Please take the civics standards survey

Please check the revise or eliminate benchmark blocks and put a note in the comment section for these standards.

Here’s the link to the proposed standards: http://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/18736/urlt/CivicsGovernment.pdf

Here’s the link to the survey:
https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/6360487/Civics-and-Government-Standards-2

Revise SS.K.CL.1.2 which says “Define a constitution as an agreed-upon set of rules.”
Please put this comment

Revise the standard to read:
Our constitution is the supreme Law of the Land.
Reason: By defining the constitution as a rule rather than a law, you have downgraded the Constitution by calling it just “rules” and not “laws.”
Add this clarification under the benchmark:
Article VI of our Constitution includes these words:
This Constitution … shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby

Revise SS.2.CL.3.2 which says “Identify the United States as a constitutional republic.”
Please put this comment:

Revise the standard to read:
Identify the United States as a democratic constitutional republic.
Add this clarification under the benchmark:
Our democracy depends on citizens being able to freely elect leaders who will represent their interests and on our citizens to be able to easily remove those representatives who abuse their power. The policies that representatives pursue should be dictated by public opinion. Our constitutional republic depends on our representatives making sure the laws they pass adhere to the Constitution including the Bill of Rights which aims to protect the minority from tyranny of the majority.

Revise SS.3.CL.1.2 Describe how the United States government gains its power from the people.
Please put this comment:

Add this clarification under the benchmark:
Our democracy depends on citizens being able to freely elect leaders who will represent their interests and on our citizens to be able to easily remove those representatives who abuse their power. The policies that representatives pursue should be dictated by public opinion. Our constitutional republic depends on our representatives making sure the laws they pass adhere to the Constitution including the Bill of Rights which aims to protect the minority from tyranny of the majority.

Revise SS.4.CL.3.3 which says “Identify the United States as a constitutional republic.”

Revise the standard to read:
Identify the United States as a democratic constitutional republic.
Add this clarification under the benchmark:
Our democracy depends on citizens being able to freely elect leaders who will represent their interests and on our citizens to be able to easily remove those representatives who abuse their power. The policies that representatives pursue should be dictated by public opinion. Our constitutional republic depends on our representatives making sure the laws they pass adhere to the Constitution including the Bill of Rights which aims to protect the minority from tyranny of the majority.

Eliminate SS.7.CL.1.3 which says “Explain the influence of religion (Hebraic and Christian) on America’s founding ideas about law and government.”
Under the comments, write:

If you want to teach religion, then do it in an elective comparative religion course. Otherwise, let parents and the religious institutions they choose explain the meaning of their own religious doctrine and how it is similar to the laws of the United States.

Revise SS.7.CL.2.4 which says “Explain how the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights safeguards and limits individual rights.”
Under the comments, write:

Change the clarification by adding “and arguments against” to “examine rationales for.” The clarification now reads
● Students will examine rationales for government-imposed limitations on individual rights (e.g., forced internment in wartime, limitations on speech rationing during wartime, suspension of habeas corpus).

Revise SS.7.CL.3.1 which reads “Analyze the advantages of the United States constitutional republic over other forms of government in safeguarding liberty, freedom and a representative government.”

It’s important to note that we are a democracy and a republic. I fear that calling our government merely a “constitutional republic” down plays the importance of active citizen involvement.

Revise SS.7.CL.3.10 Analyze the effects of landmark Supreme Court cases on law, liberty and the interpretation of the United States Constitution.

Revise the clarification by substituting “including but not limited to” instead of “e.g.”
The clarification now reads:
Students will recognize landmark Supreme Court cases (e.g., Marbury v. Madison; Dred Scott v. Sandford; Plessy v. Ferguson; Brown v. Board of Education; Gideon v. Wainwright; Miranda v. Arizona; In re Gault; United States v. Nixon; Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier).

Revise SS.7.CL.3.13 Explain the advantages of capitalism and a free market system over government-controlled economic systems (e.g., socialism and communism) in generating economic prosperity for all citizens

Revise the benchmark by substituting “the hybrid system of regulated capitalism and some social services run by the government” in place of “capitalism and a free market system“

Eliminate SS.912.CL.1.2 Analyze the influence of religion (Hebraic and Christian) on America’s founding ideas about law and government.

If you want to teach religion, then do it in an elective comparative religion course. Otherwise, let parents and the religious institutions they choose explain the meaning of their own religious doctrine and how it is similar to the laws of the United States.

Revise SS.912.CL.2.2 Explain the importance of political and civic participation to the success of the United States constitutional republic.

Revise by changing this clarification from
● Students will describe the ways in which individuals can be denied and limited in their right to practice political and civic participation (e.g., losing voting rights for felony conviction, limitations on political contributions, limits on the type of protesting).
to
● Students will describe the ways in which individuals have be denied or limited in their right to practice political and civic participation (including but not limited to felony conviction and campaign finance laws that favor the wealthy)

Revise SS.912.CL.2.7 Explain how the principles contained in foundational documents contributed to the expansion of civil rights and liberties over time.

