorizing certain charter schools to recover 43 attorney fees and costs; requiring the State Board of 44 Education to withhold state funds from a district 45 school board that is in violation of a state board 46 decision on a charter school; authorizing parties to 47 appeal without first mediating in certain 48 circumstances; providing that certain changes to 49 curriculum are deemed approved; providing an 50 exception; revising the circumstances in which a 51 charter may be immediately terminated; providing that 52 certain information must be provided to specified 53 entities upon immediate termination of a charter; 54 authorizing the award of specified fees and costs in 55 certain circumstances; authorizing a sponsor to seek 56 an injunction in certain circumstances; revising 57 provisions related to sponsor assumption of operation; 58 revising the student populations for which a charter 59 school is authorized to limit the enrollment process; 60 providing a calculation for the operational funding 61 for a charter school sponsored by a state university 62 or Florida College System institution; requiring the 63 department to develop a tool for state universities 64 and Florida College System institutions for specified 65 purposes relating to certain funding calculations; 66 providing that such funding must be appropriated to 67 the charter school; providing for capital outlay 68 funding for such schools; authorizing a sponsor to 69 withhold an administrative fee for the provision of 70 certain services to an exceptional student education 71 center that meets specified requirements; conforming 72 provisions to changes made by the act; amending s. 73 1002.331, F.S.; revising requirements for a charter 74 school to be a high-performing charter school; 75 revising a limitation on the expansion of high 76 performing charter schools; revising provisions 77 relating to the opening of additional high-performing 78 charter schools; amending s. 1002.333, F.S.; revising 79 the definition of the term “persistently low 80 performing school”; providing that certain nonprofit 81 entities may be designated as a local education 82 agency; providing that certain entities report 83 students to the department in a specified manner; 84 specifying reporting provisions that apply only to 85 certain schools of hope; providing that schools of 86 hope may comply with certain financial reporting in a 87 specified manner; revising the manner in which 88 underused, vacant, or surplus facilities owned or 89 operated by school districts are identified; 90 authorizing a nonprofit entity designated as a local 91 education agency to use any capital assets identified 92 in a certain annual financial audit for another school 93 of hope operated by the local education agency within 94 the same district; amending s. 1002.45, F.S.; 95 authorizing a virtual charter school to provide part 96 time virtual instruction; amending s. 1002.455, F.S.; 97 conforming a provision to changes made by the act; 98 creating s. 1003.225, F.S.; defining the term “water 99 safety”; requiring public schools to provide specified 100 information to certain parents or students; amending 101 s. 1003.493, F.S.; authorizing a charter school to 102 offer a career and professional academy; amending s. 103 1003.621, F.S.; authorizing academically high 104 performing school districts to provide up to 2 days of 105 virtual instruction; specifying requirements for such 106 virtual instruction to comply with a specified 107 provision; creating s. 1006.205, F.S.; providing a 108 short title; providing legislative intent; requiring 109 that certain athletic teams or sports sponsored by 110 certain educational institutions be designated on the 111 basis of students’ biological sex at birth; 112 authorizing athletic teams or sports designated for 113 male students to be open to female students; 114 prohibiting athletic teams or sports designated for 115 female students to be open to male students; providing 116 civil remedies for students and educational 117 institutions for certain violations of this section; 118 providing a statute of limitation; providing for 119 damages; amending s. 1008.3415, F.S.; requiring the 120 Commissioner of Education, upon request by a charter 121 school that meets specified criteria, to provide a 122 letter to the charter school and the charter school’s 123 sponsor authorizing the charter school to replicate 124 its educational program; amending s. 1009.30, F.S.; 125 specifying reimbursement for specified educational 126 institutions; amending s. 1009.52, F.S.; revising the 127 eligibility requirements for Florida postsecondary 128 student assistance grants; amending s. 1012.32, F.S.; 129 providing an alternate screening method for specified 130 persons employed by certain schools of hope or serving 131 on certain school of hope governing boards; amending 132 s. 1013.62, F.S.; expanding eligibility to receive 133 capital outlay funds to schools of hope operated by a 134 hope operator; authorizing a parent or guardian to 135 request that his or her K-5 student be retained in a 136 grade level for academic reasons for a specified 137 school year; requiring that such a request be 138 submitted in a specified manner; requiring school 139 principals to consider such requests if they are 140 timely received; authorizing school principals to 141 consider requests that are not timely received; 142 requiring a school principal who considers a request 143 for retention to inform the student’s teachers of the 144 request and collaboratively discuss with the parent or 145 guardian any basis for agreement or disagreement with 146 the request; requiring such discussion to disclose 147 that retention may impact the student’s eligibility to 148 participate in high school interscholastic or 149 intrascholastic sports; authorizing the principal, 150 teachers, and parent or guardian to collaborate to 151 develop a customized 1-year education plan for the 152 student in lieu of retaining the student; requiring a 153 parent’s or guardian’s decision regarding retention to 154 control; requiring the individual education plan (IEP) 155 team for a retained student to review and revise the 156 student’s IEP, as appropriate; requiring school 157 districts to report certain data to the Department of 158 Education by a specified date; providing for 159 severability; amending chapter 2020-28, Laws of 160 Florida; delaying the effective date of provisions 161 governing intercollegiate athlete compensation and 162 rights; providing a contingent effect; providing 163 effective dates. 164 165 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 166 167 Section 1. Subsection (10) of section 1001.43, Florida 168 Statutes, is amended to read: 169 1001.43 Supplemental powers and duties of district school 170 board.—The district school board may exercise the following 171 supplemental powers and duties as authorized by this code or 172 State Board of Education rule. 173 (10) DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD GOVERNANCE AND OPERATIONS.—The 174 district school board may adopt policies and procedures 175 necessary for the daily business operation of the district 176 school board, including, but not limited to, the provision of 177 legal services for the district school board; conducting a 178 district legislative program; district school board member 179 participation at conferences, conventions, and workshops, 180 including member compensation and reimbursement for expenses; 181 district school board policy development, adoption, and repeal; 182 district school board meeting procedures, including 183 participation via telecommunications networks, use of technology 184 at meetings, and presentations by nondistrict personnel; citizen 185 communications with the district school board and with 186 individual district school board members; collaboration with 187 local government and other entities as required by law; and 188 organization of the district school board, including special 189 committees and advisory committees. Members of special 190 committees and advisory committees may attend meetings in person 191 or through the use of telecommunications networks such as 192 telephonic and video conferencing. 193 Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 1002.32, Florida 194 Statutes, is amended to read: 195 1002.32 Developmental research (laboratory) schools.— 196 (2) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a category of 197 public schools to be known as developmental research 198 (laboratory) schools (lab schools). Each lab school shall 199 provide sequential instruction and shall be affiliated with the 200 college of education within the state university of closest 201 geographic proximity. A lab school to which a charter has been 202 issued under s. 1002.33(5)(a)2. must be affiliated with the 203 college of education within the state university that issued the 204 charter, but is not subject to the requirement that the state 205 university be of closest geographic proximity. For the purpose 206 of state funding, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical 207 University, Florida Atlantic University, Florida State 208 University, the University of Florida, and other universities 209 approved by the State Board of Education and the Legislature are 210 authorized to sponsor a lab school. The limitation of one lab 211 school per university shall not apply to the following 212 legislatively allowed charter lab schoolsauthorized prior to213June 1, 2003: Florida State University Charter Lab K-12 School 214 in Broward County, Florida Atlantic University Charter Lab K-12 2159-12 HighSchool in Palm Beach County, and Florida Atlantic 216 University Charter Lab K-12 School in St. Lucie County. The 217 limitation of one lab school per university does not apply to a 218 university that establishes a lab school to serve families of a 219 military installation that is within the same county as a branch 220 campus that offers programs from the university’s college of 221 education. 222 Section 3. Paragraph (d) of subsection (4) of section 223 1002.321, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 224 1002.321 Digital learning.— 225 (4) CUSTOMIZED AND ACCELERATED LEARNING.—A school district 226 must establish multiple opportunities for student participation 227 in part-time and full-time kindergarten through grade 12 virtual 228 instruction. Options include, but are not limited to: 229 (d)Full-timeVirtual charter school instruction authorized 230 under s. 1002.33. 231 Section 4. Subsection (1), paragraph (c) of subsection (2), 232 subsection (5), paragraphs (b) and (d) of subsection (6), 233 paragraphs (a), (b), and (d) of subsection (7), paragraphs (c), 234 (d), and (e) of subsection (8), paragraphs (g) and (n) of 235 subsection (9), paragraphs (d) and (e) of subsection (10), 236 subsection (14), paragraph (c) of subsection (15), subsection 237 (17), paragraph (e) of subsection (18), subsections (20) and 238 (21), paragraph (a) of subsection (25), and subsection (28) of 239 section 1002.33, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 240 1002.33 Charter schools.— 241 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—All charter schools in Florida are 242 public schools and shall be part of the state’s program of 243 public education. A charter school may be formed by creating a 244 new school or converting an existing public school to charter 245 status. A charter school may operate a virtual charter school 246 pursuant to s. 1002.45(1)(d) to providefull-timeonline 247 instruction to students, pursuant to s. 1002.455, in 248 kindergarten through grade 12. The school district in which the 249 student enrolls in the virtual charter school shall report the 250 student for funding pursuant to s. 1011.61(1)(c)1.b.(VI), and 251 the home school district shall not report the student for 252 funding. An existing charter school that is seeking to become a 253 virtual charter school must amend its charter or submit a new 254 application pursuant to subsection (6) to become a virtual 255 charter school. A virtual charter school is subject to the 256 requirements of this section; however, a virtual charter school 257 is exempt from subsections (18) and (19), paragraph (20)(c), and 258 s. 1003.03. A public school may not use the term charter in its 259 name unless it has been approved under this section. 260 (2) GUIDING PRINCIPLES; PURPOSE.— 261 (c) Charter schools may fulfill the following purposes: 262 1. Create innovative measurement tools. 263 2. Provide rigorous competition within the public school 264 systemdistrictto stimulate continual improvement in all public 265 schools. 266 3. Expand the capacity of the public school system. 267 4. Mitigate the educational impact created by the 268 development of new residential dwelling units. 269 5. Create new professional opportunities for teachers, 270 including ownership of the learning program at the school site. 271 (5) SPONSOR; DUTIES.— 272 (a) Sponsoring entities.— 273 1. A district school board may sponsor a charter school in 274 the county over which the district school board has 275 jurisdiction. 276 2. A state university may grant a charter to a lab school 277 created under s. 1002.32 and shall be considered to be the 278 school’s sponsor. Such school shall be considered a charter lab 279 school. 280 3. Because needs relating to educational capacity, 281 workforce qualifications, and career education opportunities are 282 constantly changing and extend beyond school district 283 boundaries: 284 a. A state university may, upon approval by the Department 285 of Education, solicit applications and sponsor a charter school 286 to meet regional education or workforce demands by serving 287 students from multiple school districts. 288 b. A Florida College System institution may, upon approval 289 by the Department of Education, solicit applications and sponsor 290 a charter school in any county within its service area to meet 291 workforce demands and may offer postsecondary programs leading 292 to industry certifications to eligible charter school students. 293 A charter school established under subparagraph (b)4. may not be 294 sponsored by a Florida College System institution until its 295 existing charter with the school district expires as provided 296 under subsection (7). 297 c. Notwithstanding paragraph (6)(b), a state university or 298 Florida College System institution may, at its discretion, deny 299 an application for a charter school. 300 (b) Sponsor duties.— 301 1.a. The sponsor shall monitor and review the charter 302 school in its progress toward the goals established in the 303 charter. 304 b. The sponsor shall monitor the revenues and expenditures 305 of the charter school and perform the duties provided in s. 306 1002.345. 307 c. The sponsor may approve a charter for a charter school 308 before the applicant has identified space, equipment, or 309 personnel, if the applicant indicates approval is necessary for 310 it to raise working funds. 