Senate Bill 1702 (2025) — Education
SB 1702
Florida Bills
Florida Senate - 2025 SB 1702 By Senator Burgess 23-01071C-25 20251702__ Page 1 of 8 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to education; amending s. 1002.33, 2 F.S.; requiring a charter school sponsor to use a 3 standard monitoring tool to monitor and review a 4 charter school; amending s. 1002.333, F.S.; defining 5 the term “sponsoring entity”; providing that a hope 6 operator must submit a notice of intent to open a 7 school of hope to the sponsoring entity, rather than 8 the school district; requiring the sponsoring entity, 9 rather than the school district, to enter into a 10 performance-based agreement with a hope operator; 11 requiring a school of hope to provide the sponsoring 12 entity, rather than the school district, with a 13 financial statement
summary sheet; providing an 14 effective date. 15 16 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 17 18
Section 1. Paragraph (
b) of subsection (5) of
section 19 1002.33, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 20 1002.33 Charter schools.— 21
(5) SPONSOR; DUTIES.— 22 (
b) Sponsor duties.— 23 1.a. The sponsor shall monitor and review the charter 24 school, using the standard monitoring tool, in its progress 25 toward the goals established in the charter. 26 b. The sponsor shall monitor the revenues and expenditures 27 of the charter school and perform the duties provided in s. 28 1002.345. 29
Florida Senate - 2025 SB 1702 23-01071C-25 20251702__ Page 2 of 8 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. c. The sponsor may approve a charter for a charter school 30 before the applicant has identified space, equipment, or 31 personnel, if the applicant indicates approval is necessary for 32 it to raise working funds. 33 d. The sponsor may not apply its policies to a charter 34 school unless mutually agreed to by both the sponsor and the 35 charter school.
If the sponsor subsequently amends any agreed-36 upon sponsor policy, the version of the policy in effect at the 37 time of the execution of the charter, or any subsequent 38 modification thereof, shall remain in effect and the sponsor may 39 not hold the charter school responsible for any provision of a 40 newly revised policy until the revised policy is mutually agreed 41 upon. 42 e. The sponsor shall ensure that the charter is innovative 43 and consistent with the state education goals established by s. 44 1000.03(5). 45 f.
The sponsor shall ensure that the charter school 46 participates in the state’s education accountability system. If 47 a charter school falls short of performance measures included in 48 the approved charter, the sponsor shall report such shortcomings 49 to the Department of Education. 50 g. The sponsor is not liable for civil damages under state 51 law for personal injury, property damage, or death resulting 52 from
an act or omission of an officer, employee, agent, or 53 governing body of the charter school. 54 h. The sponsor is not liable for civil damages under state 55 law for any employment actions taken by an officer, employee, 56 agent, or governing body of the charter school. 57 i. The sponsor’s duties to monitor the charter school do 58
Florida Senate - 2025 SB 1702 23-01071C-25 20251702__ Page 3 of 8 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. not constitute the basis for a private cause of action. 59 j. The sponsor may not impose additional reporting 60 requirements on a charter school as long as the charter school 61 has not been identified as having a deteriorating financial 62 condition or financial emergency pursuant to s. 1002.345. 63 k. The sponsor shall submit an annual report to the 64 Department of Education in a web-based format to be determined 65 by the department. 66 (
I) The report shall include the following information: 67 (
A) The number of applications received during the school 68 year and up to August 1 and each applicant’s contact 69 information. 70 (
B) The date each application was approved, denied, or 71 withdrawn. 72 (
C) The date each final contract was executed. 73 (II) Annually, by November 1, the sponsor shall submit to 74 the department the information for the applications submitted 75 the previous year. 76 (III) The department shall compile an annual report, by 77 sponsor, and post the report on its website by January 15 of 78 each year. 79 2. Immunity for the sponsor of a charter school under 80 subparagraph 1. applies only with respect to acts or omissions 81 not under the sponsor’s direct authority as described in this 82 section. 83 3. This paragraph does not waive a sponsor’s sovereign 84 immunity. 85 4.
A Florida College System institution may work with the 86 school district or school districts in its designated service 87
Florida Senate - 2025 SB 1702 23-01071C-25 20251702__ Page 4 of 8 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. area to develop charter schools that offer secondary education. 88 These charter schools must include an option for students to 89 receive an associate degree upon high school graduation.
If a 90 Florida College System institution operates an approved teacher 91 preparation program under s. 1004.04 or s. 1004.85, the 92 institution may operate charter schools that serve students in 93 kindergarten through grade 12 in any school district within the 94 service area of the institution. District school boards shall 95 cooperate with and assist the Florida College System institution 96 on the charter application.
Florida College System institution 97 applications for charter schools are not subject to the time 98 deadlines outlined in subsection (6) and may be approved by the 99 district school board at any time during the year. Florida 100 College System institutions may not report FTE for any students 101 participating under this subparagraph who receive FTE funding 102 through the Florida Education Finance Program. 103 5.
For purposes of assisting the development of a charter 104 school, a school district may enter into nonexclusive interlocal 105 agreements with federal and state agencies, counties, 106 municipalities, and other governmental entities that operate 107 within the geographical borders of the school district to act on 108 behalf of such governmental entities in the inspection, 109 issuance, and other necessary activities for all necessary 110 permits, licenses, and other permissions that a charter school 111 needs in order for development, construction, or operation.