Revise by changing this clarification:
● Students will explain how different groups of people (e.g., African Americans, immigrants, Native Americans, women) had their civil rights expanded through legislation action (e.g., Voting Rights Act, Civil Rights Act) executive action (e.g., Truman’s desegregation of the army and Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation), and the courts (e.g., Brown v.Board of Education, In re Gault).
to
● Students will explain how different groups of people (e.g., African Americans, immigrants, Native Americans, women) were denied civil rights early in our country’s history but all Americans’ civil rights were made to be equal through constitutional amendments as well as court cases and legislative action.

Revise SS.912.CL.3.14 Analyze the role of federalism in establishing the relationship between the federal and state governments.

Revise by changing this clarification
from
● Students will analyze how states have challenged the federal government regarding states’ rights (e.g., Civil War, the New Deal, No Child Left Behind, Affordable Health Care Act and Civil Rights Movement).
TO
● Students will analyze how states have challenged the federal government regarding states’ rights (e.g. efforts at seceding from the United States by violent means and court cases challenging laws passed by Congress).

Civics standards in Florida–they asked our opinion

They asked our opinion. Here’s the survey:
https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/6360487/Civics-and-Government-Standards-2
Here’s the proposed standards:
http://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/18736/urlt/CivicsGovernment.pdf

The changes I suggested in the survey are listed in red:

SS.K.CL.1.1 Identify the purpose for rules and laws in the home, school and community.
● Students will define rules as standards of responsible behavior (e.g., rules for home and school).
● Students will define laws as a system of rules intended to protect people and property which are created and enforced by government (e.g., follow the speed limit).
● Students will identify the difference between rules and laws.
● Students will identify what happens without rules and laws.
SS.K.CL.1.2 Define a constitution as an agreed-upon set of rules.
● Students will recognize that the United States has a constitution.
● Students will identify the words “We the People” as found in the United States Constitution

I’d hate for Kindergarteners to learn that the Constitution is merely a rule that won’t be enforced by our government. I suggest they change the SS.K.CL.1.2 benchmark from
Define a constitution as an agreed-upon set of rules
to:
Define a constitution as the supreme law of the land.

SS.K.CL.2.3 Define patriotism as a love of one’s country.
● Students will identify the patriotic holidays and observances (e.g., American Founders Month, Celebrate Freedom Week, Independence Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Patriot Day, Veterans Day).

I don’t see how the clarification helps explain the benchmark. Delete this clarification:
Students will identify the patriotic holidays and observances (e.g., American Founders Month, Celebrate Freedom Week, Independence Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Patriot Day, Veterans Day)

SS.K.CL.2.4 Recognize symbols that represent the United States.
● Students will recognize the American flag, Pledge of Allegiance and United States currency as symbols that represent the United States.
● Students will identify “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all” as the Pledge of Allegiance.

Delete currency as one of the symbols.
Add these symbols:
Liberty Bell, the Statute of Liberty
Add:
Students will identify when “under god” was added to the pledge of allegiance and discuss if it makes atheists uncomfortable

SS.K.CL.2.5 Recognize symbols that represent Florida.
● Students will recognize Florida’s state flag as a symbol that represents the state

Delete that benchmark. How does it help? Some founding fathers were reportedly atheists and some Americans are atheists. It doesn’t feel right to push theism in a school that is supposed to be for all Americans.

SS.1.CL.2.4 Recognize symbols and individuals that represent the United States.
● Students will recognize the Bald Eagle, the United States President, Uncle Sam, and national motto (“In God We Trust”) as symbols that represent the United States.
● Students will recognize Benjamin Franklin, George Washington and Martin Luther King, Jr. as individuals who represent the United States.

Delete the benchmark or add: The modern motto of the United States of America, as established in a 1956 law signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, is “In God we trust”. The 1956 law was the first establishment of an official motto for the country, although E Pluribus Unum (“from many, one”) was adopted by an Act of Congress in 1782 as the motto for the Seal of the United States. Many Americans are atheists which means they don’t believe in a god. In America, theists and atheists can live in harmony.

SS.1.CL.3.2 Recognize that the United States and Florida have Constitutions.
 Students will define a constitution as an agreed-upon set of rules.

Change “Students will define a constitution as an agreed-upon set of rules.”
To: Students will define our Constitution as the supreme law of the land.

SS.3.CL.1.2 Describe how the United States government gains its power from the people.
● Students will define popular sovereignty.
● Students will recognize what is meant by the consent of the governed.
● Students will identify sources of consent (e.g., voting and elections).
● Students will recognize that the United States republic is government by the “consent of the governed” and government power is exercised through representatives of the people.

Delete this:
Government power is exercised through representatives of the people.
Add this:
Elected representatives who abuse their power can be removed from office during an election, impeachment and recalls.