311 d. The sponsor shall not apply its policies to a charter 312 school unless mutually agreed to by both the sponsor and the 313 charter school. If the sponsor subsequently amends any agreed 314 upon sponsor policy, the version of the policy in effect at the 315 time of the execution of the charter, or any subsequent 316 modification thereof, shall remain in effect and the sponsor may 317 not hold the charter school responsible for any provision of a 318 newly revised policy until the revised policy is mutually agreed 319 upon. 320 e. The sponsor shall ensure that the charter is innovative 321 and consistent with the state education goals established by s. 322 1000.03(5). 323 f. The sponsor shall ensure that the charter school 324 participates in the state’s education accountability system. If 325 a charter school falls short of performance measures included in 326 the approved charter, the sponsor shall report such shortcomings 327 to the Department of Education. 328 g. The sponsor shall not be liable for civil damages under 329 state law for personal injury, property damage, or death 330 resulting from an act or omission of an officer, employee, 331 agent, or governing body of the charter school. 332 h. The sponsor shall not be liable for civil damages under 333 state law for any employment actions taken by an officer, 334 employee, agent, or governing body of the charter school. 335 i. The sponsor’s duties to monitor the charter school shall 336 not constitute the basis for a private cause of action. 337 j. The sponsor shall not impose additional reporting 338 requirements on a charter school without providing reasonable 339 and specific justification in writing to the charter school. 340 k. The sponsor shall submit an annual report to the 341 Department of Education in a web-based format to be determined 342 by the department. 343 (I) The report shall include the following information: 344 (A)The number of draft applications received on or before345May 1 and each applicant’s contact information.346(B)The number offinalapplications received during the 347 school year and up toon or beforeAugust 1 and each applicant’s 348 contact information. 349 (B)(C)The date each application was approved, denied, or 350 withdrawn. 351 (C)(D)The date each final contract was executed. 352 (II) Annually, by November 1Beginning August 31, 2013, and353each year thereafter, the sponsor shall submit to the department 354 the information for the applications submitted the previous 355 year. 356 (III) The department shall compile an annual report, by 357 sponsordistrict, and post the report on its website by January 358 15November 1of each year. 359 2. Immunity for the sponsor of a charter school under 360 subparagraph 1. applies only with respect to acts or omissions 361 not under the sponsor’s direct authority as described in this 362 section. 363 3. This paragraph does not waive a sponsor’sdistrict364school board’ssovereign immunity. 365 4. A Florida College System institution may work with the 366 school district or school districts in its designated service 367 area to develop charter schools that offer secondary education. 368 These charter schools must include an option for students to 369 receive an associate degree upon high school graduation. If a 370 Florida College System institution operates an approved teacher 371 preparation program under s. 1004.04 or s. 1004.85, the 372 institution may operateno more than onecharter schoolsschool373 that serveservesstudents in kindergarten through grade 12 in 374 any school district within the service area of the institution. 375In kindergarten through grade 8, the charter school shall376implement innovative blended learning instructional models in377which, for a given course, a student learns in part through378online delivery of content and instruction with some element of379student control over time, place, path, or pace and in part at a380supervised brick-and-mortar location away from home. A student381in a blended learning course must be a full-time student of the382charter school and receive the online instruction in a classroom383setting at the charter school.District school boards shall 384 cooperate with and assist the Florida College System institution 385 on the charter application. Florida College System institution 386 applications for charter schools are not subject to the time 387 deadlines outlined in subsection (6) and may be approved by the 388 district school board at any time during the year. Florida 389 College System institutions may not report FTE for any students 390 participating under this subparagraph who receive FTE funding 391 through the Florida Education Finance Program. 392 5. For purposes of assisting the development of a charter 393 school, a school district may enter into nonexclusive interlocal 394 agreements with federal and state agencies, counties, 395 municipalities, and other governmental entities that operate 396 within the geographical borders of the school district to act on 397 behalf of such governmental entities in the inspection, 398 issuance, and other necessary activities for all necessary 399 permits, licenses, and other permissions that a charter school 400 needs in order for development, construction, or operation. A 401 charter school may use, but may not be required to use, a school 402 district for these services. The interlocal agreement must 403 include, but need not be limited to, the identification of fees 404 that charter schools will be charged for such services. The fees 405 must consist of the governmental entity’s fees plus a fee for 406 the school district to recover no more than actual costs for 407 providing such services. These services and fees are not 408 included within the services to be provided pursuant to 409 subsection (20). Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an 410 interlocal agreement between a school district and a federal or 411 state agency, county, municipality, or other governmental entity 412 which prohibits or limits the creation of a charter school 413 within the geographic borders of the school district is void and 414 unenforceable. 415 6. The board of trustees of a sponsoring state university 416 or Florida College System institution under paragraph (a) is the 417 local educational agency for all charter schools it sponsors for 418 purposes of receiving federal funds and accepts full 419 responsibility for all local educational agency requirements and 420 the schools for which it will perform local educational agency 421 responsibilities. A student enrolled in a charter school that is 422 sponsored by a state university or Florida College System 423 institution may not be included in the calculation of the school 424 district’s grade under s. 1008.34(5) for the school district in 425 which he or she resides. 426 (c) Sponsor accountability.— 427 1. The department shall, in collaboration with charter 428 school sponsors and charter school operators, develop a sponsor 429 evaluation framework that must address, at a minimum: 430 a. The sponsor’s strategic vision for charter school 431 authorization and the sponsor’s progress toward that vision. 432 b. The alignment of the sponsor’s policies and practices to 433 best practices for charter school authorization. 434 c. The academic and financial performance of all operating 435 charter schools overseen by the sponsor. 436 d. The status of charter schools authorized by the sponsor, 437 including approved, operating, and closed schools. 438 2. The department shall compile the results by sponsor and 439 include the results in the report required under sub-sub 440 subparagraph (b)1.k.(III). 441 (6) APPLICATION PROCESS AND REVIEW.—Charter school 442 applications are subject to the following requirements: 443 (b) A sponsor shall receive and review all applications for 444 a charter school using the evaluation instrument developed by 445 the Department of Education.A sponsor shall receive and446consider charter school applications received on or before447August 1 of each calendar year for charter schools to be opened448at the beginning of the school district’s next school year, or449to be opened at a time agreed to by the applicant and the450sponsor. A sponsor may not refuse to receive a charter school451application submitted before August 1 and may receive an452application submitted later than August 1 if it chooses.453Beginning in 2018 and thereafter,A sponsor shall receive and 454 consider charter school applicationsreceived on or before455February 1 of each calendar yearfor charter schoolsto be456opened 18 months later at the beginning of theschool district’s457school year, orto be opened at a time determined by the 458 applicant.A sponsor may not refuse to receive a charter school459application submitted before February 1 and may receive an460application submitted later than February 1 if it chooses.A 461 sponsor may not charge an applicant for a charter any fee for 462 the processing or consideration of an application, and a sponsor 463 may not base its consideration or approval of a final 464 application upon the promise of future payment of any kind. 465 Before approving or denying any application, the sponsor shall 466 allow the applicant, upon receipt of written notification, at 467 least 7 calendar days to make technical or nonsubstantive 468 corrections and clarifications, including, but not limited to, 469 corrections of grammatical, typographical, and like errors or 470 missing signatures, if such errors are identified by the sponsor 471 as cause to deny the final application. 472 1. In order to facilitate an accurate budget projection 473 process, a sponsor shall be held harmless for FTE students who 474 are not included in the FTE projection due to approval of 475 charter school applications after the FTE projection deadline. 476 In a further effort to facilitate an accurate budget projection, 477 within 15 calendar days after receipt of a charter school 478 application, a sponsor shall report to the Department of 479 Education the name of the applicant entity, the proposed charter 480 school location, and its projected FTE. 481 2. In order to ensure fiscal responsibility, an application 482 for a charter school shall include a full accounting of expected 483 assets, a projection of expected sources and amounts of income, 484 including income derived from projected student enrollments and 485 from community support, and an expense projection that includes 486 full accounting of the costs of operation, including start-up 487 costs. 488 3.a. A sponsor shall by a majority vote approve or deny an 489 application no later than 90 calendar days after the application 490 is received, unless the sponsor and the applicant mutually agree 491 in writing to temporarily postpone the vote to a specific date, 492 at which time the sponsor shall by a majority vote approve or 493 deny the application. If the sponsor fails to act on the 494 application, an applicant may appeal to the State Board of 495 Education as provided in paragraph (c). If an application is 496 denied, the sponsor shall, within 10 calendar days after such 497 denial, articulate in writing the specific reasons, based upon 498 good cause, supporting its denial of the application and shall 499 provide the letter of denial and supporting documentation to the 500 applicant and to the Department of Education. 501 b. An application submitted by a high-performing charter 502 school identified pursuant to s. 1002.331 or a high-performing 503 charter school system identified pursuant to s. 1002.332 may be 504 denied by the sponsor only if the sponsor demonstrates by clear 505 and convincing evidence that: 506 (I) The application of a high-performing charter school 507 does not materially comply with the requirements in paragraph 508 (a) or, for a high-performing charter school system, the 509 application does not materially comply with s. 1002.332(2)(b); 510 (II) The charter school proposed in the application does 511 not materially comply with the requirements in paragraphs 512 (9)(a)-(f); 513 (III) The proposed charter school’s educational program 514 does not substantially replicate that of the applicant or one of 515 the applicant’s high-performing charter schools; 516 (IV) The applicant has made a material misrepresentation or 517 false statement or concealed an essential or material fact 518 during the application process; or 519 (V) The proposed charter school’s educational program and 520 financial management practices do not materially comply with the 521 requirements of this section. 522 523 Material noncompliance is a failure to follow requirements or a 524 violation of prohibitions applicable to charter school 525 applications, which failure is quantitatively or qualitatively 526 significant either individually or when aggregated with other 527 noncompliance. An applicant is considered to be replicating a 528 high-performing charter school if the proposed school is 529 substantially similar to at least one of the applicant’s high 530 performing charter schools and the organization or individuals 531 involved in the establishment and operation of the proposed 532 school are significantly involved in the operation of replicated 533 schools. 534 c. If the sponsor denies an application submitted by a 535 high-performing charter school or a high-performing charter 536 school system, the sponsor must, within 10 calendar days after 537 such denial, state in writing the specific reasons, based upon 538 the criteria in sub-subparagraph b., supporting its denial of 539 the application and must provide the letter of denial and 540 supporting documentation to the applicant and to the Department 541 of Education. The applicant may appeal the sponsor’s denial of 542 the application in accordance with paragraph (c). 543 4. For budget projection purposes, the sponsor shall report 544 to the Department of Education the approval or denial of an 545 application within 10 calendar days after such approval or 546 denial. In the event of approval, the report to the Department 547 of Education shall include the final projected FTE for the 548 approved charter school. 549 5.Upon approval of an application, the initial startup550shall commence with the beginning of the public school calendar551for the district in which the charter is granted.A charter 552 school may defer the opening of the school’s operations for up 553 to 3 years to provide time for adequate facility planning. The 554 charter school must provide written notice of such intent to the 555 sponsor and the parents of enrolled students at least 30 556 calendar days before the first day of school. 557 (d)1. The sponsor shall act upon the decision of the State 558 Board of Education within 30 calendar days after it is received. 559 The State Board of Education’s decision is a final action 560 subject to judicial review in the district court of appeal. A 561 prevailing party may file an action with the Division of 562 Administrative Hearings to recover reasonable attorney fees and 563 costs incurred during the denial of the application and any 564 appeals. 565 2. A school district that fails to implement the decision 566 affirmed by a district court of appeal shall reduce the 567 administrative fees withheld pursuant to subsection (20) to 1 568 percent for all charter schools operating in the school 569 district. Such school districts shall file a monthly report 570 detailing the reduction in the amount of administrative fees 571 withheld. Upon execution of the charter, the sponsor may resume 572 withholding the full amount of administrative fees but may not 573 recover any fees that would have otherwise accrued during the 574 period of noncompliance. Any charter school that had 575 administrative fees withheld in violation of this paragraph may 576 recover attorney fees and costs to enforce the requirements of 577 this paragraph. 