SESSION WATCH
Died SENATE · SESSION 2026

No. SB 424

Educational Facilities
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SPONSOR
Rouson
FILED BY
Darryl Ervin Rouson — District 16, Democrat
EFFECTIVE
7/1/2026
DIED IN
Education Pre-K - 12

Filed under Education.

PROVIDED SUMMARY

Educational Facilities; Deleting a provision authorizing a school of hope to colocate with another school in a public school facility; deleting a provision requiring a school district to permit a school of hope to use an underused, vacant, or surplus school district facility; deleting a requirement for students enrolled in a school of hope to be included in the school district’s total capital outlay full-time equivalent membership, etc.

Full bill text →

Plain English Summary

AI-GENERATED
Removes mandatory access to public school buildings for schools of hope.

Schools of hope no longer have a guaranteed right to use vacant or surplus public school buildings. Districts are no longer required to allow this placement.

Schools of hope are no longer counted in the district's total student enrollment for calculating state capital outlay funding. This changes how maintenance funds are allocated.

The bill removes the requirement that districts must permit schools of hope to use underused facilities. It also removes the provision allowing hope operators to use these facilities at no cost.

Local governments may now impose stricter building and site requirements on schools of hope than on public schools. Previously, they were prohibited from doing so.

KEY PROVISIONS
§ 1 Removes mandatory access to public school buildings majors. 1002.333(7)(a)

AISchool districts are no longer required to let schools of hope use their empty or underused buildings.

“The school district must permit any school of hope to use all or part of underused, vacant, or surplus school district facilities” bill text, line 65 →
§ 2 Removes free-use right for hope operators majors. 1002.333(7)(c)

AIHope operators can no longer use identified surplus facilities at no cost.

“A hope operator establishing a school of hope may use an educational facility identified in this paragraph at no cost” bill text, line 102 →
§ 3 Removes co-location authorization moderates. 1002.333(7)(a)

AISchools of hope can no longer share a public school building with another school.

“A school of hope may colocate with another school in a public school facility” bill text, line 63 →
§ 4 Removes capital outlay funding inclusion moderates. 1002.333(7)(a)

AIStudents in schools of hope are no longer counted in the district's total membership for calculating maintenance funds.

“Students enrolled in the school of hope shall be included in the district's total capital outlay full-time equivalent membership” bill text, line 68 →
§ 5 Tightens geographic definition of school of hope moderates. 1002.333(1)(d)

AIA school of hope must now be located in a Florida Opportunity Zone or the attendance zone of a persistently low-performing school, removing the 5-mile radius and outside-zone exceptions.

“Is located in a Florida Opportunity Zone or in the attendance zone of a persistently low-performing school or within a 5-mile radius of such school” bill text, line 41 →
§ 6 Removes bottom 10 percent performance criterion moderates. 1002.333(1)(c)

AIA school in the bottom 10 percent for student performance is no longer a qualifying persistently low-performing school.

“A school in the bottom 10 percent in at least 2 of the previous 3 years for student performance on the end-of-year administration” bill text, line 31 →
TIMELINE
3/13/2026
Died in Education Pre-K - 12
1/13/2026
Introduced
11/17/2025
Referred to Education Pre-K - 12; Appropriations Committee on...
11/7/2025
Filed
STATUTES IT CHANGES
s. 1002.333
+6 / −244