Jacob Ogles
The Senate has agreed to establish a major funding tool for Schools of Hope launched to compete with failing public schools.
The House earlier this week proposed a transfer of funds from the Schools of Hope Revolving Loan Fund.
A proviso now adopted by the Senate includes language setting the funding for Schools of Hope in reserve, then allowing the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) to submit budget amendments calling to release the dollars. Those would be available to eligible recipients who submit detailed disbursement data, including dollar amounts and a description of how the money will be used.
The provision requires a detailed spending plan that identifies existing or new Schools of Hope. Applications for the coming year could be submitted no later than Aug. 1 this year.
The Senate agreed to the language first proposed by the House.
The Senate earlier this week agreed to direct $6 million toward funding Schools of Hope, which are privately run charter schools launched to directly compete with struggling traditional schools. The Revolving Loan Program has sent out some $98.9 million in payments to Hope operators, according to FDOE reporting. That most recently included sending about $10.5 million to KIPP Miami’s 79th Street location and more than $2.3 million to the RCMA Mulberry Community Academy in Polk County.
Schools of Hope were first approved by state lawmakers in 2017, when a law allowed the establishment of the charter schools to compete with failing traditional schools. As part of budget talks, the Senate and House have now agreed to redefine what that failure looks like.
The Senate just accepted language that “(r)evises the definition of persistently low performing schools and Schools of Hope,” “revises who can sponsor a school of hope” and “allows for colocation and district reporting of students for capital outlay funding.”
The changes also include additional reporting requirements for Schools of Hope operators.
That’s a change in fortune for a Schools of Hope expansion that appeared dead toward the end of the scheduled Legislative Session.
The House Education & Employment Committee and the House Education Administration Subcommittee, during the Regular Session, put forward a committee bill (HB 1115) that would have required surtax revenue shared with school districts to be redirected to charter schools, including Schools of Hope.
That passed in the House but was not agreed upon by the Senate. The policy bill died May 3.
But with the Session extended for budget negotiations, it looks like the charter school expansion will make it into the budget plan that heads to the Governor’s desk.
