SESSION WATCH
THE BILL ITSELF

SB 1704

Charter School Funding

VERSION S 1704 Filed · BACK TO THE SUMMARY · OFFICIAL RECORD

underlined language is being added; struck language is being deleted. Line numbers are the Legislature's own — the same ones amendments cite.

Florida Senate - 2026 SB 1704 By Senator Yarborough 4-01541-26 20261704__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to charter school funding; amending s.
3 1002.33, F.S.; providing local funding sources for
4 certain charter schools; prohibiting a district school
5 board from delaying specified payments to a charter
6 school; providing that certain charter school
7 facilities are exempt from assessments and fees;
8 requiring certain funds to remain with a conversion
9 school; deleting a requirement for a charter school
10 system’s governing board to be designated as a local
11 educational agency; providing an exception for certain
12 landlords and other persons and entities to be members
13 of a charter school governing board under certain
14 circumstances; amending s. 1013.62, F.S.; revising
15 requirements for a charter school to be eligible to
16 receive capital outlay funding; revising the
17 calculation methodology to determine a capital outlay
18 allocation to a charter school; revising authorized
19 uses of charter school capital outlay funds; providing
20 an effective date.
22 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
24 Section 1. Paragraphs (b) and (e) of subsection (17),
25 paragraphs (d) and (e) of subsection (18), paragraph (a) of
26 subsection (25), and paragraph (d) of subsection (26) of section
27 1002.33, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
28 1002.33 Charter schools.—
29 (17) FUNDING.—Students enrolled in a charter school,
30 regardless of the sponsorship, shall be funded based upon the
31 applicable program pursuant to s. 1011.62(1)(c), the same as
32 students enrolled in other public schools in a school district.
33 Funding for a charter lab school shall be as provided in s.
34 1002.32.
35 (b)1. Funding for students enrolled in a charter school
36 sponsored by a school district shall be the sum of the school
37 district’s operating funds from the Florida Education Finance
38 Program as defined in s. 1011.61(4) and the General
39 Appropriations Act, including gross state and local funds, and
40 funds from the school district’s current operating discretionary
41 millage levy authorized under s. 1011.71(1) and (9) ; divided by
42 total funded weighted full-time equivalent students in the
43 school district; and multiplied by the weighted full-time
44 equivalent students for the charter school. Charter schools
45 whose students or programs meet the eligibility criteria in law
46 are entitled to their proportionate share of categorical program
47 funds included in the total funds available in the Florida
48 Education Finance Program by the Legislature, including the
49 student transportation allocation and the educational enrichment
50 allocation. Total funding for each charter school shall be
51 recalculated during the year to reflect the revised calculations
52 under the Florida Education Finance Program by the state and the
53 actual weighted full-time equivalent students reported by the
54 charter school during the full-time equivalent student survey
55 periods designated by the Commissioner of Education. For charter
56 schools operated by a not-for-profit or municipal entity, any
57 unrestricted current and capital assets identified in the
58 charter school’s annual financial audit may be used for other
59 charter schools operated by the not-for-profit or municipal
60 entity within the school district. For charter schools operated
61 by a not-for-profit entity, any unrestricted current or capital
62 assets identified in the charter school’s annual audit may be
63 used for other charter schools operated by the not-for-profit
64 entity which are located outside of the originating charter
65 school’s school district, but within the state, through an
66 unforgivable loan that must be repaid within 5 years to the
67 originating charter school by the receiving charter school.
68 Unrestricted current assets shall be used in accordance with s.
69 1011.62, and any unrestricted capital assets shall be used in
70 accordance with s. 1013.62(2).
71 2.a. Funding for students enrolled in a charter school
72 sponsored by a state university or Florida College System
73 institution pursuant to paragraph (5)(a) shall be provided in
74 the Florida Education Finance Program as defined in s.
75 1011.61(4) and as specified in the General Appropriations Act.
76 The calculation to determine the amount of state funds includes
77 the sum of the base Florida Education Finance Program
78 established in s. 1011.62(1)(n), the discretionary millage
79 compression supplement established in s. 1011.62(5), and the
80 state-funded discretionary contribution established in s.