578 (7) CHARTER.—The terms and conditions for the operation of 579 a charter school shall be set forth by the sponsor and the 580 applicant in a written contractual agreement, called a charter. 581 The sponsor and the governing board of the charter school shall 582 use the standard charter contract pursuant to subsection (21), 583 which shall incorporate the approved application and any addenda 584 approved with the application. Any term or condition of a 585 proposed charter contract that differs from the standard charter 586 contract adopted by rule of the State Board of Education shall 587 be presumed a limitation on charter school flexibility. The 588 sponsor may not impose unreasonable rules or regulations that 589 violate the intent of giving charter schools greater flexibility 590 to meet educational goals. The charter shall be signed by the 591 governing board of the charter school and the sponsor, following 592 a public hearing to ensure community input. 593 (a) The charter shall address and criteria for approval of 594 the charter shall be based on: 595 1. The school’s mission, the students to be served, and the 596 ages and grades to be included. 597 2. The focus of the curriculum, the instructional methods 598 to be used, any distinctive instructional techniques to be 599 employed, and identification and acquisition of appropriate 600 technologies needed to improve educational and administrative 601 performance which include a means for promoting safe, ethical, 602 and appropriate uses of technology which comply with legal and 603 professional standards. 604 a. The charter shall ensure that reading is a primary focus 605 of the curriculum and that resources are provided to identify 606 and provide specialized instruction for students who are reading 607 below grade level. The curriculum and instructional strategies 608 for reading must be consistent with the Next Generation Sunshine 609 State Standards and grounded in scientifically based reading 610 research. 611 b. In order to provide students with access to diverse 612 instructional delivery models, to facilitate the integration of 613 technology within traditional classroom instruction, and to 614 provide students with the skills they need to compete in the 615 21st century economy, the Legislature encourages instructional 616 methods for blended learning courses consisting of both 617 traditional classroom and online instructional techniques. 618 Charter schools may implement blended learning courses which 619 combine traditional classroom instruction and virtual 620 instruction. Students in a blended learning course must be full 621 time students of the charter school pursuant to s. 622 1011.61(1)(a)1. Instructional personnel certified pursuant to s. 623 1012.55 who provide virtual instruction for blended learning 624 courses may be employees of the charter school or may be under 625 contract to provide instructional services to charter school 626 students. At a minimum, such instructional personnel must hold 627 an active state or school district adjunct certification under 628 s. 1012.57 for the subject area of the blended learning course. 629 The funding and performance accountability requirements for 630 blended learning courses are the same as those for traditional 631 courses. 632 3. The current incoming baseline standard of student 633 academic achievement, the outcomes to be achieved, and the 634 method of measurement that will be used. The criteria listed in 635 this subparagraph shall include a detailed description of: 636 a. How the baseline student academic achievement levels and 637 prior rates of academic progress will be established. 638 b. How these baseline rates will be compared to rates of 639 academic progress achieved by these same students while 640 attending the charter school. 641 c. To the extent possible, how these rates of progress will 642 be evaluated and compared with rates of progress of other 643 closely comparable student populations. 644 645 AThedistrict school board is required to provide academic 646 student performance data to charter schools for each of their 647 students coming from the district school system, as well as 648 rates of academic progress of comparable student populations in 649 the district school system. 650 4. The methods used to identify the educational strengths 651 and needs of students and how well educational goals and 652 performance standards are met by students attending the charter 653 school. The methods shall provide a means for the charter school 654 to ensure accountability to its constituents by analyzing 655 student performance data and by evaluating the effectiveness and 656 efficiency of its major educational programs. Students in 657 charter schools shall, at a minimum, participate in the 658 statewide assessment program created under s. 1008.22. 659 5. In secondary charter schools, a method for determining 660 that a student has satisfied the requirements for graduation in 661 s. 1002.3105(5), s. 1003.4281, or s. 1003.4282. 662 6. A method for resolving conflicts between the governing 663 board of the charter school and the sponsor. 664 7. The admissions procedures and dismissal procedures, 665 including the school’s code of student conduct. Admission or 666 dismissal must not be based on a student’s academic performance. 667 8. The ways by which the school will achieve a 668 racial/ethnic balance reflective of the community it serves or 669 within the racial/ethnic range of other nearby public schoolsin670the same school district. 671 9. The financial and administrative management of the 672 school, including a reasonable demonstration of the professional 673 experience or competence of those individuals or organizations 674 applying to operate the charter school or those hired or 675 retained to perform such professional services and the 676 description of clearly delineated responsibilities and the 677 policies and practices needed to effectively manage the charter 678 school. A description of internal audit procedures and 679 establishment of controls to ensure that financial resources are 680 properly managed must be included. Both public sector and 681 private sector professional experience shall be equally valid in 682 such a consideration. 683 10. The asset and liability projections required in the 684 application which are incorporated into the charter and shall be 685 compared with information provided in the annual report of the 686 charter school. 687 11. A description of procedures that identify various risks 688 and provide for a comprehensive approach to reduce the impact of 689 losses; plans to ensure the safety and security of students and 690 staff; plans to identify, minimize, and protect others from 691 violent or disruptive student behavior; and the manner in which 692 the school will be insured, including whether or not the school 693 will be required to have liability insurance, and, if so, the 694 terms and conditions thereof and the amounts of coverage. 695 12. The term of the charter which shall provide for 696 cancellation of the charter if insufficient progress has been 697 made in attaining the student achievement objectives of the 698 charter and if it is not likely that such objectives can be 699 achieved before expiration of the charter. The initial term of a 700 charter shall be for 5 years, excluding 2 planning years. In 701 order to facilitate access to long-term financial resources for 702 charter school construction, charter schools that are operated 703 by a municipality or other public entity as provided by law are 704 eligible for up to a 15-year charter, subject to approval by the 705 sponsordistrict school board. A charter lab school is eligible 706 for a charter for a term of up to 15 years. In addition, to 707 facilitate access to long-term financial resources for charter 708 school construction, charter schools that are operated by a 709 private, not-for-profit, s. 501(c)(3) status corporation are 710 eligible for up to a 15-year charter, subject to approval by the 711 sponsordistrict school board. Such long-term charters remain 712 subject to annual review and may be terminated during the term 713 of the charter, but only according to the provisions set forth 714 in subsection (8). 715 13. The facilities to be used and their location. The 716 sponsor may not require a charter school to have a certificate 717 of occupancy or a temporary certificate of occupancy for such a 718 facility earlier than 15 calendar days before the first day of 719 school. 720 14. The qualifications to be required of the teachers and 721 the potential strategies used to recruit, hire, train, and 722 retain qualified staff to achieve best value. 723 15. The governance structure of the school, including the 724 status of the charter school as a public or private employer as 725 required in paragraph (12)(i). 726 16. A timetable for implementing the charter which 727 addresses the implementation of each element thereof and the 728 date by which the charter shall be awarded in order to meet this 729 timetable. 730 17. In the case of an existing public school that is being 731 converted to charter status, alternative arrangements for 732 current students who choose not to attend the charter school and 733 for current teachers who choose not to teach in the charter 734 school after conversion in accordance with the existing 735 collective bargaining agreement or district school board rule in 736 the absence of a collective bargaining agreement. However, 737 alternative arrangements shall not be required for current 738 teachers who choose not to teach in a charter lab school, except 739 as authorized by the employment policies of the state university 740 which grants the charter to the lab school. 741 18. Full disclosure of the identity of all relatives 742 employed by the charter school who are related to the charter 743 school owner, president, chairperson of the governing board of 744 directors, superintendent, governing board member, principal, 745 assistant principal, or any other person employed by the charter 746 school who has equivalent decisionmaking authority. For the 747 purpose of this subparagraph, the term “relative” means father, 748 mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, first 749 cousin, nephew, niece, husband, wife, father-in-law, mother-in 750 law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, 751 stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother, 752 stepsister, half brother, or half sister. 753 19. Implementation of the activities authorized under s. 754 1002.331 by the charter school when it satisfies the eligibility 755 requirements for a high-performing charter school. A high 756 performing charter school shall notify its sponsor in writing by 757 March 1 if it intends to increase enrollment or expand grade 758 levels the following school year. The written notice shall 759 specify the amount of the enrollment increase and the grade 760 levels that will be added, as applicable. 761 (b) The sponsor has 30 days after approval of the 762 application to provide an initial proposed charter contract to 763 the charter school. The applicant and the sponsor have 40 days 764 thereafter to negotiate and notice the charter contract for 765 final approval by the sponsor unless both parties agree to an 766 extension. The proposed charter contract shall be provided to 767 the charter school at least 7 calendar days before the date of 768 the meeting at which the charter is scheduled to be voted upon 769 by the sponsor. The Department of Education shall provide 770 mediation services for any dispute regarding this section 771 subsequent to the approval of a charter application and for any 772 dispute relating to the approved charter, except a dispute 773 regarding a charter school application denial. If either the 774 charter school or the sponsor indicates in writing that the 775 party does not desire to settle any dispute arising under this 776 section through mediation procedures offered by the Department 777 of Education, a charter school may immediately appeal any formal 778 or informal decision by the sponsor to an administrative law 779 judge appointed by the Division of Administrative Hearings. If 780 the Commissioner of Education determines that the dispute cannot 781 be settled through mediation, the dispute may also be appealed 782 to an administrative law judge appointed by the Division of 783 Administrative Hearings. The administrative law judge has final 784 order authority to rule on issues of equitable treatment of the 785 charter school as a public school, whether proposed provisions 786 of the charter violate the intended flexibility granted charter 787 schools by statute, or any other matter regarding this section, 788 except a dispute regarding charter school application denial, a 789 charter termination, or a charter nonrenewal. The administrative 790 law judge shall award the prevailing party reasonable attorney 791 fees and costs incurred during the mediation process, 792 administrative proceeding, and any appeals, to be paid by the 793 party whom the administrative law judge rules against. 794 (d) A charter may be modified during its initial term or 795 any renewal term upon the recommendation of the sponsor or the 796 charter school’s governing board and the approval of both 797 parties to the agreement. Changes to curriculum which are 798 consistent with state standards shall be deemed approved unless 799 the sponsor and the Department of Education determine in writing 800 that the curriculum is inconsistent with state standards. 801 Modification during any term may include, but is not limited to, 802 consolidation of multiple charters into a single charter if the 803 charters are operated under the same governing board, regardless 804 of the renewal cycle. A charter school that is not subject to a 805 school improvement plan and that closes as part of a 806 consolidation shall be reported by the sponsorschool district807 as a consolidation. 808 (8) CAUSES FOR NONRENEWAL OR TERMINATION OF CHARTER.— 809 (c) A charter may be terminated immediately if the sponsor 810 sets forth in writing the particular facts and circumstances 811 demonstratingindicatingthat an immediate and serious danger to 812 the health, safety, or welfare of the charter school’s students 813 exists, that the immediate and serious danger is likely to 814 continue, and that an immediate termination of the charter is 815 necessary. The sponsor’s determination is subject to the 816 procedures set forth in paragraph (b), except that the hearing 817 may take place after the charter has been terminated. The 818 sponsor shall notify in writing the charter school’s governing 819 board, the charter school principal, and the department of the 820 facts and circumstances supporting the immediate terminationif821a charter is terminated immediately. The sponsor shall clearly 822 identify the specific issues that resulted in the immediate 823 termination and provide evidence of prior notification of issues 824 resulting in the immediate termination, if applicablewhen825appropriate. Upon receiving written notice from the sponsor, the 826 charter school’s governing board has 10 calendar days to request 827 a hearing. A requested hearing must be expedited and the final 828 order must be issued within 60 days after the date of request. 