Current through Reg. 50, No. 187; September 24, 2024
(1) Purpose. The purpose of this rule is to
set forth the procedures and standards for review and approval of a Florida
College System (FCS) institution or a State University System (SUS) institution
to act as a sponsor of a charter school, pursuant to Section (s.)
1002.33, Florida Statutes
(F.S.).
(2) Definitions.
(a) "Department" means the Florida Department
of Education.
(b) "LEA" or "local
educational agency" means the entity responsible for administering federal
programs, including federal education programs for the charter schools it
sponsors. An LEA is responsible for overseeing activities funded by federal
dollars and ensuring compliance and accountability with federal laws and
regulations.
(c) "Service area"
means the counties listed in Section
1000.21, F.S., that constitute
the service areas for each FCS institution and for each state university. FCS
institutions may only authorize a charter school located in its service
area.
(d) "Sponsor" means an FCS
institution or state university that meets and continues to meet the
requirements of a sponsor described in Section
1002.33, F.S., and this rule to
authorize or sponsor a charter school in Florida.
(e) "Workforce demands" means a program
designed to provide any training or assistance as set forth in Section
14.36(2)(e),
F.S.
(3) Sponsor
Application. In order to apply to act as a charter school sponsor, a college or
university must submit a completed Standard Application to Sponsor Charter
Schools for Florida SUS Institutions and FCS Institutions (Form IEPC-CUA,
August 2022,
http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-14586,
incorporated by reference in this rule, and which may be obtained
electronically on the Florida Department of Education's (Department) website at
http://www.floridaschoolchoice.org,
or from the Office of Independent Education and Parental Choice, 325 West
Gaines Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400).
(4) Review and Approval Process.
(a) Applications may be submitted at any time
of the year.
(b) Within forty-five
(45) days of receipt of the application, the Department will schedule an
interview with the applicant and notify the applicant of any missing
information and seek clarification of information needed in order to approve
the application.
(c) The applicant
shall have a minimum of twenty (20) days to provide to the Department missing
or supplemental information, or to correct deficiencies.
(d) The Department must notify an applicant
of approval or denial of the application within fifteen (15) business days of
the interview or receipt of the information provided under paragraph (4)(c),
whichever occurs later.
(5) Standards for Approval. In order to be
approved to sponsor a charter school, an applicant must demonstrate the
capacity to authorize, monitor, and support a charter school governing board in
accordance with the requirements of this rule and Section
1002.33, F.S. An applicant must
be able to provide administrative and education services to charter schools, as
set forth in Section 1002.33(20),
F.S., support and monitor charter schools to ensure all sponsored schools
comply with the duties set forth in Section
1002.33(16),
F.S., and associated rules, and meet all responsibilities as an LEA. Capacity
may be provided in the form of documents, description of leadership and
personnel, or other evidence. The application shall document:
(a) The college or university's vision and
goals for charter school sponsoring;
(b) Evidence that the institution employs at
least one individual at the president's leadership level to oversee the
institution's sponsorship program, and has provided for additional personnel at
the institution for a successful program;
(c) For an SUS institution, that the
sponsored school will offer programs designed to meet educational or workforce
demands; for an FCS institution, that the sponsored school will offer programs
designed to meet workforce demands in any county of the sponsor's service
area.
(d) The capacity to meet
responsibilities of the local educational agency (LEA) for federal funding
purposes, under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act,
20 U.S.C. ss.
6301, et seq., the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C.
ss. 1400 et seq., and the Carl D. Perkins
Act, 20 U.S.C.
2301 ss. et seq., along with implementing
regulations of these acts;
(e) The
capacity to ensure there are one or more safe-school officers at each of the
sponsored charter schools, pursuant to s.
1006.12, F.S., and ensure that
each sponsored school is compliant with school safety measures, including
Sections 943.082(4)(b),
1006.07(6)(c), (7),
(9),
1006.12,
1006.1493, and
1012.584, F.S;
(f) The capacity to determine eligibility of
students for school food and nutrition programs and to provide reporting
services for the National School Lunch Program, as set forth in
42 U.S.C. s.
1751 et seq, Section
595.404, F.S., and implementing
regulations. The sponsor must ensure that funds due to sponsored charter
schools are paid to the schools as they begin serving food under the
program;
(g) The capacity and
procedures to fully participate in the Department's accountability system, as
set forth in Sections
1008.22,
1008.23,
1008.24, and
1008.25, F.S., and associated
rules;
(h) The procedures or a
contract for processing teacher certification data services under Section
1012.56, F.S., and an approved
master inservice plan under Section
1012.98, F.S.;
(i) The procedures for reporting educator
misconduct under Chapter 1012, F.S.;
(j) The procedures or a contract to comply
with student and staff information services and state reporting requirements,
including applying to the Department for a unique Master School Identification
number for each school to be sponsored under Rule
6A-1.0016, F.A.C.;
(k) An assurance that the program will adhere
to the reporting requirements outlined in the Statement of Assurances provided
in the Standard Application to Sponsor Charter Schools referenced in this rule
(Form IEPC-CUA); and
(l) Adequate
funding for operation of the school. For institutions that did not receive an
appropriation as provided in Section
1002.33(17)(b),
F.S., evidence of equivalent funding from another source to support the
operations of the school beginning in the school year when students are
expected to enroll.
(6)
Terms and Conditions of Approval to Sponsor.
(a) An approved sponsor shall require charter
school applicants to utilize the Model Florida Charter School Application (Form
IEPC-M1, referenced in Rule
6A-6.0786, F.A.C.).
(b) Unless an approved sponsor denies an
application to operate a charter school based upon its discretionary authority
under sub-subparagraph (5)(a)3.c., a sponsor shall evaluate an application
using the Standard Model Charter School Application Evaluation Instrument (Form
IEPC-M2, referenced in Rule
6A-6.0786, F.A.C.).
(c) An approved sponsor shall use the Florida
Standard Charter Contract for all initial contract negotiations with its
sponsored school. The contract may include mutually agreed to revisions as
indicated in Section 1002.33(7),
F.S.
(d) Prior to initially
sponsoring a charter school, the sponsor shall participate in Department
training on the requirements in law for charter school
sponsors.
(7) Termination
of college or university charter school sponsorship authority.
(a) Any sponsor that decides to terminate its
sponsorship authority shall submit to the Department a transition plan for the
charter schools and their students and provide notice of its decision to the
Department, the schools, the families, and the school districts in which the
schools are operating. The plan must include the date of termination of its
sponsor authority and be designed to assure the academic continuity for all
students at the schools, including the transfer of student records.
(b) In order to minimize any disruption to
students, termination of sponsor authority and accompanying responsibilities
may not occur during the school year (August to June). The sponsor also must
provide a minimum of three months between the submission of its termination
plan and the termination of its sponsorship.
Rulemaking Authority
1002.33(28) FS.
Law Implemented 1001.02(1),
(2)(n),
1002.33
FS.
New 8-16-22.