SS.3.CL.2.5 Recognize symbols, individuals, documents and events that represent Florida.
● Students will recognize the Great Seal of the Florida as a symbol that represents the state.
● Students will recognize William Pope Duval and William Dunn Moseley as individuals who represent Florida.
● Students will recognize the Declaration of Rights in the Florida Constitution as a document that represents Florida.
● Students will recognize that Florida became the 27th state of the United States on March 3, 1845

I don’t see what this has to do with civics. Delete this benchmark.

SS.4.CL.2.3 Identify ways Florida citizens can show respect for their state.
● Students will recognize ways for showing respect for Florida (e.g., cleaning up litter, showing care for wildlife, keeping waterways clean, putting flags on veterans’ graves, cleaning graffiti from public spaces and tending public gardens).

Instead of “state”, it should say community.

SS.4.CL.3.3 Identify the United States as a constitutional republic.
● Students will identify a constitutional republic as a symbol of the United States.
● Students will recognize that Florida has a representative government.

Change “constitutional republic” to “democratic constitutional republic.”
References:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/05/13/is-the-united-states-of-america-a-republic-or-a-democracy/
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/11/yes-constitution-democracy/616949/
Add:
As a republic’s most unique feature, a constitution, enables it to protect the minority from the majority by interpreting and, if necessary, overturning laws made by the elected representatives of the people. In the United States, the Constitution assigns this function to the U.S. Supreme Court and the lower federal courts. The Constitution was meant to foster a complex form of majority rule, not enable minority rule. American constitutional design can best be understood as an effort to establish a sober form of democracy. It did so by embracing representation, the separation of powers, checks and balances, and the protection of individual rights

SS.5.CL.1.4 Discuss arguments for adopting a republican form of government.
● Students will identify Federalist and Anti-Federalist arguments supporting and opposing the ratification of the United States Constitution.
● Students will explain what is meant by a representative government

Add: Students will explain what it means to be a democratic republic with checks and balances to keep the majority from abusing the minority and to keep the elected representatives from abusing their power.

SS.7.CL.1.3 Explain the influence of religion (Hebraic and Christian) on America’s founding ideas about law and government.
● Students will recognize ideas contained in the founding documents (e.g., due process of law, equality of mankind, limited government, natural rights, the rule of law) have origins in religious texts.
● Students will identify “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” as God-given rights expressed in the Declaration of Independence.
● Students will explain what is meant by the phrase “all men are created equal and that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights…” as expressed in the Declaration of Independence.
● Students will describe how religious ideas (e.g., due process of law, equality of mankind, limited government, natural rights, the rule of law) influenced America’s Founding ideals and documents.

Delete this benchmark. Religion should be taught in the home and religious institutions. Keep the schools nonsectarian so everyone feels welcome. Please make every neighborhood school GREAT. Let people get their version of religion at their home and religious institution.

SS.7.CL.3.10 Analyze the effects of landmark Supreme Court cases on law, liberty and the interpretation of the United States Constitution.
● Students will recognize landmark Supreme Court cases (e.g., Marbury v. Madison; Dred Scott v. Sandford; Plessy v. Ferguson; Brown v. Board of Education; Gideon v. Wainwright; Miranda v. Arizona; In re Gault; United States v. Nixon; Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier).
● Students will use primary sources to assess the significance of each United States Supreme Court case.
● Students will evaluate the impact of each case on society.
● Students will recognize and/or apply constitutional principles and/or rights in relation to the relevant United States Supreme Court decisions

The “e.g.” list doesn’t include them all.

SS.7.CL.3.13 Explain the advantages of capitalism and a free market system over government-controlled economic systems (e.g., socialism and communism) in generating economic
prosperity for all citizens.
● Students will recognize various economic systems (e.g., capitalism, communism, socialism).
● Students will identify the relationship between various economic systems and the ideal of freedom.
● Students will analyze scenarios describing various forms of economic systems.

Revise the benchmark. The simple terms “capitalism” and “socialism” obscure the fact we have some government controlled systems such as police departments. Also we have regulated capitalism not a complete free market system.

SS.912.CL.4.1 Discuss how liberty and economic freedom generate broad-based opportunity and prosperity in the United States.
● Students will differentiate between government systems (e.g., autocracy, democracy, monarchy, oligarchy republic, theocracy).
● Students will differentiate between economic systems (e.g., capitalism, communism, mixed market, socialism).
● Students will analyze the disadvantages of authoritarian control over the economy (e.g., communism and socialism) in generating broad-based economic prosperity for their population.

Add: Brainstorm solutions to the problem of poverty and wages too low to survive without some form of welfare.

The state Board of Education is meeting in Jacksonville on June 10th and the public is invited

On June 10th, 2021 the Florida State Board of Education is meeting in Jacksonville.
Details: http://www.fldoe.org/policy/state-board-of-edu/meetings/

You might want to address this issue during the public comment period at the meeting on June 10th (or by email if you can’t make the meeting):

What does education commissioner Corcoran mean by traditional as compared to factual?