829 The administrative law judge shall award reasonable attorney 830 fees and costs to the prevailing party of any injunction, 831 administrative proceeding, or appeal. The sponsor may seek an 832 injunction in the circuit court in which the charter school is 833 located to enjoin continued operation of the charter school if 834shall assume operation of the charter school throughout the835pendency of the hearing under paragraph (b) unless thecontinued 836 operationof the charter schoolwould materially threaten the 837 health, safety, or welfare of the students.Failure by the838sponsor to assume and continue operation of the charter school839shall result in the awarding of reasonable costs and attorney’s840fees to the charter school if the charter school prevails on841appeal.842 (d) When a charter is not renewed or is terminated, the 843 school shall be dissolved under the provisions of law under 844 which the school was organized, and any unencumbered public 845 funds, except for capital outlay funds and federal charter 846 school program grant funds, from the charter school shall revert 847 to the sponsor. Capital outlay funds provided pursuant to s. 848 1013.62 and federal charter school program grant funds that are 849 unencumbered shall revert to the department to be redistributed 850 among eligible charter schools. In the event a charter school is 851 dissolved or is otherwise terminated, all sponsordistrict852school boardproperty and improvements, furnishings, and 853 equipment purchased with public funds shall automatically revert 854 to full ownership by the sponsordistrict school board, subject 855 to complete satisfaction of any lawful liens or encumbrances. 856 Any unencumbered public funds from the charter school,district857school boardproperty and improvements, furnishings, and 858 equipment purchased with public funds, or financial or other 859 records pertaining to the charter school, in the possession of 860 any person, entity, or holding company, other than the charter 861 school, shall be held in trust upon the sponsor’sdistrict862school board’srequest, until any appeal status is resolved. 863 (e) If a charter is not renewed or is terminated, the 864 charter school is responsible for all debts of the charter 865 school. The sponsordistrictmay not assume the debt from any 866 contract made between the governing body of the school and a 867 third party, except for a debt that is previously detailed and 868 agreed upon in writing by both the sponsordistrictand the 869 governing body of the school and that may not reasonably be 870 assumed to have been satisfied by the sponsordistrict. 871 (9) CHARTER SCHOOL REQUIREMENTS.— 872 (g)1. In order to provide financial information that is 873 comparable to that reported for other public schools, charter 874 schools are to maintain all financial records that constitute 875 their accounting system: 876 a. In accordance with the accounts and codes prescribed in 877 the most recent issuance of the publication titled “Financial 878 and Program Cost Accounting and Reporting for Florida Schools”; 879 or 880 b. At the discretion of the charter school’s governing 881 board, a charter school may elect to follow generally accepted 882 accounting standards for not-for-profit organizations, but must 883 reformat this information for reporting according to this 884 paragraph. 885 2. Charter schools shall provide annual financial report 886 and program cost report information in the state-required 887 formats for inclusion in sponsordistrictreporting in 888 compliance with s. 1011.60(1). Charter schools that are operated 889 by a municipality or are a component unit of a parent nonprofit 890 organization may use the accounting system of the municipality 891 or the parent but must reformat this information for reporting 892 according to this paragraph. 893 3. A charter school shall, upon approval of the charter 894 contract, provide the sponsor with a concise, uniform, monthly 895 financial statement summary sheet that contains a balance sheet 896 and a statement of revenue, expenditures, and changes in fund 897 balance. The balance sheet and the statement of revenue, 898 expenditures, and changes in fund balance shall be in the 899 governmental funds format prescribed by the Governmental 900 Accounting Standards Board. A high-performing charter school 901 pursuant to s. 1002.331 may provide a quarterly financial 902 statement in the same format and requirements as the uniform 903 monthly financial statement summary sheet. The sponsor shall 904 review each monthly or quarterly financial statement to identify 905 the existence of any conditions identified in s. 1002.345(1)(a). 906 4. A charter school shall maintain and provide financial 907 information as required in this paragraph. The financial 908 statement required in subparagraph 3. must be in a form 909 prescribed by the Department of Education. 910 (n)1. The director and a representative of the governing 911 board of a charter school that has earned a grade of “D” or “F” 912 pursuant to s. 1008.34 shall appear before the sponsor to 913 present information concerning each contract component having 914 noted deficiencies. The director and a representative of the 915 governing board shall submit to the sponsor for approval a 916 school improvement plan to raise student performance. Upon 917 approval by the sponsor, the charter school shall begin 918 implementation of the school improvement plan. The department 919 shall offer technical assistance and training to the charter 920 school and its governing board and establish guidelines for 921 developing, submitting, and approving such plans. 922 2.a. If a charter school earns three consecutive grades 923 below a “C,” the charter school governing board shall choose one 924 of the following corrective actions: 925 (I) Contract for educational services to be provided 926 directly to students, instructional personnel, and school 927 administrators, as prescribed in state board rule; 928 (II) Contract with an outside entity that has a 929 demonstrated record of effectiveness to operate the school; 930 (III) Reorganize the school under a new director or 931 principal who is authorized to hire new staff; or 932 (IV) Voluntarily close the charter school. 933 b. The charter school must implement the corrective action 934 in the school year following receipt of a third consecutive 935 grade below a “C.” 936 c. The sponsor may annually waive a corrective action if it 937 determines that the charter school is likely to improve a letter 938 grade if additional time is provided to implement the 939 intervention and support strategies prescribed by the school 940 improvement plan. Notwithstanding this sub-subparagraph, a 941 charter school that earns a second consecutive grade of “F” is 942 subject to subparagraph 3. 943 d. A charter school is no longer required to implement a 944 corrective action if it improves to a “C” or higher. However, 945 the charter school must continue to implement strategies 946 identified in the school improvement plan. The sponsor must 947 annually review implementation of the school improvement plan to 948 monitor the school’s continued improvement pursuant to 949 subparagraph 4. 950 e. A charter school implementing a corrective action that 951 does not improve to a “C” or higher after 2 full school years of 952 implementing the corrective action must select a different 953 corrective action. Implementation of the new corrective action 954 must begin in the school year following the implementation 955 period of the existing corrective action, unless the sponsor 956 determines that the charter school is likely to improve to a “C” 957 or higher if additional time is provided to implement the 958 existing corrective action. Notwithstanding this sub 959 subparagraph, a charter school that earns a second consecutive 960 grade of “F” while implementing a corrective action is subject 961 to subparagraph 3. 962 3. A charter school’s charter contract is automatically 963 terminated if the school earns two consecutive grades of “F” 964 after all school grade appeals are final unless: 965 a. The charter school is established to turn around the 966 performance of a district public school pursuant to s. 967 1008.33(4)(b)2. Such charter schools shall be governed by s. 968 1008.33; 969 b. The charter school serves a student population the 970 majority of which resides in a school zone served by a district 971 public school subject to s. 1008.33(4) and the charter school 972 earns at least a grade of “D” in its third year of operation. 973 The exception provided under this sub-subparagraph does not 974 apply to a charter school in its fourth year of operation and 975 thereafter; or 976 c. The state board grants the charter school a waiver of 977 termination. The charter school must request the waiver within 978 15 days after the department’s official release of school 979 grades. The state board may waive termination if the charter 980 school demonstrates that the Learning Gains of its students on 981 statewide assessments are comparable to or better than the 982 Learning Gains of similarly situated students enrolled in nearby 983districtpublic schools. The waiver is valid for 1 year and may 984 only be granted once. Charter schools that have been in 985 operation for more than 5 years are not eligible for a waiver 986 under this sub-subparagraph. 987 988 The sponsor shall notify the charter school’s governing board, 989 the charter school principal, and the department in writing when 990 a charter contract is terminated under this subparagraph. A 991 charter terminated under this subparagraph must follow the 992 procedures for dissolution and reversion of public funds 993 pursuant to paragraphs (8)(d)-(f) and (9)(o). 994 4. The director and a representative of the governing board 995 of a graded charter school that has implemented a school 996 improvement plan under this paragraph shall appear before the 997 sponsor at least once a year to present information regarding 998 the progress of intervention and support strategies implemented 999 by the school pursuant to the school improvement plan and 1000 corrective actions, if applicable. The sponsor shall communicate 1001 at the meeting, and in writing to the director, the services 1002 provided to the school to help the school address its 1003 deficiencies. 1004 5. Notwithstanding any provision of this paragraph except 1005 sub-subparagraphs 3.a.-c., the sponsor may terminate the charter 1006 at any time pursuant to subsection (8). 1007 (10) ELIGIBLE STUDENTS.— 1008 (d) A charter school may give enrollment preference to the 1009 following student populations: 1010 1. Students who are siblings of a student enrolled in the 1011 charter school. 1012 2. Students who are the children of a member of the 1013 governing board of the charter school. 1014 3. Students who are the children of an employee of the 1015 charter school. 1016 4. Students who are the children of: 1017 a. An employee of the business partner of a charter 1018 school-in-the-workplace established under paragraph (15)(b) or a 1019 resident of the municipality in which such charter school is 1020 located; or 1021 b. A resident or employee of a municipality that operates a 1022 charter school-in-a-municipality pursuant to paragraph (15)(c) 1023 or allows a charter school to use a school facility or portion 1024 of land provided by the municipality for the operation of the 1025 charter school. 1026 5. Students who have successfully completed, during the 1027 previous year, a voluntary prekindergarten education program 1028 under ss. 1002.51-1002.79 provided by the charter school,orthe 1029 charter school’s governing board, or a voluntary prekindergarten 1030 provider that has a written agreement with the governing board 1031during the previous year. 1032 6. Students who are the children of an active duty member 1033 of any branch of the United States Armed Forces. 1034 7. Students who attended or are assigned to failing schools 1035 pursuant to s. 1002.38(2). 1036 (e) A charter school may limit the enrollment process only 1037 to target the following student populations: 1038 1. Students within specific age groups or grade levels. 1039 2. Students considered at risk of dropping out of school or 1040 academic failure. Such students shall include exceptional 1041 education students. 1042 3. Students enrolling in a charter school-in-the-workplace 1043 or charter school-in-a-municipality established pursuant to 1044 subsection (15). 1045 4. Students residing within a reasonable distance of the 1046 charter school, as described in paragraph (20)(c). Such students 1047 shall be subject to a random lottery and to the racial/ethnic 1048 balance provisions described in subparagraph (7)(a)8. or any 1049 federal provisions that require a school to achieve a 1050 racial/ethnic balance reflective of the community it serves or 1051 within the racial/ethnic range of other nearby public schoolsin1052the same school district. 1053 5. Students who meet reasonable academic, artistic, or 1054 other eligibility standards established by the charter school 1055 and included in the charter school application and charter or, 1056 in the case of existing charter schools, standards that are 1057 consistent with the school’s mission and purpose. Such standards 1058 shall be in accordance with current state law and practice in 1059 public schools and may not discriminate against otherwise 1060 qualified individuals. 1061 6. Students articulating from one charter school to another 1062 pursuant to an articulation agreement between the charter 1063 schools that has been approved by the sponsor. 1064 7. Students living in a development in which a developer, 1065 including any affiliated business entity or charitable 1066 foundation, contributes to the formation, acquisition, 1067 construction, or operation of one or more charter schools or 1068 charterprovides theschool facilitiesfacilityand related 1069 property in an amount equal to or having a totalanappraised 1070 value of at least $5 million to be used asacharter schools 1071schoolto mitigate the educational impact created by the 1072 development of new residential dwelling units. Students living 1073 in the development areshall beentitled tono more than50 1074 percent of the student stations in the charter schoolsschool. 1075 The students who are eligible for enrollment are subject to a 1076 random lottery, the racial/ethnic balance provisions, or any 1077 federal provisions, as described in subparagraph 4. The 1078 remainder of the student stations mustshallbe filled in 1079 accordance with subparagraph 4. 1080 (14) CHARTER SCHOOL FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS; INDEMNIFICATION 1081 OF THE STATE AND SPONSORSCHOOL DISTRICT; CREDIT OR TAXING POWER 1082 NOT TO BE PLEDGED.