Florida Senate - 2026 SB 824 By Senator Truenow 13-00754A-26 2026824__ Page 1 of 2 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. A bill to be entitled 1

An act relating to charter schools; amending s. 2 1002.33, F.S.; defining terms; requiring a school 3 district to have an agreement to construct a school on 4 vacant land by a specified date; requiring a school 5 district to offer vacant land to charter school 6 operators within the district before other parties, 7 under certain conditions; requiring a school district 8 to award vacant land within a specified timeframe to 9 the charter school operator that submits the most 10 advantageous proposal within a specified timeframe; 11 providing an effective date. 12 13 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 14 15

Section 1. Paragraph (

i) is added to subsection (18) of 16

section 1002.33, Florida Statutes, to read: 17 1002.33 Charter schools.— 18

(18) FACILITIES.— 19 (i)1. For the purposes of this subsection, the term: 20 a. “Charter school operator” means an organization holding 21 a charter contract with an authorizer as described in s. 22 1002.333(2)(

a) and charter school management organizations that 23 are accredited by a regional accreditation agency, including 24 Cognia, the North Central Association Commission on 25 Accreditation and School Improvement, the Northwest 26 Accreditation Commission, and the Southern Association of 27 Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School 28 Improvement. 29 Florida Senate - 2026 SB 824 13-00754A-26 2026824__ Page 2 of 2 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. b. “Vacant land” means a parcel of real property upon which 30 no buildings, structures, or other permanent improvements have 31 been constructed or installed which is owned by a district 32 school board for 3 or more years in a district that has 33 experienced a decrease in student enrollment, year over year, 34 for 3 or more consecutive years, excluding student enrollment of 35 charter schools within the district. 36 2.a.

Vacant land must first be offered by the district 37 school board to all charter school operators within the school 38 district. A school district that owns vacant land must have an 39 agreement to construct a school on such land with a developer or 40 contractor by July 1, 2027. If such an agreement is not in place 41 by July 1, 2027, the school district has 60 days to offer the 42 vacant land to all charter school operators within the school 43 district. 44 b.

Charter school operators have 120 days after receiving 45 notice of an offer from the school district to submit a proposal 46 for constructing a charter school on the vacant land. A school 47 district has 60 days after receiving such proposals to award the 48 vacant land by sending a written notice to the charter school 49 operator determined by the school district to have made the most 50 advantageous proposal. 51

Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026. 52