A new rule proposed by education commissioner Richard Corcoran would require Florida teachers to align their civics lessons to a traditional view of American history. The rule would address a concern raised by Gov. Ron DeSantis, who wants to make sure “critical race theory” — an approach to teaching the role of racism in U.S. society — isn’t used in the district run public schools. The measure, which is headed to the State Board of Education on June 10, states that teachers “may not define American history as something other than the creation of a new nation based largely on universal principles stated in the Declaration of Independence.” The rule also would require teachers not to share their personal views or attempt to indoctrinate students to a point of view that deviates from the state’s newly adopted academic standards.
https://www.tampabay.com/news/education/2021/05/19/what-should-florida-kids-learn-about-us-history-a-rule-is-in-the-works/

WHO drafted these standards:
http://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/18736/urlt/HolocaustEducation.pdf

Who suggested “benchmark” SS.4.HE.1.2?

SS.4.HE.1.2 Compare the similarities of Judaism to other major religions celebrated around the world, and in the United States and Florida, to see how they are similar and different.

I worry about Christian Nationalists (hashtag NOT ALL Christians) using benchmark SS.4.HE.1.2 to promote their version of Christianity. Older folks remember when some Protestants denigrated the Catholics in public schools. I have no problem with an elective comparative religion studies class but what is the purpose of this benchmark SS.4.HE.1.2 being part of the course required by 1003.42 (2)(g)?

Who suggested the wording of benchmark SS.912.HE.1.3?

SS.912.HE.1.3 Analyze how the Treaty of Versailles led to the increasing spread of antisemitism in Germany …

Certainly the reparations included in the Treaty of Versailles caused the German workers hardships. The broad statement, in this benchmark SS.912.HE.1.3, that the treaty itself led to anti-Semitism isn’t historically accurate.

Powerful people use scapegoats to fuel tribalism and certainly that should be included in the courses required by Florida statute 1003.42 (2) (g) and (h).

Please ask the board of education if they have the authority to require the courses mentioned in the statutes to be taught not only at the district run schools but also at the voucher funded private schools and the charter schools, i.e. at all publicly funded schools. I was sad that SB 772 (which aimed to do that) wasn’t even given a hearing in the committee to which it was assigned: https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2021/772

For reference:

Florida statute 1003.42(2) ..

(g) history of the Holocaust (1933-1945), the systematic, planned annihilation of European Jews and other groups by Nazi Germany, a watershed event in the history of humanity, to be taught in a manner that leads to an investigation of human behavior, an understanding of the ramifications of prejudice, racism, and stereotyping, and an examination of what it means to be a responsible and respectful person, for the purposes of encouraging tolerance of diversity in a pluralistic society and for nurturing and protecting democratic values and institutions, including the policy, definition, and historical and current examples of anti-Semitism, as described in s. 1000.05(7), and the prevention of anti-Semitism. Each school district must annually certify and provide evidence to the department, in a manner prescribed by the department, that the requirements of this paragraph are met. The department shall prepare and offer standards and curriculum for the instruction required by this paragraph and may seek input from the Commissioner of Education’s Task Force on Holocaust Education or from any state or nationally recognized Holocaust educational organizations. The department may contract with any state or nationally recognized Holocaust educational organizations to develop training for instructional personnel and grade-appropriate classroom resources to support the developed curriculum.
(h) The history of African Americans, including the history of African peoples before the political conflicts that led to the development of slavery, the passage to America, the enslavement experience, abolition, and the contributions of African Americans to society. Instructional materials shall include the contributions of African Americans to American society.

https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2020/1213/BillText/er/PDF includes the following beginning on line 38:

Section 1. The Commissioner of Education’s African American History Task Force is directed to examine ways in which the history of the 1920 Ocoee Election Day Riots will be included in instruction on African-American history required pursuant to s. 1003.42(2)(h), Florida Statutes. The task force shall submit its recommendations to the Commissioner of Education and the State Board of Education by March 1, 2021.

The Florida Board of Education is meeting June 10th in Jacksonville

Have you analyzed the new suggested standards?
Standards Under Review – Spring 2021
http://www.fldoe.org/standardsreview/

As this op-ed suggests, teaching kids to think critically is paramount:
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/guest-commentary/os-op-civics-teaching-both-sides-on-race-20210514-773zq567zfckbg3xzoasmuehwa-story.html However, we shouldn’t distort the facts to fit our political agenda.

I am reading a book about Christian nationalists (hashtag NOT All Christians) that mentions a Hillsdale College propaganda flyer about Putin. Please read it and tell me if you want Hillsdale College to be part of the standard setting process: https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/how-to-think-about-vladimir-putin/ I heard that Hillsdale College was a contributor to the standards. Please ask the board if that is true. I’ve sent a public records request but it went unanswered.

Another troubling issue that you might want to bring up with the Board of Education is Corcoran telling school districts to fire teachers based on his ideology.