—Any arrangement entered into to borrow or 1083 otherwise secure funds for a charter school authorized in this 1084 section from a source other than the state or a sponsorschool1085districtshall indemnify the state and the sponsorschool1086districtfrom any and all liability, including, but not limited 1087 to, financial responsibility for the payment of the principal or 1088 interest. Any loans, bonds, or other financial agreements are 1089 not obligations of the state or the sponsorschool districtbut 1090 are obligations of the charter school authority and are payable 1091 solely from the sources of funds pledged by such agreement. The 1092 credit or taxing power of the state or the sponsorschool1093districtshall not be pledged and no debts shall be payable out 1094 of any moneys except those of the legal entity in possession of 1095 a valid charter approved by a sponsordistrict school board1096 pursuant to this section. 1097 (15) CHARTER SCHOOLS-IN-THE-WORKPLACE; CHARTER SCHOOLS-IN 1098 A-MUNICIPALITY.— 1099 (c) A charter school-in-a-municipality designation may be 1100 granted to a municipality that possesses a charter; enrolls 1101 students based upon a random lottery that involves all of the 1102 children of the residents of that municipality who are seeking 1103 enrollment, as provided for in subsection (10); and enrolls 1104 students according to the racial/ethnic balance provisions 1105 described in subparagraph (7)(a)8. When a municipality has 1106 submitted charter applications for the establishment of a 1107 charter school feeder pattern, consisting of elementary, middle, 1108 and senior high schools, and each individual charter application 1109 is approved by the sponsordistrict school board, such schools 1110 shall then be designated as one charter school for all purposes 1111 listed pursuant to this section. Any portion of the land and 1112 facility used for a public charter school shall be exempt from 1113 ad valorem taxes, as provided for in s. 1013.54, for the 1114 duration of its use as a public school. 1115 (17) FUNDING.—Students enrolled in a charter school, 1116 regardless of the sponsorship, shall be funded as if they are in 1117 a basic program or a special program, the same as students 1118 enrolled in other public schools in atheschool district. 1119 Funding for a charter lab school shall be as provided in s. 1120 1002.32. 1121 (a) Each charter school shall report its student enrollment 1122 to the sponsor as required in s. 1011.62, and in accordance with 1123 the definitions in s. 1011.61. The sponsor shall include each 1124 charter school’s enrollment in the sponsor’sdistrict’sreport 1125 of student enrollment. All charter schools submitting student 1126 record information required by the Department of Education shall 1127 comply with the Department of Education’s guidelines for 1128 electronic data formats for such data, and all sponsors 1129districtsshall accept electronic data that complies with the 1130 Department of Education’s electronic format. 1131 (b)1. The basis for the agreement for funding students 1132 enrolled in a charter school shall be the sum of the school 1133 district’s operating funds from the Florida Education Finance 1134 Program as provided in s. 1011.62 and the General Appropriations 1135 Act, including gross state and local funds, discretionary 1136 lottery funds, and funds from the school district’s current 1137 operating discretionary millage levy; divided by total funded 1138 weighted full-time equivalent students in the school district; 1139 and multiplied by the weighted full-time equivalent students for 1140 the charter school. Charter schools whose students or programs 1141 meet the eligibility criteria in law are entitled to their 1142 proportionate share of categorical program funds included in the 1143 total funds available in the Florida Education Finance Program 1144 by the Legislature, including transportation, the research-based 1145 reading allocation, and the Florida digital classrooms 1146 allocation. Total funding for each charter school shall be 1147 recalculated during the year to reflect the revised calculations 1148 under the Florida Education Finance Program by the state and the 1149 actual weighted full-time equivalent students reported by the 1150 charter school during the full-time equivalent student survey 1151 periods designated by the Commissioner of Education. For charter 1152 schools operated by a not-for-profit or municipal entity, any 1153 unrestricted current and capital assets identified in the 1154 charter school’s annual financial audit may be used for other 1155 charter schools operated by the not-for-profit or municipal 1156 entity within the school district. Unrestricted current assets 1157 shall be used in accordance with s. 1011.62, and any 1158 unrestricted capital assets shall be used in accordance with s. 1159 1013.62(2). 1160 2.a. Students enrolled in a charter school sponsored by a 1161 state university or Florida College System institution pursuant 1162 to paragraph (5)(a) shall be funded as if they are in a basic 1163 program or a special program in the school district. The basis 1164 for funding these students is the sum of the total operating 1165 funds from the Florida Education Finance Program for the school 1166 district in which the school is located as provided in s. 1167 1011.62 and the General Appropriations Act, including gross 1168 state and local funds, discretionary lottery funds, and funds 1169 from each school district’s current operating discretionary 1170 millage levy, divided by total funded weighted full-time 1171 equivalent students in the district, and multiplied by the full 1172 time equivalent membership of the charter school. The Department 1173 of Education shall develop a tool that each state university or 1174 Florida College System institution sponsoring a charter school 1175 shall use for purposes of calculating the funding amount for 1176 each eligible charter school student. The total amount obtained 1177 from the calculation must be appropriated from state funds in 1178 the General Appropriations Act to the charter school. 1179 b. Capital outlay funding for a charter school sponsored by 1180 a state university or Florida College System institution 1181 pursuant to paragraph (5)(a) is determined pursuant to s. 1182 1013.62 and the General Appropriations Act. 1183 (c) Pursuant to 20 U.S.C. 8061 s. 10306, all charter 1184 schools shall receive all federal funding for which the school 1185 is otherwise eligible, including Title I funding, not later than 1186 5 months after the charter school first opens and within 5 1187 months after any subsequent expansion of enrollment. Unless 1188 otherwise mutually agreed to by the charter school and its 1189 sponsor, and consistent with state and federal rules and 1190 regulations governing the use and disbursement of federal funds, 1191 the sponsor shall reimburse the charter school on a monthly 1192 basis for all invoices submitted by the charter school for 1193 federal funds available to the sponsor for the benefit of the 1194 charter school, the charter school’s students, and the charter 1195 school’s students as public school students in the school 1196 district. Such federal funds include, but are not limited to, 1197 Title I, Title II, and Individuals with Disabilities Education 1198 Act (IDEA) funds. To receive timely reimbursement for an 1199 invoice, the charter school must submit the invoice to the 1200 sponsor at least 30 days before the monthly date of 1201 reimbursement set by the sponsor. In order to be reimbursed, any 1202 expenditures made by the charter school must comply with all 1203 applicable state rules and federal regulations, including, but 1204 not limited to, the applicable federal Office of Management and 1205 Budget Circulars; the federal Education Department General 1206 Administrative Regulations; and program-specific statutes, 1207 rules, and regulations. Such funds may not be made available to 1208 the charter school until a plan is submitted to the sponsor for 1209 approval of the use of the funds in accordance with applicable 1210 federal requirements. The sponsor has 30 days to review and 1211 approve any plan submitted pursuant to this paragraph. 1212 (d) Charter schools shall be included by the Department of 1213 Education and the district school board in requests for federal 1214 stimulus funds in the same manner as district school board 1215 operated public schools, including Title I and IDEA funds and 1216 shall be entitled to receive such funds. Charter schools are 1217 eligible to participate in federal competitive grants that are 1218 available as part of the federal stimulus funds. 1219 (e) SponsorsDistrict school boardsshall make timely and 1220 efficient payment and reimbursement to charter schools, 1221 including processing paperwork required to access special state 1222 and federal funding for which they may be eligible. Payments of 1223 funds under paragraph (b) shall be made monthly or twice a 1224 month, beginning with the start of the sponsor’sdistrict school1225board’sfiscal year. Each payment shall be one-twelfth, or one 1226 twenty-fourth, as applicable, of the total state and local funds 1227 described in paragraph (b) and adjusted as set forth therein. 1228 For the first 2 years of a charter school’s operation, if a 1229 minimum of 75 percent of the projected enrollment is entered 1230 into the sponsor’s student information system by the first day 1231 of the current month, the sponsordistrict school boardshall 1232 distribute funds to the school for the months of July through 1233 October based on the projected full-time equivalent student 1234 membership of the charter school as submitted in the approved 1235 application. If less than 75 percent of the projected enrollment 1236 is entered into the sponsor’s student information system by the 1237 first day of the current month, the sponsor shall base payments 1238 on the actual number of student enrollment entered into the 1239 sponsor’s student information system. Thereafter, the results of 1240 full-time equivalent student membership surveys shall be used in 1241 adjusting the amount of funds distributed monthly to the charter 1242 school for the remainder of the fiscal year. The payments shall 1243 be issued no later than 10 working days after the sponsor 1244district school boardreceives a distribution of state or 1245 federal funds or the date the payment is due pursuant to this 1246 subsection. If a warrant for payment is not issued within 10 1247 working days after receipt of funding by the sponsordistrict1248school board, the sponsorschool districtshall pay to the 1249 charter school, in addition to the amount of the scheduled 1250 disbursement, interest at a rate of 1 percent per month 1251 calculated on a daily basis on the unpaid balance from the 1252 expiration of the 10 working days until such time as the warrant 1253 is issued. The district school board may not delay payment to a 1254 charter school of any portion of the funds provided in paragraph 1255 (b) based on the timing of receipt of local funds by the 1256 district school board. 1257 (f) Funding for a virtual charter school shall be as 1258 provided in s. 1002.45(7). 1259 (g) To be eligible for public education capital outlay 1260 (PECO) funds, a charter school must be located in the State of 1261 Florida. 1262 (h) A charter school that implements a schoolwide standard 1263 student attire policy pursuant to s. 1011.78 is eligible to 1264 receive incentive payments. 1265 (18) FACILITIES.— 1266 (e) If a district school board facility or property is 1267 available because it is surplus, marked for disposal, or 1268 otherwise unused, it shall be provided for a charter school’s 1269 use on the same basis as it is made available to other public 1270 schools in the district. A charter school receiving property 1271 from the sponsorschool districtmay not sell or dispose of such 1272 property without written permission of the sponsorschool1273district. Similarly, for an existing public school converting to 1274 charter status, no rental or leasing fee for the existing 1275 facility or for the property normally inventoried to the 1276 conversion school may be charged by the district school board to 1277 the parents and teachers organizing the charter school. The 1278 charter school shall agree to reasonable maintenance provisions 1279 in order to maintain the facility in a manner similar to 1280 district school board standards. The Public Education Capital 1281 Outlay maintenance funds or any other maintenance funds 1282 generated by the facility operated as a conversion school shall 1283 remain with the conversion school. 1284 (20) SERVICES.— 1285 (a)1. A sponsor shall provide certain administrative and 1286 educational services to charter schools. These services shall 1287 include contract management services; full-time equivalent and 1288 data reporting services; exceptional student education 1289 administration services; services related to eligibility and 1290 reporting duties required to ensure that school lunch services 1291 under the National School Lunch Program, consistent with the 1292 needs of the charter school, are provided by the sponsorschool1293districtat the request of the charter school, that any funds 1294 due to the charter school under the National School Lunch 1295 Program be paid to the charter school as soon as the charter 1296 school begins serving food under the National School Lunch 1297 Program, and that the charter school is paid at the same time 1298 and in the same manner under the National School Lunch Program 1299 as other public schools serviced by the sponsor or the school 1300 district; test administration services, including payment of the 1301 costs of state-required or district-required student 1302 assessments; processing of teacher certificate data services; 1303 and information services, including equal access to the 1304 sponsor’s student information systems that are used by public 1305 schools in the district in which the charter school is located 1306 or by schools in the sponsor’s portfolio of charter schools if 1307 the sponsor is not a school district. Student performance data 1308 for each student in a charter school, including, but not limited 1309 to, FCAT scores, standardized test scores, previous public 1310 school student report cards, and student performance measures, 1311 shall be provided by the sponsor to a charter school in the same 1312 manner provided to other public schools in the district or by 1313 schools in the sponsor’s portfolio of charter schools if the 1314 sponsor is not a school district. 1315 2. A sponsor may withhold an administrative fee for the 1316 provision of such services which shall be a percentage of the 1317 available funds defined in paragraph (17)(b) calculated based on 1318 weighted full-time equivalent students. If the charter school 1319 serves 75 percent or more exceptional education students as 1320 defined in s. 1003.01(3), the percentage shall be calculated 1321 based on unweighted full-time equivalent students. The 1322 administrative fee shall be calculated as follows: 1323 a. Up to 5 percent for: 1324 (I) Enrollment of up to and including 250 students in a 1325 charter school as defined in this section. 1326 (II) Enrollment of up to and including 500 students within 1327 a charter school system which meets all of the following: 1328 (A) Includes conversion charter schools and nonconversion 1329 charter schools. 1330 (B) Has all of its schools located in the same county. 1331 (C) Has a total enrollment exceeding the total enrollment 1332 of at least one school district in thisthestate. 