Late last month Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill that could expand charter schools called “Schools of Hope.” Opponents are concerned about one part that allows charter schools to co-locate inside public schools.
The bill (SB 2510) passed on the last day of the legislative session, June 17 while many people were focused on the state budget. The Republican-controlled House passed the bill 80-24, after the Senate approved it 25-9.
Damaris Allen, executive director of Families for Strong Public Schools, says it could harm traditional public education.
“And so it basically allows another school system to operate rent-free in our public schools, but someone has to pay the cost that goes around along with operating those schools, and that’s gonna be our traditional public school. And why that is a challenge is that the way our funding system in Florida works is that we fund schools. By, students in seats. And so that means if that co-located charter school has a certain number of students, they’re getting the same amount per student as the traditional public school, except they’re not having to pay for the physical building like our traditional public schools,” Allen said.
Democratic State Representative Fentrice Driskell is also concerned about how it might impact funding for public schools.
“I think it really sounded the alarms because we have a constitutional obligation to fully fund or adequately fund our public schools and to make sure we are providing high-quality public schools. It feels very difficult to do that when a new charter school, which technically yes is a public school, can just come in and take over. It feels very threatening to our public schools,” Rep. Driskell said.
Supporters say the law could expand school choice options.
It could also allow charter schools to have stricter codes of conduct, which could mean some students would be excluded.
Some information was provided by The News Service of Florida
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