Last week, she was led to believe that she had been fired based on a speech by state Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran. In the speech posted on a YouTube video by Hillsdale College in Michigan, where Corcoran gave the address, he said that “we made sure she was terminated” as part of his effort to keep teachers from “indoctrinating” students with critical race theory, according to news reports.
https://www.splcenter.org/news/2021/05/21/blm-backlash-nations-racial-reckoning-meets-bitter-resistance-high-school-florida-named

Another issue (the church/state issue) you might want to mention is the importance of publicly funded schools being nonsectarian. As this article indicates, when schools are NOT nonsectarian, the non-majority religion may feel discriminated against. Let religious doctrine be taught at home and in the religious institutions not in publicly funded schools.

Catholic schools began in the United States as a reaction against a growing publicly-funded school system that was essentially Protestant.
https://www.catholicleague.org/anti-catholicism-and-the-history-of-catholic-school-funding/

Here are some of the proposed standards that I found troubling.

SS.7.C.1.12 Recognize how Judeo-Christian values influenced America’s Founding ideals and documents.
● Students will identify Judeo-Christian values (e.g., rule of law, God-given rights, equality of mankind, limited government, separation of powers, consent of the governed) in founding documents.
● Students will recognize the influence of the Protestant work ethic on economic freedom and personal responsibility.
● Students will recognize the influence of the Ten Commandments on establishing the rule of law in America.
SS.7.C.3.13 Explain the advantages of capitalism and a free market system over government controlled economic systems (e.g., socialism and communism) in generating economic prosperity for all citizens.
SS.912.C.1.5 Analyze the influence of Judeo-Christian values on America’s Founding ideals and documents.
• Students will recognize Judeo-Christian principles of law and government in primary sources (e.g., rule of law, God-given rights, equality of mankind, limited government, separation of powers, consent of the governed) in primary sources to including but not limited to, the Articles, Lawes and Orders, Divine, Politique and Martiall for the Colony in Virginea (1610-1611); Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1639); Massachusetts Body of Liberties (1641); Constitution of Massachusetts (1780)).
SS.912.C.4.1 Analyze the advantages of the United States constitutional republic and free market economic system over authoritarianism (e.g., autocratic or oligarchic) and government-controlled economic systems (e.g., socialism and communism).

Part of the problem is church/state separation issues as I mentioned above. Another issue is not distinguishing between regulated capitalism and crony capitalism. The standard that reads “advantages of capitalism over socialism” has the logical fallacy of a false dichotomy.

The Florida Board of Education is meeting June 10th at 9 am
Florida State College at Jacksonville
Advanced Technology Center
401 West State Street,
Room T140/141
Jacksonville, FL 32202

These are the board members:
Chair, Andy Tuck – Andy.Tuck@fldoe.org
Vice Chair, Marva Johnson – Marva.Johnson@fldoe.org
Monesia Brown – Monesia.Brown@fldoe.org
Ben Gibson – Ben.Gibson@fldoe.org
Tom Grady – Tom.Grady@fldoe.org
Ryan Petty – Ryan.Petty@fldoe.org
Joe York – Joe.York@fldoe.org

The Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran can be contacted:
Karen Dennis Phone: 850-245-0505
Email: Commissioner@fldoe.org EDIT

Letters to the editor published 2020 and 2021

State legislators need to safeguard our tax dollars Published April 25, 2021
Charter schools need clawback provision Published April 10, 2021
All publicly funded schools should be required to meet the same high standards Published March 15, 2021
Ideas for charter school reporting Published February 13, 2021
Civics education in schools needs a boost Published February 25, 2021
Charter schools need clawback provision Published Feb 3, 2021
School sales tax needs clawback provision Published December 20, 2020
Oppose SB 484 Published January 15, 2021
Say no to SB 582 Published February 5, 2021
We need compassion and empathy from police Published October 13, 2020
Parks shouldn’t be named for human traffickers Published Sept 9, 2020
Mayor needs to put teeth Into his mask mandate Published August 14, 2020
Published June 18 but no title–it was about Mayor Curry using our tax money to bring Trump here
Legislature should not require sharing funds with charters Published Feb 25, 2020

Can public sentiment persuade our school board to deny charter school applications?

My public records request revealed that no capital outlay funds were returned after the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) showed seven Duval Charter schools as closing between 2015 and 2020. No capital outlay funds were recouped in spite of the Florida statute 1013.62 that says:

(5) If a charter school is nonrenewed or terminated, any unencumbered funds and all equipment and property purchased with district public funds shall revert to the ownership of the district school board, as provided for in s. 1002.33(8)(d) and (e). In the case of a charter lab school, any unencumbered funds and all equipment and property purchased with university public funds shall revert to the ownership of the state university that issued the charter. The reversion of such equipment, property, and furnishings shall focus on recoverable assets, but not on intangible or irrecoverable costs such as rental or leasing fees, normal maintenance, and limited renovations. The reversion of all property secured with public funds is subject to the complete satisfaction of all lawful liens or encumbrances. If there are additional local issues such as the shared use of facilities or partial ownership of facilities or property, these issues shall be agreed to in the charter contract prior to the expenditure of funds.