1333 (D) Has the same governing board for all of its schools. 1334 (E) Does not contract with a for-profit service provider 1335 for management of school operations. 1336 (III) Enrollment of up to and including 250 students in a 1337 virtual charter school. 1338 b. Up to 2 percent for enrollment of up to and including 1339 250 students in a high-performing charter school as defined in 1340 s. 1002.331. 1341 c. Up to 2 percent for enrollment of up to and including 1342 250 students in an exceptional student education center that 1343 meets the requirements of the rules adopted by the State Board 1344 of Education pursuant to s. 1008.3415(3). 1345 3. A sponsor may not charge charter schools any additional 1346 fees or surcharges for administrative and educational services 1347 in addition to the maximum percentage of administrative fees 1348 withheld pursuant to this paragraph. 1349 4. A sponsor shall provide to the department by September 1350 15 of each year the total amount of funding withheld from 1351 charter schools pursuant to this subsection for the prior fiscal 1352 year. The department must include the information in the report 1353 required under sub-sub-subparagraph (5)(b)1.k.(III). 1354 (b) If goods and services are made available to the charter 1355 school through the contract with the sponsorschool district, 1356 they shall be provided to the charter school at a rate no 1357 greater than the sponsor’sdistrict’sactual cost unless 1358 mutually agreed upon by the charter school and the sponsor in a 1359 contract negotiated separately from the charter. When mediation 1360 has failed to resolve disputes over contracted services or 1361 contractual matters not included in the charter, an appeal may 1362 be made to an administrative law judge appointed by the Division 1363 of Administrative Hearings. The administrative law judge has 1364 final order authority to rule on the dispute. The administrative 1365 law judge shall award the prevailing party reasonable attorney 1366 fees and costs incurred during the mediation process, 1367 administrative proceeding, and any appeals, to be paid by the 1368 party whom the administrative law judge rules against. To 1369 maximize the use of state funds, sponsorsschool districtsshall 1370 allow charter schools to participate in the sponsor’s bulk 1371 purchasing program if applicable. 1372 (c) Transportation of charter school students shall be 1373 provided by the charter school consistent with the requirements 1374 of subpart I.E. of chapter 1006 and s. 1012.45. The governing 1375 body of the charter school may provide transportation through an 1376 agreement or contract with the sponsordistrict school board, a 1377 private provider, or parents. The charter school and the sponsor 1378 shall cooperate in making arrangements that ensure that 1379 transportation is not a barrier to equal access for all students 1380 residing within a reasonable distance of the charter school as 1381 determined in its charter. 1382 (d) Each charter school shall annually complete and submit 1383 a survey, provided in a format specified by the Department of 1384 Education, to rate the timeliness and quality of services 1385 provided by the sponsordistrictin accordance with this 1386 section. The department shall compile the results, by sponsor 1387district, and include the results in the report required under 1388 sub-sub-subparagraph (5)(b)1.k.(III). 1389 (21) PUBLIC INFORMATION ON CHARTER SCHOOLS.— 1390 (a) The Department of Education shall provide information 1391 to the public, directly and through sponsors, on how to form and 1392 operate a charter school and how to enroll in a charter school 1393 once it is created. This information shall include the standard 1394 application form, standard charter contract, standard evaluation 1395 instrument, and standard charter renewal contract, which shall 1396 include the information specified in subsection (7) and shall be 1397 developed by consulting and negotiating with both sponsors 1398school districtsand charter schools before implementation. The 1399 charter and charter renewal contracts shall be used by charter 1400 school sponsors. 1401 (b)1. The Department of Education shall report to each 1402 charter school receiving a school grade pursuant to s. 1008.34 1403 or a school improvement rating pursuant to s. 1008.341 the 1404 school’s student assessment data. 1405 2. The charter school shall report the information in 1406 subparagraph 1. to each parent of a student at the charter 1407 school, the parent of a child on a waiting list for the charter 1408 school, the sponsordistrict in which the charter school is1409located, and the governing board of the charter school. This 1410 paragraph does not abrogate the provisions of s. 1002.22, 1411 relating to student records, or the requirements of 20 U.S.C. s. 1412 1232g, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. 1413 (25) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY STATUS FOR CERTAIN CHARTER 1414 SCHOOL SYSTEMS.— 1415 (a) A charter school system’s governing board shall be 1416 designated a local educational agency for the purpose of 1417 receiving federal funds, the same as though the charter school 1418 system were a school district, if the governing board of the 1419 charter school system has adopted and filed a resolution with 1420 its sponsorsponsoring district school boardand the Department 1421 of Education in which the governing board of the charter school 1422 system accepts the full responsibility for all local education 1423 agency requirements and the charter school system meets all of 1424 the following: 1425 1. Has all schools located in the same county; 1426 2. Has a total enrollment exceeding the total enrollment of 1427 at least one school district in thisthestate; and 1428 3. Has the same governing board. 1429 1430 Such designation does not apply to other provisions unless 1431 specifically provided in law. 1432 (28) RULEMAKING.—The Department of Education, after 1433 consultation with sponsorsschool districtsand charter school 1434 directors, shall recommend that the State Board of Education 1435 adopt rules to implement specific subsections of this section. 1436 Such rules shall require minimum paperwork and shall not limit 1437 charter school flexibility authorized by statute. The State 1438 Board of Education shall adopt rules, pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) 1439 and 120.54, to implement a standard charter application form, 1440 standard application form for the replication of charter schools 1441 in a high-performing charter school system, standard evaluation 1442 instrument, and standard charter and charter renewal contracts 1443 in accordance with this section. 1444 Section 5. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1), paragraph (a) 1445 of subsection (2), and paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of 1446 section 1002.331, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 1447 1002.331 High-performing charter schools.— 1448 (1) A charter school is a high-performing charter school if 1449 it: 1450 (a)1. Received at least two school grades of “A” and no 1451 school grade below “B,” pursuant to s. 1008.34, during each of 1452 the previous 3 school years or received at least two consecutive 1453 school grades of “A” in the most recent 2 school years for the 1454 years that the school received a grade; or 1455 2. Receives, during its first 3 years of operation, funding 1456 through the National Fund of the Charter School Growth Fund, and 1457 has received no school grade lower than a “C,” pursuant to s. 1458 1008.34, during each of the previous 3 school years for the 1459 years that the school received a grade. 1460 1461 For purposes of determining initial eligibility, the 1462 requirements of paragraphs (b) and (c) only apply for the most 1463 recent 2 fiscal years if the charter school earns two 1464 consecutive grades of “A.” A virtual charter school established 1465 under s. 1002.33 is not eligible for designation as a high 1466 performing charter school. 1467 (2) A high-performing charter school is authorized to: 1468 (a) Increase its student enrollment once per school year to 1469 more than the capacity identified in the charter, but student 1470 enrollment may not exceed the capacity of the facility at the 1471 time the enrollment increase will take effect. Facility capacity 1472 for purposes ofgrade levelexpansion shall include any 1473 improvements to an existing facility or any new facility in 1474 whicha majority ofthe students of the high-performing charter 1475 school will enroll. 1476 1477 A high-performing charter school shall notify its sponsor in 1478 writing by March 1 if it intends to increase enrollment or 1479 expand grade levels the following school year. The written 1480 notice shall specify the amount of the enrollment increase and 1481 the grade levels that will be added, as applicable. If a charter 1482 school notifies the sponsor of its intent to expand, the sponsor 1483 shall modify the charter within 90 days to include the new 1484 enrollment maximum and may not make any other changes. The 1485 sponsor may deny a request to increase the enrollment of a high 1486 performing charter school if the commissioner has declassified 1487 the charter school as high-performing. If a high-performing 1488 charter school requests to consolidate multiple charters, the 1489 sponsor shall have 40 days after receipt of that request to 1490 provide an initial draft charter to the charter school. The 1491 sponsor and charter school shall have 50 days thereafter to 1492 negotiate and notice the charter contract for final approval by 1493 the sponsor. 1494 (3) 1495 (b) A high-performing charter school may submitnot1496establish more thantwo applications for a charter school to be 1497 openedschoolswithin thisthestate under paragraph (a) at a 1498 time determined by the high-performing charter schoolin any1499year. A subsequent application to establish a charter school 1500 under paragraph (a) may not be submitted unless each charter 1501 school applicant commences operations or an application is 1502 otherwise withdrawnestablished in this manner achieves high1503performing charter school status. However, a high-performing 1504 charter school may establish more than one charter school within 1505 thisthestate under paragraph (a) in any year if it operates in 1506 the area of a persistently low-performing school and serves 1507 students from that school. This paragraph applies to any high 1508 performing charter school with an existing approved application. 1509 Section 6. Paragraph (c) of subsection (1), paragraphs (a), 1510 (g), and (h) of subsection (6), and paragraph (d) of subsection 1511 (7) of section 1002.333, Florida Statutes, are amended, and 1512 paragraph (e) is added to subsection (9) of that section, to 1513 read: 1514 1002.333 Persistently low-performing schools.— 1515 (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 1516 (c) “Persistently low-performing school” means a school 1517 that has earned three grades lower than a “C,” pursuant to s. 1518 1008.34, in at least 3 of the previous 5 years that the school 1519 received a grade and has not earned a grade of “B” or higher in 1520 the most recent 2 school years, and a school that was closed 1521 pursuant to s. 1008.33(4) within 2 years after the submission of 1522 a notice of intent. 1523 (6) STATUTORY AUTHORITY.— 1524 (a) A school of hope or a nonprofit entity that operates 1525 more than one school of hope through a performance-based 1526 agreement with a school district may be designated as a local 1527 education agency by the department, if requested, for the 1528 purposes of receiving federal funds and, in doing so, accepts 1529 the full responsibility for all local education agency 1530 requirements and the schools for which it will perform local 1531 education agency responsibilities. 1532 1. A nonprofit entity designated as a local education 1533 agency may report its students to the department in accordance 1534 with the definitions in s. 1011.61 and pursuant to the 1535 department’s procedures and timelines. 1536 2. Students enrolled in a school established by a hope 1537 operator designated as a local educational agency are not 1538 eligible students for purposes of calculating the district grade 1539 pursuant to s. 1008.34(5). 1540 (g) Each school of hope that has not been designated as a 1541 local education agency shall report its students to the school 1542 district as required in s. 1011.62, and in accordance with the 1543 definitions in s. 1011.61. The school district shall include 1544 each charter school’s enrollment in the district’s report of 1545 student enrollment. All charter schools submitting student 1546 record information required by the department shall comply with 1547 the department’s guidelines for electronic data formats for such 1548 data, and all districts shall accept electronic data that 1549 complies with the department’s electronic format. 1550 (h)1. A school of hope shall provide the school district 1551 with a concise, uniform, quarterly financial statement summary 1552 sheet that contains a balance sheet and a statement of revenue, 1553 expenditures, and changes in fund balance. The balance sheet and 1554 the statement of revenue, expenditures, and changes in fund 1555 balance shall be in the governmental fund format prescribed by 1556 the Governmental Accounting Standards Board. Additionally, a 1557 school of hope shall comply with the annual audit requirement 1558 for charter schools in s. 218.39. 1559 2. A school of hope is in compliance with subparagraph 1. 1560 if it is operated by a nonprofit entity designated as a local 1561 education agency and if the nonprofit submits to each school 1562 district in which it operates a school of hope: 1563 a. A concise, uniform, quarterly financial statement 1564 summary sheet that contains a balance sheet summarizing the 1565 revenue, expenditures, and changes in fund balance for the 1566 entity and for its schools of hope within the school district. 1567 b. An annual financial audit of the nonprofit which 1568 includes all schools of hope it operates within this state and 1569 which complies with s. 218.39 regarding audits of a school 1570 board. 1571 (7) FACILITIES.— 1572 (d) No later than JanuaryOctober1, the departmenteach1573school districtshall annually provide to school districtsthe1574Department of Educationa list of all underused, vacant, or 1575 surplus facilities owned or operated by the school district as 1576 reported in the Florida Inventory of School Houses. A school 1577 district may provide evidence to the department that the list 1578 contains errors or omissions within 30 days after receipt of the 1579 list. By each April 1, the department shall update and publish a 1580 final list of all underused, vacant, or surplus facilities owned 1581 or operated by each school district, based upon updated 1582 information provided by each school district. A hope operator 1583 establishing a school of hope may use an educational facility 1584 identified in this paragraph at no cost or at a mutually 1585 agreeable cost not to exceed $600 per student. A hope operator 1586 using a facility pursuant to this paragraph may not sell or 1587 dispose of such facility without the written permission of the 1588 school district. For purposes of this paragraph, the term 1589 “underused, vacant, or surplus facility” means an entire 1590 facility or portion thereof which is not fully used or is used 1591 irregularly or intermittently by the school district for 1592 instructional or program use. 1593 (9) FUNDING.