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Charter Schools in Florida, Section 228.056, Florida Statutes
The 1996 Florida Legislature created Charter Schools as part of the state's program of public education. A charter school may be formed by creating a new school or converting an existing public school.
The purposes of the charter school are:
- Improve student learning
- Increase learning opportunities for all students, with special emphasis on expanded learning experiences for students who are identified as academically low achieving
- Encourage the use of different and innovative learning methods
- Increase choice of learning opportunities for students
- Establish a new form of accountability for schools
- Require measurement of learning outcomes and create innovative measurement tools
- Make the school the unit for improvement
The district school board shall receive and review all applications for charter schools and charter schools must be open to any student residing in the district. In addition, the statute establishes who may submit proposals and limits the number of charter schools a district may establish.
Civil rights related issues included in the law:
- Students with handicapping conditions and students served in English for Speakers of Other Languages programs shall have an equal opportunity of being selected for enrollment. Section 228.056(6)(e), F.S.
- Charter school shall be nonsectarian in its programs, admission policies, employment practices, and operations. Section 228.056(8)(a), F.S.
- Charter school shall meet all applicable state and local health, safety, and civil rights requirements. Section 228.056(8)(e), F.S.
- Charter school shall not violate the anti-discrimination provisions of section 228.2001, Florida Statutes. Section 228.056(8)(f), F.S. [ 228.2001 is the Florida Educational Equity Act]
- Charter school shall operate in accordance with its charter and shall be exempt from all statutes of the Florida School Code, except those pertaining to civil rights and student health, safety, and welfare Section 228.056(11), F.S.
- Teachers employed by or under contract to a charter school shall be certified as required by Chapter 231, F.S. Section 228.056(12)(e), F.S.
- Transportation shall be provided by the charter school consistent with the requirements of chapter 234, F.S. The charter school shall ensure that transportation is not a barrier to equal access for all students residing within a reasonable distance for the charter school. Section 228.056(13)(c), F.S.
- A charter school shall utilize facilities which comply with the State Uniform Building Code for Public Education Facilities Construction. Section 228.056(16), F.S.