Action item: Write your elected state representatives and ask why they didn’t put more protections in place before they voted yes on HB 7097 in 2020 forcing us to give part of sales surtax to charter schools on a per student rather than a needs based formula. Clearly more protections were needed since no capital outlay funds were returned (according to the public records request) when charter schools closed. The legislature forced us to give our sales tax dollars to charter schools on a per student basis with HB 7097. It begins on line 1301 of HB 7097:

(b) The resolution must include a statement that … the revenues collected must be shared with eligible charter schools based on their proportionate share of the total school district enrollment.
https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2020/7097/BillText/er/PDF

Would public sentiment give the school board the strength to deny charter school applications for charter schools that don’t clearly lay out the plan for returning our sales surtax dollars in the event the school closes?

The newly approved KIPP charter school has requested to be a feeder school so it doesn’t have to wait the two year probationary period to get our sales surtax money. My understanding is the school district has the ability to deny that request. If they approve the request, then all other schools will get a smaller percentage of the sales surtax money since the allocation is based on a percentage of the school’s enrollment to total enrollment.

According to a DCPS website $922,541.99 is the sales surtax share for the charter schools in 2021 so far. I hope going forward the website will give us more information. I assume that number is the dollar amount for January to March since sales tax returns are normally filed quarterly and the sales surtax began January 1st of this year.

Please encourage your elected school board representative or sales surtax citizen oversight committee member to demand that the school district make the website report this information:

How much of our sales surtax money did each charter school get?
What provisions are in each charter school contract that will allow the school district to recoup the funds, the equipment, and the facility purchased with our sales surtax dollars if the charter school should close?
Date the charter school closed if it isn’t still open or the date it quit receiving funds
Reason the charter school isn’t receiving funds other than a closing. Examples are listed in Florida Statute 1013.62 and include financial problems or inadequate student achievement.
How much, if any, of our sales surtax dollars was recouped when the charter school closed?

My public records request asked why the seven Duval County Charter schools (that had been receiving state capital outlay funds) quit receiving them.

Many other charter schools closed before they had been open 2 years, which is the usual probationary period before a charter school can receive capital outlay funds under 1013.62. The two KIPP schools in the list of seven charter schools that closed didn’t exactly close; they merged with another KIPP school. I wonder why. Was it so they could more easily share money? Was it because merging them protected them from losing funds due to a bad grade? According to Florida Statute 1013.62, the capital outlay funding will stop for a couple of reasons including not meeting these requirements:

2. Have an annual audit that does not reveal any of the financial emergency conditions provided in s. 218.503(1) for the most recent fiscal year for which such audit results are available.
3. Have satisfactory student achievement based on state accountability standards applicable to the charter school.

The other five charter schools on the list are shown as closing for various reasons including financial insolvency and declining enrollment.

The public records department of the Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) made me pay $151.44 before they’d look for the information. Don’t you think the information should be readily available? The Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) abdicated responsibility even though it was the state legislators that forced these dollars to be given to charter schools with inadequate safeguard provisions within the state law. The FLDOE responded to my public records request:

The Duval County School Board serves as sponsor of charter schools and would be the appropriate resource for information on school closures in the county. You may contact Mr. Eugene Hays, Director of Charter Schools, Duval County School at hayse@duvalschools.org to find the reasons the listed charter schools closed.

I continue to wish the school board or citizen sales surtax oversight committee would create better safeguards for our sales surtax money that is going to charter schools that may close. It’s a travesty that the state legislators passed HB 7097 in 2020 forcing us to give our sales surtax to charter schools without proper safeguards.

The dollar amount being reported on the FLDOE website (as shown below) as received includes PECO funds which (I think) in some years the state legislators gave it all to charter schools and none to the neighborhood or magnet schools. These are the seven charter schools I asked about:

2012-2019
total $ rec’d	school #
318,575	160601	KIPP VOICE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (closed 2017)
515,118	161341	MURRAY HILL HIGH SCHOOL (closed 2015)
21,161	165531	VALOR ACADEMY OF LEADERSHIP MIDDLE SCHOOL (closed 2016)
149,650	165581	KIPP JACKSONVILLE K-8 (closed 2018)
22,327	161381	SOMERSET EAGLE HIGH SCHOOL (closed 2016)
279,440	165501	Somerset Preparatory Academy (closed 2015)
418,464	161181	SIATECH (SCHOOL FOR ACCELERATED LEARNING AND TECHNOLOGIES, INC) (closed 2020)

The Florida statutes 1013.62 (4) say capital outlay funds can only be expended by charter schools for these reasons:

(a) Purchase of real property. (b) Construction of school facilities. (c) Purchase, lease-purchase, or lease of permanent or relocatable school facilities. (d) Purchase of vehicles to transport students to and from the charter school. (e) Renovation, repair, and maintenance of school facilities that the charter school owns or is purchasing through a lease-purchase or long-term lease of 5 years or longer. (f) Payment of the cost of premiums for property and casualty insurance necessary to insure the school facilities. (g) Purchase, lease-purchase, or lease of driver’s education vehicles; motor vehicles used for the maintenance or operation of plants and equipment; security vehicles; or vehicles used in storing or distributing materials and equipment. (h) Purchase, lease-purchase, or lease of computer and device hardware and operating system software necessary for gaining access to or enhancing the use of electronic and digital instructional content and resources; and enterprise resource software applications that are classified as capital assets in accordance with definitions of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, have a useful life of at least 5 years, and are used to support schoolwide administration or state-mandated reporting requirements. Enterprise resource software may be acquired by annual license fees, maintenance fees, or lease agreement. (i) Payment of the cost of the opening day collection for the library media center of a new school.