— 1594 (e) For a nonprofit entity designated by the department as 1595 a local education agency pursuant to paragraph (6)(h), any 1596 unrestricted current and capital assets identified in the annual 1597 financial audit required by sub-subparagraph (6)(h)2.b. may be 1598 used for any other school of hope operated by the local 1599 education agency within the same district. Unrestricted current 1600 assets shall be used in accordance with s. 1011.62, and any 1601 unrestricted capital assets shall be used in accordance with s. 1602 1013.62(2). 1603 Section 7. Paragraph (d) of subsection (1) and paragraph 1604 (a) of subsection (2) of section 1002.45, Florida Statutes, are 1605 amended to read: 1606 1002.45 Virtual instruction programs.— 1607 (1) PROGRAM.— 1608 (d) A virtual charter school may provide full-time or part 1609 time virtual instruction for students in kindergarten through 1610 grade 12 if the virtual charter school has a charter approved 1611 pursuant to s. 1002.33authorizing full-time virtual1612instruction. A virtual charter school may: 1613 1. Contract with the Florida Virtual School. 1614 2. Contract with an approved provider under subsection (2). 1615 3. Enter into an agreement with a school district to allow 1616 the participation of the virtual charter school’s students in 1617 the school district’s virtual instruction program. The agreement 1618 must indicate a process for reporting of student enrollment and 1619 the transfer of funds required by paragraph (7)(e). 1620 (2) PROVIDER QUALIFICATIONS.— 1621 (a) The department shall annually publish online a list of 1622 providers approved to offer virtual instruction programs. To be 1623 approved by the department, a provider must document that it: 1624 1. Is nonsectarian in its programs, admission policies, 1625 employment practices, and operations; 1626 2. Complies with the antidiscrimination provisions of s. 1627 1000.05; 1628 3. Locates an administrative office or offices in this 1629 state, requires its administrative staff to be state residents, 1630 requires all instructional staff to be Florida-certified 1631 teachers under chapter 1012 and conducts background screenings 1632 for all employees or contracted personnel, as required by s. 1633 1012.32, using state and national criminal history records; 1634 4. Provides to parents and students specific information 1635 posted and accessible online that includes, but is not limited 1636 to, the following teacher-parent and teacher-student contact 1637 information for each course: 1638 a. How to contact the instructor via phone, e-mail, or 1639 online messaging tools. 1640 b. How to contact technical support via phone, e-mail, or 1641 online messaging tools. 1642 c. How to contact the administration office via phone, e 1643 mail, or online messaging tools. 1644 d. Any requirement for regular contact with the instructor 1645 for the course and clear expectations for meeting the 1646 requirement. 1647 e. The requirement that the instructor in each course must, 1648 at a minimum, conduct one contactvia phonewith the parent and 1649 the student each month; 1650 5. Possesses prior, successful experience offering online 1651 courses to elementary, middle, or high school students as 1652 demonstrated by quantified student learning gains in each 1653 subject area and grade level provided for consideration as an 1654 instructional program option. However, for a provider without 1655 sufficient prior, successful experience offering online courses, 1656 the department may conditionally approve the provider to offer 1657 courses measured pursuant to subparagraph (8)(a)2. Conditional 1658 approval shall be valid for 1 school year only and, based on the 1659 provider’s experience in offering the courses, the department 1660 shall determine whether to grant approval to offer a virtual 1661 instruction program; 1662 6. Is accredited by a regional accrediting association as 1663 defined by State Board of Education rule; 1664 7. Ensures instructional and curricular quality through a 1665 detailed curriculum and student performance accountability plan 1666 that addresses every subject and grade level it intends to 1667 provide through contract with the school district, including: 1668 a. Courses and programs that meet the standards of the 1669 International Association for K-12 Online Learning and the 1670 Southern Regional Education Board. 1671 b. Instructional content and services that align with, and 1672 measure student attainment of, student proficiency in the Next 1673 Generation Sunshine State Standards. 1674 c. Mechanisms that determine and ensure that a student has 1675 satisfied requirements for grade level promotion and high school 1676 graduation with a standard diploma, as appropriate; 1677 8. Publishes for the general public, in accordance with 1678 disclosure requirements adopted in rule by the State Board of 1679 Education, as part of its application as a provider and in all 1680 contracts negotiated pursuant to this section: 1681 a. Information and data about the curriculum of each full 1682 time and part-time program. 1683 b. School policies and procedures. 1684 c. Certification status and physical location of all 1685 administrative and instructional personnel. 1686 d. Hours and times of availability of instructional 1687 personnel. 1688 e. Student-teacher ratios. 1689 f. Student completion and promotion rates. 1690 g. Student, educator, and school performance accountability 1691 outcomes; 1692 9. If the provider is a Florida College System institution, 1693 employs instructors who meet the certification requirements for 1694 instructional staff under chapter 1012; and 1695 10. Performs an annual financial audit of its accounts and 1696 records conducted by an independent certified public accountant 1697 which is in accordance with rules adopted by the Auditor 1698 General, is conducted in compliance with generally accepted 1699 auditing standards, and includes a report on financial 1700 statements presented in accordance with generally accepted 1701 accounting principles. 1702 Section 8. Subsection (2) of section 1002.455, Florida 1703 Statutes, is amended to read: 1704 1002.455 Student eligibility for K-12 virtual instruction. 1705 All students, including home education and private school 1706 students, are eligible to participate in any of the following 1707 virtual instruction options: 1708 (2) Part-time or full-time virtual charter school 1709 instruction authorized under s. 1002.33 to students within the 1710 school district or to students in other school districts 1711 throughout the state pursuant to s. 1002.31. 1712 Section 9. Section 1003.225, Florida Statutes, is created 1713 to read: 1714 1003.225 Water safety and swimming certification.— 1715 (1) For the purposes of this section, the term “water 1716 safety” means age-appropriate education intended to promote 1717 safety in, on, and around bodies of water and reduce the risk of 1718 injury or drowning. 1719 (2) Beginning with the 2022-2023 school year, each public 1720 school shall provide, to a parent who initially enrolls his or 1721 her child in the school, information on the important role water 1722 safety education courses and swimming lessons play in saving 1723 lives. The information must be provided electronically or in 1724 hard copy and must include local options for age-appropriate 1725 water safety courses and swimming lessons that result in a 1726 certificate indicating successful completion, including courses 1727 and lessons offered for free or at a reduced price. If the 1728 student is 18 years of age or older, or is under the age of 21 1729 and is enrolling in adult education classes, the information 1730 must be provided to the student. 1731 Section 10. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 1732 1003.493, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1733 1003.493 Career and professional academies and career 1734 themed courses.— 1735 (1)(a) A “career and professional academy” is a research 1736 based program that integrates a rigorous academic curriculum 1737 with an industry-specific curriculum aligned directly to 1738 priority workforce needs established by the local workforce 1739 development board or the Department of Economic Opportunity. 1740 Career and professional academies shall be offered by public 1741 schools and school districts. Career and professional academies 1742 may be offered by charter schools. The Florida Virtual School is 1743 encouraged to develop and offer rigorous career and professional 1744 courses as appropriate. Students completing career and 1745 professional academy programs must receive a standard high 1746 school diploma, the highest available industry certification, 1747 and opportunities to earn postsecondary credit if the academy 1748 partners with a postsecondary institution approved to operate in 1749 the state. 1750 Section 11. Paragraph (g) of subsection (2) of section 1751 1003.621, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1752 1003.621 Academically high-performing school districts.—It 1753 is the intent of the Legislature to recognize and reward school 1754 districts that demonstrate the ability to consistently maintain 1755 or improve their high-performing status. The purpose of this 1756 section is to provide high-performing school districts with 1757 flexibility in meeting the specific requirements in statute and 1758 rules of the State Board of Education. 1759 (2) COMPLIANCE WITH STATUTES AND RULES.—Each academically 1760 high-performing school district shall comply with all of the 1761 provisions in chapters 1000-1013, and rules of the State Board 1762 of Education which implement these provisions, pertaining to the 1763 following: 1764 (g) Those statutes pertaining to planning and budgeting, 1765 including chapter 1011, except s. 1011.62(9)(d), relating to the 1766 requirement for a comprehensive reading plan. A district that is 1767 exempt from submitting a comprehensive readingthisplan shall 1768 be deemed approved to receive the research-based reading 1769 instruction allocation. Each academically high-performing school 1770 district may provide up to 2 days of virtual instruction as part 1771 of the required 180 actual teaching days or the equivalent on an 1772 hourly basis each school year, as specified by rules of the 1773 State Board of Education. Virtual instruction that is conducted 1774 in accordance with the plan approved by the department, is 1775 teacher-developed, and is aligned with the standards for 1776 enrolled courses complies with s. 1011.60(2). The day or days 1777 must be indicated on the calendar approved by the school board. 1778 The district shall submit a plan for each day of virtual 1779 instruction to the department for approval, in a format 1780 prescribed by the department, with assurances of alignment to 1781 statewide student standards as described in s. 1003.41 before 1782 the start of each school year. 1783 Section 12. Section 1006.205, Florida Statutes, is created 1784 to read: 1785 1006.205 Fairness in Women’s Sports Act.— 1786 (1) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the “Fairness 1787 in Women’s Sports Act.” 1788 (2) LEGISLATIVE INTENT AND FINDINGS.— 1789 (a) It is the intent of the Legislature to maintain 1790 opportunities for female athletes to demonstrate their strength, 1791 skills, and athletic abilities and to provide them with 1792 opportunities to obtain recognition and accolades, college 1793 scholarships, and the numerous other long-term benefits that 1794 result from participating and competing in athletic endeavors. 1795 (b) The Legislature finds that maintaining the fairness for 1796 women athletic opportunities is an important state interest. The 1797 Legislature finds that requiring the designation of separate 1798 sex-specific athletic teams or sports is necessary to maintain 1799 fairness for women’s athletic opportunities. 1800 (3) DESIGNATION OF ATHLETIC TEAMS OR SPORTS.— 1801 (a) Interscholastic, intercollegiate, intramural, or club 1802 athletic teams or sports that are sponsored by a public 1803 secondary school or public postsecondary institution must be 1804 expressly designated as one of the following based on the 1805 biological sex at birth of team members: 1806 1. Males, men, or boys; 1807 2. Females, women, or girls; or 1808 3. Coed or mixed, including both males and females. 1809 (b) Athletic teams or sports designated for males, men, or 1810 boys may be open to students of the female sex. 1811 (c) Athletic teams or sports designated for females, women, 1812 or girls may not be open to students of the male sex. 1813 (d) For purposes of this section, a statement of a 1814 student’s biological sex on the student’s official birth 1815 certificate is considered to have correctly stated the student’s 1816 biological sex at birth if the statement was filed at or near 1817 the time of the student’s birth. 1818 (4) CAUSE OF ACTION; CIVIL REMEDIES.— 1819 (a) Any student who is deprived of an athletic opportunity 1820 or suffers any direct or indirect harm as a result of a 1821 violation of this section shall have a private cause of action 1822 for injunctive relief, damages, and any other relief available 1823 under law against the school or public postsecondary 1824 institution. 1825 (b) Any student who is subject to retaliation or other 1826 adverse action by a school, public postsecondary institution, or 1827 athletic association or organization as a result of reporting a 1828 violation of this section to an employee or representative of 1829 the school, institution, or athletic association or 1830 organization, or to any state or federal agency with oversight 1831 of schools or public postsecondary institutions in the state, 1832 shall have a private cause of action for injunctive relief, 1833 damages, and any other relief available under law against the 1834 school, institution, or athletic association or organization. 1835 (c) Any school or public postsecondary institution that 1836 suffers any direct or indirect harm as a result of a violation 1837 of this section shall have a private cause of action for 1838 injunctive relief, damages, and any other relief available under 1839 law against the governmental entity, licensing or accrediting 1840 organization, or athletic association or organization. 1841 (d) All civil actions brought under this section must be 1842 initiated within 2 years after the alleged harm occurred. 1843 Persons or organizations who prevail on a claim brought under 1844 this section shall be entitled to monetary damages, including 1845 for any psychological, emotional, or physical harm suffered, 1846 reasonable attorney fees and costs, and any other appropriate 1847 relief. 1848 Section 13. Present subsection (3) of section 1008.3415, 1849 Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (4), and a new 1850 subsection (3) is added to that section, to read: 1851 1008.3415 School grade or school improvement rating for 1852 exceptional student education centers.