Update March 27, 2024:
“With today’s decision, the Florida State Board of Education again shows its support for public charter schools, their students and teachers, and the community that relies on them,” said Lynn Norman-Teck, Executive Director of FCSA. “Charter schools have been a vital part of Florida’s K-12 public school system for nearly three decades — providing a valuable education option, especially in high-need areas. Inequitable funding for charter school students and teachers is simply unacceptable.”
Memorandum from FLDOE, Education Commissioner Manny Diaz , Jr.
State Board of Education and Commissioner Manny Diaz, Jr. Take Actions to Protect Students and Hold Districts Accountable
TALLAHASSEE, Fla., March 27, 2024 – Today, the State Board of Education approved a motion to require the Broward County School Board and Broward County School District to comply with the law and pay back the more than $80 million they owe to the charter schools in their district. Additionally, the Board designated the Schools of Excellence for 2022-2023. During the meeting, Commissioner Manny Diaz, Jr. also made clear that districts should not use tutor.com due to its ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
“I am extremely proud of the many accomplishments that protect Florida students, teachers and schools,” said Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz, Jr. “It is crucial that districts are held accountable for their actions, and I am pleased that we have taken measures to ensure transparency.”
Holding Broward County Schools Accountable
On March 7, 2024, Commissioner Diaz informed the Broward County School District that they were out of compliance with Florida law, specifically regarding sharing revenue collected via discretionary tax levied under section 1011.71(9), Florida Statutes (2018), with its charter schools. In 2018, Broward County voters passed a referendum to provide additional funding to public schools, and the Broward County School District has failed to share those dollars with the Broward charter schools. The State Board of Education has given the Broward County School District and the Broward County School Board until the next State Board of Education meeting on April 17, 2024, to reach a resolution and present their plan of compliance to the State Board of Education. The State Board of Education and the Florida Department of Education will ensure that districts provide charter schools their rightful share of funding from local referendums. See the letter sent to the Broward County School District here.
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For more information about the Florida Department of Education, visit www.fldoe.org.
FSCA Press Release – March 7, 2024
In 2021, two courts in Florida ruled that school districts are required to share tax revenue generated by voter-approved referendums with charter schools. This includes funds collected from the inception of the tax. Before that decision, the Florida legislature passed a measure in 2019 that said charter schools should get a proportionate amount of such property-tax dollars for operational needs. However, some districts are not following the mandate.
The FCSA has been involved in the tax referendum issue since districts proposed it. — advocating that charter schools are public schools and must be included in the allocation of funds. After the court decisions, we continually monitored this issue to ensure districts followed the mandate to share referendum dollars. Ralph Arza and the advocacy team met with key district and FLDOE officials — including Commissioner Diaz, Jr. — to discuss this matter on behalf of charter schools statewide. We were especially concerned for our member schools in Broward and Miami-Dade Counties that continue to wait for retroactive funds.
Today, Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. addresses the noncompliance in a letter to Broward Superintendent Dr. Licata. He outlines Florida law regarding the sharing of discretionary tax and cites the ruling on this matter by the Fourth District Court of Appeal, in whose jurisdiction the Broward County School District resides. FLDOE letter to Licata
“Florida voters and courts have explicitly expressed that tax referendum dollars must be allocated to all public schools for teacher compensation and campus safety. We appreciate Commissioner Diaz’s intervention and are optimistic that his letter will move the districts to release long-overdue dollars to public charter schools,” said Ralph Arza, Director of Governmental Relations.
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About FCSA
The voice of the charter school movement, the Florida Charter School Alliance (FCSA), is a statewide non-profit, member-driven association representing charter schools statewide and the close to 390,000 students they serve. The FCSA advocates for, supports, defends and collaborates with public charter schools to influence legislative policy and environments. It also supports our members as they develop, maintain, and grow high-quality public charter schools. FCSA members run the gamut of choice educational programs – from urban to rural campuses, programs specializing in exceptional students or drop-off prevention to unique classical curriculum, and college-prep programs in high-need areas. Yet all our member schools have a common thread – a steadfast commitment to raising the bar on public education and providing a quality education option to the children and communities they serve.