81 1011.62(6). Charter schools whose students or programs meet the
82 eligibility criteria in law are entitled to their proportionate
83 share of categorical program funds included in the total funds
84 available in the Florida Education Finance Program. The Florida
85 College System institution or state university sponsoring the
86 charter school shall be the fiscal agent for these funds, and
87 all rules of the institution governing the budgeting and
88 expenditure of state funds shall apply to these funds unless
89 otherwise provided by law or rule of the State Board of
90 Education.
91 (I) The nonvoted required local millage established
92 pursuant to s. 1011.71(1) that would otherwise be required for
93 the charter schools shall be allocated from state funds.
94 (II) An equivalent amount of funds for the operating
95 discretionary millage authorized pursuant to s. 1011.71(1) shall
96 be allocated to each charter school through a state-funded
97 discretionary contribution established pursuant to s.
98 1011.62(6).
99 (III) The comparable wage factor as provided in s.
100 1011.62(2) shall be established as 1.000.
101 b. Total funding for each charter school shall be
102 recalculated during the year to reflect the revised calculations
103 under the Florida Education Finance Program by the state and the
104 actual weighted full-time equivalent students reported by the
105 charter school during the full-time equivalent student survey
106 periods designated by the Commissioner of Education.
107 c. The Department of Education shall develop a tool that
108 each state university or Florida College System institution
109 sponsoring a charter school shall use for purposes of
110 calculating the funding amount for each eligible charter school
111 student. The total amount obtained from the calculation must be
112 appropriated from state funds in the General Appropriations Act
113 to the charter school.
114 d. Capital outlay funding for a charter school sponsored by
115 a state university or Florida College System institution
116 pursuant to paragraph (5)(a) is determined as follows: multiply
117 the maximum allowable nonvoted discretionary millage under s.
118 1011.71(2) by 96 percent of the current year’s taxable value for
119 school purposes for the district in which the charter school is
120 located; divide the result by the total full-time equivalent
121 student membership; and multiply the result by the full-time
122 equivalent student membership of the charter school. The amount
123 obtained shall be the discretionary capital improvement funds
124 and shall be appropriated from state funds in the General
125 Appropriations Act.
126 (e) Sponsors shall make timely and efficient payment and
127 reimbursement to charter schools, including processing paperwork
128 required to access special state and federal funding for which
129 they may be eligible, including the timely review and
130 reimbursement of federal grant funds. Payments of funds under
131 paragraph (b) shall be made monthly or twice a month, beginning
132 with the start of the sponsor’s fiscal year. Each payment shall
133 be one-twelfth, or one twenty-fourth, as applicable, of the
134 total state and local funds described in paragraph (b) and
135 adjusted as set forth therein. For the first 2 years of a
136 charter school’s operation, if a minimum of 75 percent of the
137 projected enrollment is entered into the sponsor’s student
138 information system by the first day of the current month, the
139 sponsor shall distribute funds to the school for the months of
140 July through October based on the projected full-time equivalent
141 student membership of the charter school as submitted in the
142 approved application. If less than 75 percent of the projected
143 enrollment is entered into the sponsor’s student information
144 system by the first day of the current month, the sponsor shall
145 base payments on the actual number of student enrollment entered
146 into the sponsor’s student information system. Thereafter, the
147 results of full-time equivalent student membership surveys shall
148 be used in adjusting the amount of funds distributed monthly to
149 the charter school for the remainder of the fiscal year. The
150 payments shall be issued no later than 10 working days after the
151 sponsor receives a distribution of state or federal funds or the
152 date the payment is due pursuant to this subsection. With
153 respect to federal grant funds submitted for reimbursement, the
154 sponsor shall have 60 calendar days from the date of the
155 submission to reimburse the charter school if the submission
156 provides all the necessary information to qualify for
157 reimbursement. If a warrant for payment is not issued within 10
158 working days after receipt of funding by the sponsor or within
159 60 calendar days after an approved submittal for reimbursement
160 of federal grant funds, the sponsor shall pay to the charter
161 school, in addition to the amount of the scheduled disbursement,
162 interest at a rate of 1 percent per month calculated on a daily
163 basis on the unpaid balance from the expiration of the 10
164 working days or 60 calendar days for the reimbursement of
165 federal grant funds, until such time as the warrant is issued.