— 1853 (3) A charter school that is an exceptional student 1854 education center and that receives two consecutive ratings of 1855 “maintaining” or higher may replicate its educational program 1856 under s. 1002.331(3). The Commissioner of Education, upon 1857 request by a charter school, shall verify that the charter 1858 school meets the requirements of this subsection and provide a 1859 letter to the charter school and the sponsor stating that the 1860 charter school may replicate its educational program in the same 1861 manner as a high-performing charter school under s. 1002.331(3). 1862 Section 14. Present paragraphs (a) through (d) of 1863 subsection (6) of section 1009.30, Florida Statutes, as created 1864 by CS/CS/SB 52, 2021 Regular Session, are redesignated as 1865 paragraphs (b) through (e), respectively, and a new paragraph 1866 (a) is added to that section, to read: 1867 1009.30 Dual Enrollment Scholarship Program.— 1868 (6)(a) School district career centers shall be reimbursed 1869 at the in-state resident tuition rate established in s. 1870 1009.22(3)(c). 1871 Section 15. Subsection (2) of section 1009.52, Florida 1872 Statutes, is amended to read: 1873 1009.52 Florida Postsecondary Student Assistance Grant 1874 Program; eligibility for grants.— 1875 (2)(a)Florida postsecondary student assistance grants may 1876 be madeonlytofull-time degree-seekingstudents who meet the 1877 general requirements for student eligibility as provided in s. 1878 1009.40, except as otherwise provided in this section. Such 1879 grants shall be awarded for the amount of demonstrated unmet 1880 need for tuition and fees and may not exceed the maximum annual 1881 award amount specified in the General Appropriations Act. A 1882 demonstrated unmet need of less than $200 shall render the 1883 applicant ineligible for a Florida postsecondary student 1884 assistance grant. 1885 (a) Awards may be made to full-time degree-seeking students 1886 whoRecipients of such grants musthave been accepted at a 1887 postsecondary institution that is located in this state and that 1888 is: 1889 1. A private nursing diploma school approved by the Florida 1890 Board of Nursing; or 1891 2. A college or university licensed by the Commission for 1892 Independent Education, excluding those institutions the students 1893 of which are eligible to receive a Florida private student 1894 assistance grant pursuant to s. 1009.51. 1895 (b) Awards may be made to full-time certificate-seeking 1896 students who have been accepted at an aviation maintenance 1897 school that is located in this state, certified by the Federal 1898 Aviation Administration, and licensed by the Commission for 1899 Independent Education. Such student’s eligibility for the 1900 renewal of an award shall be evaluated at the end of the 1901 completion of 900 clock hours and, as a condition of renewal, 1902 the student shall meet the requirements under s. 1009.40(1)(b). 1903 (c) If funds are available, a student who received an award 1904 in the fall or spring term may receive an award in the summer 1905 term. Priority in the distribution of summer awards shall be 1906 given to students who are within one semester, or equivalent, of 1907 completing a degree or certificate program. No student may 1908 receive an award for more than the equivalent of 9 semesters or 1909 14 quarters of full-time enrollment, except as otherwise 1910 provided in s. 1009.40(3). A student specified in paragraph (b) 1911 is eligible for an award of up to 110 percent of the number of 1912 clock hours required to complete the program in which the 1913 student is enrolled. 1914 (d)(b)A student applying for a Florida postsecondary 1915 student assistance grant shall be required to apply for the Pell 1916 Grant. The Pell Grant entitlement shall be considered when 1917 conducting an assessment of the financial resources available to 1918 each student. 1919 (e)(c)Priority in the distribution of grant moneys may be 1920 given to students who are within one semester, or equivalent, of 1921 completing a degree or certificate program. An institution may 1922 not make a grant from this program to a student whose expected 1923 family contribution exceeds one and one-half times the maximum 1924 Pell Grant-eligible family contribution. An institution may not 1925 impose additional criteria to determine a student’s eligibility 1926 to receive a grant award. 1927 (f)(d)Each participating institution shall report to the 1928 department by the established date the students eligible for the 1929 program for each academic term. Each institution shall also 1930 report to the department necessary demographic and eligibility 1931 data for such students. 1932 Section 16. Subsection (2) of section 1012.32, Florida 1933 Statutes, is amended to read: 1934 1012.32 Qualifications of personnel.— 1935 (2)(a) Instructional and noninstructional personnel who are 1936 hired or contracted to fill positions that require direct 1937 contact with students in any district school system or 1938 university lab school must, upon employment or engagement to 1939 provide services, undergo background screening as required under 1940 s. 1012.465 or s. 1012.56, whichever is applicable. 1941 (b)1. Instructional and noninstructional personnel who are 1942 hired or contracted to fill positions in aanycharter school 1943 other than a school of hope as defined in s. 1002.333, and 1944 members of the governing board of suchanycharter school, in 1945 compliance with s. 1002.33(12)(g),must,upon employment, 1946 engagement of services, or appointment, shall undergo background 1947 screening as required under s. 1012.465 or s. 1012.56, whichever 1948 is applicable, by filing with the district school board for the 1949 school district in which the charter school is located a 1950 complete set of fingerprints taken by an authorized law 1951 enforcement agency or an employee of the school or school 1952 district who is trained to take fingerprints. 1953 2. Instructional and noninstructional personnel who are 1954 hired or contracted to fill positions in a school of hope as 1955 defined in s. 1002.333, and members of the governing board of 1956 such school of hope, shall file with the school of hope a 1957 complete set of fingerprints taken by an authorized law 1958 enforcement agency, by an employee of the school of hope or 1959 school district who is trained to take fingerprints, or by any 1960 other entity recognized by the Department of Law Enforcement to 1961 take fingerprints. 1962 (c) Instructional and noninstructional personnel who are 1963 hired or contracted to fill positions that require direct 1964 contact with students in an alternative school that operates 1965 under contract with a district school system must, upon 1966 employment or engagement to provide services, undergo background 1967 screening as required under s. 1012.465 or s. 1012.56, whichever 1968 is applicable, by filing with the district school board for the 1969 school district to which the alternative school is under 1970 contract a complete set of fingerprints taken by an authorized 1971 law enforcement agency or an employee of the school or school 1972 district who is trained to take fingerprints. 1973 (d) Student teachers and persons participating in a field 1974 experience pursuant to s. 1004.04(5) or s. 1004.85 in any 1975 district school system, lab school, or charter school must, upon 1976 engagement to provide services, undergo background screening as 1977 required under s. 1012.56. 1978 1979 Required fingerprints mustshallbe submitted to the Department 1980 of Law Enforcement for statewide criminal and juvenile records 1981 checks and to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for federal 1982 criminal records checks. A person subject to this subsection who 1983 is found ineligible for employment under s. 1012.315, or 1984 otherwise found through background screening to have been 1985 convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude as defined by 1986 rule of the State Board of Education, shall not be employed, 1987 engaged to provide services, or serve in any position that 1988 requires direct contact with students. Probationary persons 1989 subject to this subsection terminated because of their criminal 1990 record have the right to appeal such decisions. The cost of the 1991 background screening may be borne by the district school board, 1992 the charter school, the employee, the contractor, or a person 1993 subject to this subsection. A district school board shall 1994 reimburse a charter school the cost of background screening if 1995 it does not notify the charter school of the eligibility of a 1996 governing board member or instructional or noninstructional 1997 personnel within the earlier of 14 days after receipt of the 1998 background screening results from the Florida Department of Law 1999 Enforcement or 30 days of submission of fingerprints by the 2000 governing board member or instructional or noninstructional 2001 personnel. 2002 Section 17. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 2003 1013.62, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2004 1013.62 Charter schools capital outlay funding.— 2005 (1) For the 2020-2021 fiscal year, charter school capital 2006 outlay funding shall consist of state funds appropriated in the 2007 2020-2021 General Appropriations Act. Beginning in fiscal year 2008 2021-2022, charter school capital outlay funding shall consist 2009 of state funds when such funds are appropriated in the General 2010 Appropriations Act and revenue resulting from the discretionary 2011 millage authorized in s. 1011.71(2) if the amount of state funds 2012 appropriated for charter school capital outlay in any fiscal 2013 year is less than the average charter school capital outlay 2014 funds per unweighted full-time equivalent student for the 2018 2015 2019 fiscal year, multiplied by the estimated number of charter 2016 school students for the applicable fiscal year, and adjusted by 2017 changes in the Consumer Price Index issued by the United States 2018 Department of Labor from the previous fiscal year. Nothing in 2019 this subsection prohibits a school district from distributing to 2020 charter schools funds resulting from the discretionary millage 2021 authorized in s. 1011.71(2). 2022 (a) To be eligible to receive capital outlay funds, a 2023 charter school must: 2024 1.a. Have been in operation for 2 or more years; 2025 b. Be governed by a governing board established in the 2026 state for 2 or more years which operates both charter schools 2027 and conversion charter schools within the state; 2028 c. Be an expanded feeder chain of a charter school within 2029 the same school district that is currently receiving charter 2030 school capital outlay funds; 2031 d. Have been accredited by a regional accrediting 2032 association as defined by State Board of Education rule;or2033 e. Serve students in facilities that are provided by a 2034 business partner for a charter school-in-the-workplace pursuant 2035 to s. 1002.33(15)(b); or 2036 f. Be operated by a hope operator pursuant to s. 1002.333. 2037 2. Have an annual audit that does not reveal any of the 2038 financial emergency conditions provided in s. 218.503(1) for the 2039 most recent fiscal year for which such audit results are 2040 available. 2041 3. Have satisfactory student achievement based on state 2042 accountability standards applicable to the charter school. 2043 4. Have received final approval from its sponsor pursuant 2044 to s. 1002.33 for operation during that fiscal year. 2045 5. Serve students in facilities that are not provided by the 2046 charter school’s sponsor. 2047 Section 18. (1) Notwithstanding s. 1008.25, Florida 2048 Statutes, a parent or guardian may request that his or her K-5 2049 public school student be retained for the 2021-2022 school year 2050 in the grade level to which the student was assigned at the 2051 beginning of the 2020-2021 school year, provided that such 2052 request is made for academic reasons. 2053 (a) A parent or guardian who wishes for his or her student 2054 to be retained as provided by this act must submit, in writing, 2055 to the school principal a retention request that specifies the 2056 academic reasons for the retention. Only requests received by 2057 the principal on or before June 30, 2021, must be considered. A 2058 principal may consider a request received after that date at his 2059 or her discretion. 2060 (b)1. A principal who considers a retention request 2061 submitted pursuant to this subsection shall inform the student’s 2062 teachers of the retention request and collaboratively discuss 2063 with the parent or guardian any basis for agreement or 2064 disagreement with the request. As part of the discussion with 2065 the parent or guardian, the principal shall disclose that 2066 retention may impact the student’s eligibility to participate in 2067 high school interscholastic or intrascholastic sports due to the 2068 student’s age. 2069 2. In lieu of retention, the principal, teachers, and 2070 parent or guardian may collaborate to develop a customized 1 2071 year education plan for the student with the intent of helping 2072 the student return to grade level readiness by the end of the 2073 next academic year. Such plan may include, but need not be 2074 limited to, supplemental educational support, services, and 2075 interventions; summer education; promotion in some, but not all, 2076 courses; and midyear promotion. 2077 3. The parent’s or guardian’s decision to promote or retain 2078 his or her student after discussing the retention request with 2079 the principal shall control. The parent or guardian must sign a 2080 form provided by the principal indicating the parent or 2081 guardian’s decision and acknowledging the academic and athletic 2082 ramifications of his or her decision. This form must be retained 2083 in the student’s record. 2084 (c) If a student retained under this subsection has an 2085 individual education plan (IEP) in effect, the student’s IEP 2086 team must convene to review and revise the student’s IEP, as 2087 appropriate. 2088 (d) By June 30, 2022, school districts shall report to the 2089 Department of Education the number of students retained pursuant 2090 to this act for all or part of the 2021-2022 school year. 2091 (2) This section shall take effect upon becoming a law. 2092 Section 19. If any provision of this act or its application 2093 to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity 2094 does not affect other provisions or applications of the act 2095 which can be given effect without the invalid provision or 2096 application, and to this end the provisions of this act are 2097 severable. 2098 Section 20. Effective upon this act becoming a law, section 2099 3 of chapter 2020-28, Laws of Florida, is amended to read: 2100 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 20222021. 2101 Section 21. The amendment of s. 1009.30, Florida Statutes, 2102 by this act shall take effect only if CS/CS/SB 52, 2021 Regular 2103 Session, or similar legislation takes effect and if such 2104 legislation is adopted in the same legislative session or an 2105 extension thereof and becomes a law. 2106 Section 22. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this 2107 act and except for this section, which shall take effect upon 2108 becoming a law, this act shall take effect July 1, 2021.