S 424

Florida Senate - 2026  SB 424
By Senator Rouson
16-00641A-26  2026424__
1A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to educational facilities; amending s.
31002.333, F.S.; revising definitions; deleting a
4provision authorizing a school of hope to colocate
5with another school in a public school facility;
6deleting a provision requiring a school district to
7permit a school of hope to use an underused, vacant,
8or surplus school district facility; deleting a
9requirement for students enrolled in a school of hope
10to be included in the school district’s total capital
11outlay full-time equivalent membership; deleting a
12provision authorizing a hope operator establishing a
13school of hope to use such a facility at no cost;
14providing an effective date.
15
16Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
17
18Section 1. Paragraphs (c) and (d) of subsection (1) and
19paragraphs (a) and (d) of subsection (7) of section 1002.333,
20Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
211002.333 Persistently low-performing schools.—
22(1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
23(c) “Persistently low-performing school” means a school
24that meets at least one of the following criteria:
251. A school that has earned three grades lower than a “C,”
26pursuant to s. 1008.34, in at least 3 of the previous 5 years
27that the school received a grade and has not earned a grade of
28“B” or higher in the most recent 2 school years; or
292. A school that was closed pursuant to s. 1008.33(4)
30within 2 years after the submission of a notice of intent; or
313. A school in the bottom 10 percent in at least 2 of the
32previous 3 years for student performance on the end-of-year
33administration of the coordinated screening and progress
34monitoring system for grade 3 English Language Arts or grade 4
35mathematics as prescribed in s. 1008.22(3)(a)2.
36(d) “School of hope” means:
371. A charter school operated by a hope operator which:
38a. Serves students from one or more persistently low
39performing schools or students who reside in a Florida
40Opportunity Zone; and
41b. Is located in a Florida Opportunity Zone or in the
42attendance zone of a persistently low-performing school or
43within a 5-mile radius of such school, whichever is greater. A
44school of hope may be located outside of a Florida Opportunity
45Zone or persistently low-performing school attendance zone if
46the school district does not have underused, vacant, or surplus
47property available for the hope operator to use within a Florida
48Opportunity Zone or persistently low-performing school
49attendance zone; and
50c. Is a Title I eligible school; or
512. A school operated by a hope operator pursuant to s.
521008.33(4)(b)3.
53(7) FACILITIES.—
54(a) A school of hope shall use facilities that comply with
55the Florida Building Code, except for the State Requirements for
56Educational Facilities. A school of hope that uses school
57district facilities must comply with the State Requirements for
58Educational Facilities only if the school district and the hope
59operator have entered into a mutual management plan for the
60reasonable maintenance of such facilities. The mutual management
61plan must shall contain a provision by which the district school
62board agrees to maintain the school facilities in the same
63manner as its other public schools within the district. A school
64of hope may colocate with another school in a public school
65facility. The school district must permit any school of hope to
66use all or part of underused, vacant, or surplus school district
67facilities, and receive facility-related services, pursuant to
68State Board of Education rule. Students enrolled in the school
69of hope shall be included in the district’s total capital outlay
70full-time equivalent membership for the purpose of s. 1013.62
71and for calculating the Public Education Capital Outlay
72maintenance funds or any other maintenance funds for the
73facility. The local governing authority may shall not adopt or
74impose any local building requirements or site-development
75restrictions, such as parking and site-size criteria, student
76enrollment, and occupant load, that are addressed by and more
77stringent than those found in the State Requirements for
78Educational Facilities of the Florida Building Code. A local
79governing authority shall must treat schools of hope equitably
80in comparison to similar requirements, restrictions, and site
81planning processes imposed upon public schools. The agency
82having jurisdiction for inspection of a facility and issuance of
83a certificate of occupancy or use is shall be the local
84municipality or, if in an unincorporated area, the county
85governing authority. If an official or employee of the local
86governing authority refuses to comply with this paragraph, the
87aggrieved school or entity has an immediate right to bring an
88action in circuit court to enforce its rights by injunction. An
89aggrieved party that receives injunctive relief may be awarded
90reasonable attorney fees and court costs.
91(d) No later than January 1, the department shall annually
92provide to school districts a list of all underused, vacant, or
93surplus facilities owned or operated by the school district as
94reported in the Florida Inventory of School Houses. A school
95district may provide evidence to the department that a facility
96includes prekindergarten students who are not reported for
97funding in the Florida Education Finance Program or that the
98list contains errors or omissions within 30 days after receipt
99of the list. By each April 1, the department shall update and
100publish a final list of all underused, vacant, or surplus
101facilities owned or operated by each school district, based upon
102updated information provided by each school district. A hope
103operator establishing a school of hope may use an educational
104facility identified in this paragraph at no cost. A hope
105operator using a facility pursuant to this paragraph may not
106sell or dispose of such facility without the written permission
107of the school district. For purposes of this paragraph, the term
108“underused, vacant, or surplus facility” means an entire
109facility or portion thereof which is not fully used or is used
110irregularly or intermittently by the school district for
111instructional or program use.
112Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.