They’re back: The Return of Term Limits and Charter School Authorizers
Do you remember when Erika Donalds and friends tried to hide alternate charter school authorization language behind school board term limits and civics education in a ballot proposal (2018 Amendment 8 aka ‘Poop sundae”)?
Do you remember how the Florida Supreme Court removed the deceptive measure from the 2020 ballot, declaring that the amendment’s ballot title and summary failed “to inform voters of the chief purpose and effect of this proposal.”
Do you remember how Florida legislators tried (but failed) to bring both school board term limits and alternate charter school authorization back last session?
Do you remember how we warned you that, as priorities of the corporate charter school industry and the school choice lobbyists, you should expect similar bills to be filed next year? Well…
They’re back…
School Board Term Limits:
Republican House members Anthony Sabatini (District 32) and Matt Wilhite (District 86), along with co-sponsors Mike Hill (District 1) and Will Robinson (District 37), have filed HJR157, proposing an amendment to the State Constitution to limit the terms of office for a member of a district school board to eight consecutive years. Despite threats in May from lobbyists for the original Amendment 8, who have now re-branded themselves the “School Choice Movement,” who vowed to come back with a harsher term limits proposal which “could be retroactive, for a lifetime and for all constitutional officers,” HJR157 remains focused on school board members and exempts any service commenced before November 3, 2020, from being counted toward the new term limits. There is no Senate companion… yet.
If HJR157 and a Senate companion make it to their respective floors, each will require a three-fifth majority to be placed before the voters on the 2020 ballot.
Alternate Charter Authorizer:
On Wednesday, Senate Education Chair, Manny Diaz Jr filed SB536, a bill that would establish the “High-Performing Charter School Council.” This new council, chaired by the Commissioner of Education and filled with members appointed by the Commissioner (what could go wrong?), would bypass local school boards’ responsibilities for approving certain new charter schools in their district. Charter chains designated as “high-performing,” or containing a school designated as “high-performing,” could apply directly to this new state council, which would be responsible for recommending to the State Board of Education (more political appointees) whether these charter applications should be approved or denied. SB536 would allow so-called “high-performing charters” to replicate in all 67 counties, bypassing local elected school boards who have a constitution duty to operate, control and supervise all free public schools (including charters) within their district. It appears that SB536, as written, would continue to require school boards to have some oversight over these new charters but would grant them little responsibility for the establishment of such schools. Of course, your local tax dollars will directly support these state approved charter schools, whether your community wants or needs them. New independent “mom and pop” charters would continue to require approval at the local school board level, giving the larger cooperate chains a distinct advantage.
This would be a good time to mention that Senator Diaz, in addition to serving as Chair of the Senate Education Committee, draws a six figure salary from a subsidiary of Academica, one of Florida’s largest for-profit contractors. Academica has several charter school chains under its “umbrella” (for example, Somerset), which would directly benefit from SB536, allowing their rapid expansion and bypassing the idea of local control of public education in Florida.
In 2016, Senator Diaz tried, and failed, to amend the Florida Constitution to allow for Alternate Charter School Authorizers. In 2016, then Representative, Manny Diaz Jr, filed HJR759, titled “Statewide Charter School Authorizer.” HJR759 proposed an amendment to State Constitution requiring the State Board of Education to establish a statewide charter school authorizer to “authorize, operate, control, & supervise charter schools.” The bill sailed through its House committee stops, but its Senate Companion, SJR 976 (Stargel), died in committee.
We hope journalists and stakeholders will ask Senator Diaz whether he is trying to bypass the constitution this time by creating a council that only approves/denies new charter schools, leaving the “operate, control and supervise” to the local districts? Will locally elected school boards still be required, or even allowed, to hold these new state-imposed charter schools accountable, fulfilling the board’s obligations to its students, parents and taxpayers?
For the time being, SB536 does not have a House companion but, given the money and lobbying force behind the charter school industry, we expect a companion bill to be filed at any time.
If taxpayers want to retain local control of their public education dollars, this would be a good time to start paying close attention to those in Tallahassee who are determined to limit local control of our public schools.