I asked the FLDOE: Is there any provision to pay the taxpayer back if the building is sold?

They answered:
Section 1013.62 (4) F.S. states, “If a charter school is non-renewed or terminated, any unencumbered funds and all equipment and property purchased with district public funds shall revert to the ownership of the district school board. The reversion of such equipment, property, and furnishings shall focus on recoverable assets, but not on intangible or irrecoverable costs such as rental or leasing fees, normal maintenance, and limited renovations. The reversion of all property secured with public funds is subject to the complete satisfaction of all lawful liens or encumbrances. If there are additional local issues such as the shared use of facilities or partial ownership of facilities or property, these issues shall be agreed to in the charter contract prior to the expenditure of funds.”

I asked the FLDOE: Do related party rules apply so that our sales surtax money can ONLY be used (directly or indirectly via lease payments to a related party) on items mentioned in 1013.62(4)? In other words, can related parties use our sales surtax money to repay loans? It seems that charter schools are setting up related party entities to skirt the rules of 1013.62(4) that bar capital outlay funds from being used to repay loans. Is that legal?

They answered:
Capital outlay may be used to purchase, construct or lease a facility. The sponsor [the school district] has fiduciary responsibility as it holds the contract with the governing board of the charter school.

Don’t those answers give you the impression that the elected school board and the school district have some ability to deny charter school applications in order to protect our sales surtax money? If you answer yes to that question, please write your elected school board member. Public sentiment might give the school board the courage to act to safeguard our sales surtax money in spite of what the state legislators have done.

Action item:
Write your elected school board member (or maybe all seven school board members) and ask:

What protections are in place to recoup our sales surtax dollars WHEN a charter school closes? Please deny any charter school applications whose charter contract doesn’t clearly lay out the charter school’s plan to allow the school district to recoup the sales surtax dollars and the assets it purchased when the charter school closes.

You might ask how that can be done when the sales surtax money may be used to make lease payments to an organization that is related to the charter school? That raises this question: are charter schools setting up shell companies to skirt the rules? If yes, what can be done about their effort to defraud the taxpayer?

References and other articles of interest

As for a breakdown, Florida schools did earn perfect scores as far as accountability. That’s because the publicly-funded charter schools must abide by Florida’s Sunshine Law with open meetings and records, and the schools are subject to audits. But the state gets slammed for allowing for-profit entities to run charter schools and for allowing charter school boards to contract with private management contractors. NEA leaders, meanwhile, say the poor performance of charters nationwide shows how the concept has ultimately failed to meet expectations.
https://floridapolitics.com/archives/296109-nea-issues-florida-failing/

Governments at all levels have failed to implement systems that proactively monitor charter schools and hold them accountable. A 2016 report from the Center for Popular Democracy documents waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement of charter school funds, totaling more than $216 million.
https://www.nea.org/resource-library/state-charter-statutes

For the last two decades, Florida has been a laboratory for school choice policies: alternatives to public education like privately-run charter schools and taxpayer-funded scholarships to private institutions. Diane Ravitch argues that’s not something to celebrate or emulate. Ravitch is a historian, advocate and former assistant education secretary under Republican President George H. W. Bush. She once believed charters, vouchers and standardized testing could improve public school education. “I came to realize that the privatization movement was a continuation of a decades-long campaign by right-wingers who hated public schools, which they derisively called ‘government schools,’” she wrote of her personal evolution in her new book, Slaying Goliath: The Passionate Resistance to Privatization and the Fight to Save America’s Public Schools. “I renounced my own past views and determined to expose the well-funded smear campaign against American public schools and their teachers,” she wrote.
https://www.wlrn.org/education/2020-01-27/in-new-book-national-education-historian-calls-florida-model-of-lawlessness-and-greed

Should our elected school board fight back?

The tricky question is: Should our elected school board fight back like the Leon County School Board did?

Excerpt from article:

After a lengthy debate, the Leon County School Board denied a new charter school’s application during Tuesday night’s board meeting. Scott Mazur, president of the local teacher’s union, said the charter’s application had “certain things that were missing.” George Levesque, attorney for the proposed school, said he hoped the board would consider “the recommendation made by your own staff — that the charter should be approved [despite the concerns].” Among several concerns laid out by staff was how the school would maintain a safe school officer, required by law [for both district run and charter schools].
https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2021/04/28/leon-county-school-board-denies-red-hills-academy-charter-application/4863727001/

I encourage the school board to adopt a policy that states that they will deny all charter school applications that do not include the following:
* Give assurance that the charter school will accept and have adequate support for ESE students
* Fully explain the charter school’s plan to comply with the state law that requires a school safety officer with a gun to be at the school. Do they plan to allow teachers to be armed which the school district doesn’t allow for the district run schools?
* When the charter school closes, the building purchased or constructed with taxpayer dollars (either directly or indirectly via lease payments) must be leased to another charter school or allow the school district to share in the sales proceeds to recoup the tax money if the building is sold. After all, if the charter school is planning to fund the purchase with our sales surtax dollars, the school district should be able to have the ability to recoup our sales surtax dollars. Apparently the FLDOE thinks that also.