166 The district school board may not delay payment to a charter
167 school of any portion of the funds provided in paragraph (b) ,
168 including any funds from the school district’s current operating
169 discretionary millage levy authorized under s. 1011.71(1) and
170 (9), based on the timing of receipt of local funds by the
171 district school board.
172 (18) FACILITIES.—
173 (d) Any facility, or portion thereof, used to house a
174 charter school whose charter has been approved by the sponsor
175 and the governing board pursuant to subsection (7) is Charter
176 school facilities are exempt from assessments of fees for
177 building permits, except as provided in s. 553.80; fees for
178 building and occupational licenses; impact fees or exactions;
179 service availability fees; and assessments for special benefits.
180 (e) If a district school board facility or property is
181 available because it is surplus, marked for disposal, or
182 otherwise unused, it shall be provided for a charter school’s
183 use on the same basis as it is made available to other public
184 schools in the district. A charter school receiving property
185 from the sponsor may not sell or dispose of such property
186 without written permission of the sponsor. Similarly, for an
187 existing public school converting to charter status, a district
188 school board may not charge rental or leasing fees for the
189 existing facility or for the property normally inventoried to
190 the conversion school to the parents, principal, school advisory
191 council, or teachers organizing the charter school. The
192 municipality must negotiate rental or leasing fees with the
193 district school board. Property normally inventoried to the
194 school may not be removed. The charter school shall agree to
195 reasonable maintenance provisions in order to maintain the
196 facility in a manner similar to district school board standards.
197 The Public Education Capital Outlay maintenance funds or any
198 other maintenance funds generated by the facility operated as a
199 conversion school or allocated to the facility operated as a
200 conversion school under s. 1013.62 shall remain with the
201 conversion school.
202 (25) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY STATUS FOR CERTAIN CHARTER
203 SCHOOL SYSTEMS.—
204 (a) A charter school system’s governing board shall be
205 designated a local educational agency for the purpose of
206 receiving federal funds, the same as though the charter school
207 system were a school district, if the governing board of the
208 charter school system has adopted and filed a resolution with
209 each of its sponsors sponsor and the Department of Education in
210 which the governing board of the charter school system accepts
211 the full responsibility for all local education agency
212 requirements and the charter school system meets all of the
213 following:
214 1. Has all schools located in the same county;
215 2. Has a total enrollment exceeding the total enrollment of
216 at least one school district in this state; and
217 2. 3. Has the same governing board.
219 Such designation does not apply to other provisions unless
220 specifically provided in law.
221 (26) STANDARDS OF CONDUCT AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE.—
222 (d) A landlord of a charter school or his or her spouse or
223 an officer, a director, or an employee of an entity that is a
224 landlord of a charter school or his or her spouse may not be a
225 member of a governing board of a charter school unless the
226 charter school was established pursuant to paragraph (15)(c) or
227 the landlord is either a nonprofit, tax-exempt entity whose
228 mission includes supporting the charter school, or a limited
229 liability company, the sole member of which is the charter
230 school .
231 Section 2. Subsection (1), paragraphs (b) and (d) of
232 subsection (3), and paragraph (e) of subsection (4) of section
233 1013.62, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
234 1013.62 Charter schools capital outlay funding.—
235 (1) Charter school capital outlay funding shall consist of
236 state funds when such funds are appropriated in the General
237 Appropriations Act and revenue resulting from the discretionary
238 millage authorized in s. 1011.71(2).
239 (a) To be eligible to receive capital outlay funds, a
240 charter school must:
241 1.a. Have been in operation for 2 or more years;
242 b. Be governed by a governing board established in the
243 state for 2 or more years which operates both charter schools
244 and conversion charter schools within the state;
245 c. Be an expanded feeder chain of a charter school within
246 the same school district that is currently receiving charter
247 school capital outlay funds;
248 d. Have been accredited by a regional accrediting
249 association as defined by State Board of Education rule;
250 e. Serve students in facilities that are provided by a
251 business partner for a charter school-in-the-workplace pursuant
252 to s. 1002.33(15)(b); or
253 f. Be operated by a hope operator pursuant to s. 1002.333.
254 2. Have an annual audit that does not reveal any of the
255 financial emergency conditions provided in s. 218.503(1) for the
256 most recent fiscal year for which such audit results are
257 available.