A 112 charter school may use, but may not be required to use, a school 113 district for these services. The interlocal agreement must 114 include, but need not be limited to, the identification of fees 115 that charter schools will be charged for such services. The fees 116
Florida Senate - 2025 SB 1702 23-01071C-25 20251702__ Page 5 of 8 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. must consist of the governmental entity’s fees plus a fee for 117 the school district to recover no more than actual costs for 118 providing such services. These services and fees are not 119 included within the services to be provided pursuant to 120 subsection (20).
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an 121 interlocal agreement or ordinance that imposes a greater 122 regulatory burden on charter schools than school districts or 123 that prohibits or limits the creation of a charter school is 124 void and unenforceable. An interlocal agreement entered into by 125 a school district for the development of only its own schools, 126 including provisions relating to the extension of 127 infrastructure, may be used by charter schools. 128 6. The board of trustees of a sponsoring state university 129 or Florida College System institution under paragraph (
a) is the 130 local educational agency for all charter schools it sponsors for 131 purposes of receiving federal funds and accepts full 132 responsibility for all local educational agency requirements and 133 the schools for which it will perform local educational agency 134 responsibilities. A student enrolled in a charter school that is 135 sponsored by a state university or Florida College System 136 institution may not be included in the calculation of the school 137 district’s grade under s. 1008.34(5) for the school district in 138 which he or she resides. 139
Section 2. Subsection (4) and paragraphs (
a) and (
h) of 140 subsection (6) of
section 1002.333, Florida Statutes, are 141 amended, and paragraph (
e) is added to subsection (1) of that 142 section, to read: 143 1002.333 Persistently low-performing schools.— 144
(1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 145
Florida Senate - 2025 SB 1702 23-01071C-25 20251702__ Page 6 of 8 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. (e) “Sponsoring entity” has the same meaning as in s. 146 1002.33(5). 147
(4) ESTABLISHMENT OF SCHOOLS OF HOPE.—A hope operator 148 seeking to open a school of hope must submit a notice of intent 149 to the sponsoring entity to operate a school of hope in a the 150 school district in which a persistently low-performing school 151 has been identified by the State Board of Education pursuant to 152 subsection (10) or in which a Florida Opportunity Zone is 153 located. 154 (
a) The notice of intent must include: 155 1. An academic focus and plan. 156 2. A financial plan. 157 3. Goals and objectives for increasing student achievement 158 for the students from low-income families. 159 4. A completed or planned community outreach plan. 160 5. The organizational history of success in working with 161 students with similar demographics. 162 6. The grade levels to be served and enrollment 163 projections. 164 7. The proposed location or geographic area proposed for 165 the school consistent with the requirements of sub-subparagraphs 166 (1)(d)1.a. and b. 167 8. A staffing plan. 168 (
b) Notwithstanding the requirements of s. 1002.33, a 169 sponsoring entity school district shall enter into a 170 performance-based agreement with a hope operator to open schools 171 to serve students from persistently low-performing schools and 172 students residing in a Florida Opportunity Zone. 173
(6) STATUTORY AUTHORITY.— 174
Florida Senate - 2025 SB 1702 23-01071C-25 20251702__ Page 7 of 8 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. (
a) A school of hope or a nonprofit entity that operates 175 more than one school of hope through a performance-based 176 agreement with a sponsoring entity school district may be 177 designated as a local education agency by the department, if 178 requested, for the purposes of receiving federal funds and, in 179 doing so, accepts the full responsibility for all local 180 education agency requirements and the schools for which it will 181 perform local education agency responsibilities. 182 1. A nonprofit entity designated as a local education 183 agency may report its students to the department in accordance 184 with the
definitions in s. 1011.61 and pursuant to the 185 department’s procedures and timelines. 186 2. Students enrolled in a school established by a hope 187 operator designated as a local educational agency are not 188 eligible students for purposes of calculating the district grade 189 pursuant to s. 1008.34(5). 190 (h)1. A school of hope shall provide the sponsoring entity 191 school district with a concise, uniform, quarterly financial 192 statement
summary sheet that contains a balance sheet and a 193 statement of revenue, expenditures, and changes in fund balance. 194 The balance sheet and the statement of revenue, expenditures, 195 and changes in fund balance shall be in the governmental fund 196 format prescribed by the Governmental Accounting Standards 197 Board. Additionally, a school of hope shall comply with the 198 annual audit requirement for charter schools in s. 218.39. 199 2. A school of hope is in compliance with subparagraph 1. 200 if it is operated by a nonprofit entity designated as a local 201 education agency and if the nonprofit submits to each school 202 district in which it operates a school of hope: 203
Florida Senate - 2025 SB 1702 23-01071C-25 20251702__ Page 8 of 8 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. a. A concise, uniform, quarterly financial statement 204
summary sheet that contains a balance sheet summarizing the 205 revenue, expenditures, and changes in fund balance for the 206 entity and for its schools of hope within the school district. 207 b. An annual financial audit of the nonprofit which 208 includes all schools of hope it operates within this state and 209 which complies with s. 218.39 regarding audits of a school 210 board. 211