JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Florida’s Schools of Hope law, which allows charter schools to share space with public schools, remains a contentious issue.
The law permits charter schools to “co-locate” within public school buildings, but parents and public school advocates are voicing strong opposition to recent proposed rule changes by the state Department of Education.
Katie Hathaway, a parent from Duval County Schools, said, “Parents are rightfully angry. We have been told to calm down for months and that our concerns would be addressed and these proposed rules did nothing and they continue to cut parents and communities out of the process.”
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The proposed rule changes include limits on how many Schools of Hope letters of intent a “Hope Operator” can submit—no more than five in 12 months.
Eligibility criteria for schools have also been updated. For example, a school building cannot be more than 75% full, at least 400 extra seats must be available, and a Hope Operator cannot share a building that has been open for less than four years.
Damaris Allen, executive director of Families for Strong Public Schools, criticized the financial impact, saying, “The cost sharing still isn’t equitable. It is still going to cost the public schools money to co-locate these schools. It’s going to be an additional financial burden, which is gonna result in less opportunities for our students.”
A recent Florida Today poll found that 97% of readers opposed charter schools co-locating inside public schools.
Hathaway emphasized the importance of advocacy, stating, “We need to make sure we’re getting as loud as possible. These are our public schools. They are the hearts of our community. And these are public assets. And we need to make sure people in Tallahassee are listening to us. They work for us. Our school board works for us, they need to be vocal advocates for what we’re asking for.”
Education advocates argue that rule changes alone are insufficient without repealing the law itself.
Allen added, “This isn’t a demonstrated need. So they’re trying to co-locate in a school without students in districts that often are already facing under-enrollment, both in their public schools and their public charter schools. So this isn’t something we actually need. This isn’t actually using space that isn’t being used. It’s just transferring space into a private entity’s hands.”
The Florida State Board of Education is scheduled to vote on the proposed rule changes on Feb. 20.