258 3. Have not earned two consecutive grades of “F,” three
259 consecutive grades below a “C,” or two consecutive school
260 improvement ratings of “Unsatisfactory.”
261 4. Have received final approval from its sponsor pursuant
262 to s. 1002.33 for operation during that fiscal year.
263 5. Serve students in facilities that are not provided by
264 the charter school’s sponsor.
265 6. Attest in writing to the department that if the charter
266 school is nonrenewed or terminated, any unencumbered funds and
267 all equipment and property purchased with public funds shall
268 revert pursuant to subsection (5).
269 (b) A charter school is not eligible to receive capital
270 outlay funds if:
271 1. It was created by the conversion of a public school and
272 operates in facilities provided by the charter school’s sponsor
273 for a nominal fee, or at no charge, or if it is directly or
274 indirectly operated by the school district;
275 2. It is a developmental research (laboratory) school that
276 receives state funding for capital improvement purposes pursuant
277 to s. 1002.32(9)(d);
278 2. 3. A member of the governing board, or his or her family
279 member as defined in s. 440.13(1)(b), has an interest in or is
280 an employee of the lessor, excluding charter schools operating
281 pursuant to s. 1002.33(15) and charter schools whose lessor or
282 property owner is a nonprofit, tax-exempt entity whose mission
283 includes supporting the school or a limited liability company
284 whose sole member is the charter school ; or
285 3. 4. It is a Florida College System institution or state
286 university sponsored charter school that receives state funding
287 for capital improvement purposes pursuant to s.
288 1002.33(17)(b)2.d.
289 (3) If the school board levies the discretionary millage
290 authorized in s. 1011.71(2), the department shall use the
291 following calculation methodology to determine the amount of
292 revenue that a school district must distribute to each eligible
293 charter school:
294 (b) Divide the school district’s adjusted discretionary
295 millage revenue by the district’s total capital outlay full-time
296 equivalent membership , not to include any full-time equivalent
297 membership of eligible charter schools, and the total number of
298 full-time equivalent students of each eligible charter school to
299 determine a capital outlay allocation per full-time equivalent
300 student.
301 (d) If applicable, reduce the capital outlay allocation
302 identified in paragraph (c) by the total amount of state funds
303 allocated to each eligible charter school in subsection (2) to
304 determine the maximum calculated capital outlay allocation. The
305 amount of funds a school district must distribute to charter
306 schools shall be as follows:
307 1. For fiscal year 2023-2024, the amount is 20 percent of
308 the amount calculated under this paragraph.
309 2. For fiscal year 2024-2025, the amount is 40 percent of
310 the amount calculated under this paragraph.
311 3. For fiscal year 2025-2026, the amount is 60 percent of
312 the amount calculated under this paragraph.
313 4. For fiscal year 2026-2027, the amount is 80 percent of
314 the amount calculated under this paragraph.
315 5. For fiscal year 2027-2028, and each fiscal year
316 thereafter, the amount is 100 percent of the amount calculated
317 under this paragraph.
319 By October 1 of each year, each school district shall certify to
320 the department the amount of debt service and participation
321 requirement that complies with the requirement of paragraph (a)
322 and can be reduced from the total discretionary millage revenue.
323 The Auditor General shall verify compliance with the
324 requirements of paragraph (a) and s. 1011.71(2)(e) during
325 scheduled operational audits of school districts.
326 (4) A charter school’s governing body may use charter
327 school capital outlay funds for the following purposes:
328 (e) Renovation, repair, and maintenance of school
329 facilities that the charter school owns or is purchasing through
330 a lease-purchase , occupies under a or long-term lease of 5 years
331 or longer , or has agreed to maintain under a mutual management
332 plan with the charter school’s sponsor .
334 Any purchase, lease-purchase, or lease made pursuant to this
335 subsection must be at the appraised value. For purposes of this
336 subsection, the term “appraised value” means the fair market
337 value as determined by an independent, Florida-licensed,
338 qualified appraiser selected by the governing board.
339 Documentation of the appraised value shall be provided to the
340 department upon its request. Conversion charter schools may use
341 capital outlay funds received through the reduction in the
342 administrative fee provided in s. 1002.33(20) for renovation,
343 repair, and maintenance of school facilities that are owned by
344 the sponsor.
345 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.