My guess is that most taxpayers don’t want our sales surtax money to fund the purchase of a school building that will later be sold to a private school for the purpose of enriching private real estate investors.

I asked the FLDOE these questions and here are the responses I received:

1. Is there any provision to pay the taxpayer back if the building is sold? Their answer:

Section 1013.62 (4) F.S. states, “If a charter school is non-renewed or terminated, any unencumbered funds and all equipment and property purchased with district public funds shall revert to the ownership of the district school board. The reversion of such equipment, property, and furnishings shall focus on recoverable assets, but not on intangible or irrecoverable costs such as rental or leasing fees, normal maintenance, and limited renovations. The reversion of all property secured with public funds is subject to the complete satisfaction of all lawful liens or encumbrances. If there are additional local issues such as the shared use of facilities or partial ownership of facilities or property, these issues shall be agreed to in the charter contract prior to the expenditure of funds.”
http://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/7716/urlt/Distribution-of-Charter-School-Capital-Outlay-Funds-for-2020-21-FY.PDF

2. Do related party rules apply so that our sales surtax money can ONLY be used (directly or indirectly via lease payments to a related party) on items mentioned in 1013.62(4)? In other words, can related parties use our sales surtax money to repay loans? It seems that charter schools are setting up related party entities to skirt the rules of 1013.62(4) that bar capital outlay funds from being used to repay loans. Is that legal? Their answer:

The sponsor has fiduciary responsibility as it holds the contract with the governing board of the charter school.

An excerpt from 1002.33

[The applicant must disclose ] the name of any charter school operated by each applicant, each governing board member, and each proposed education services provider that has closed and the reasons for the closure; and the academic and financial history of such charter schools, which the sponsor shall consider in deciding whether to approve or deny the application.
http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=1000-1099/1002/Sections/1002.33.html

References
I’m focusing on one charter school as an example but many of these facts can be applied to other charter school applications.

Jacksonville Classical Academy (K-6) with the FLDOE school number165831 hasn’t been in existence for two years so it has not yet begun to get the FLDOE capital outlay funds detailed on this website: http://www.fldoe.org/finance/fco/charter-school-capital-outlay/

Jacksonville Classical Academy (which is part of the national charters getting their curriculum from Hillsdale College) got another Charter school approved May 4th by the school board. And apparently the charter school plans to move into a facility that housed a private school that closed in 2019.
Excerpt from a document about the charter school’s application found on the school board’s website.:

“The school will be located in the Arlington area at 5900 Fort Caroline Road, Jacksonville, FL 32277.”

This article mentions that many of the students that attended the private school that closed (and is apparently the proposed location of the new charter school) were at least partially funding their tuition with McKay (for ESE students) vouchers. Excerpt from this 2019 article:

The principal of a Christian school in Arlington said financial issues due to low enrollment will force it to close its doors May 31 — the end of the current school year. Arlington Community Academy has been open for two years, opening as a kindergarten through third grade, and then adding a fourth grade this year. “He made a commitment to us that he would keep this school open for the Arlington community and he’s not doing that,” the unnamed parent said. “Within three years, he’s shutting down and he’s not telling us nothing.” “Enrollment is critical to maintaining operations,” Principal Gina Fafard wrote. “Despite our best efforts, enrollment has been significantly lower than expected, and we are not able to keep ACA operational beyond the end of the 2018-2019 school year.”
https://www.news4jax.com/news/2019/03/22/arlington-christian-school-tells-parents-it-will-close-in-may/

Some of the deficiencies in the charter school application concerned ESE students. Link to evaluation form that was found on the school board’s website:
https://civicclerk.blob.core.windows.net/stream/DUVALCOSB/ff97777bdf.pdf?sv=2015-12-11&sr=b&sig=4bEVy%2B6arEBODObA9REtTCtC9TkQ7Dx8SlrPKHQ08nU%3D&st=2021-05-05T23%3A01%3A16Z&se=2022-05-05T23%3A06%3A16Z&sp=r&rscc=no-cache&rsct=application%2Fpdf&fbclid=IwAR3cvkDmkYmv0mQuFny7HfHej2m6chg8ExLxwj-rAbdIkC9ugVbygFIeD-8

I assume real estate investors will buy the facility and lease it to the charter school because that’s usually what happens. The charter school will make the lease payments with our sales surtax dollars and other tax dollars. Will the real estate developers sell the property back to a private school after they get our sales surtax dollars for several years? The Jacksonville Classical Academy on 2043 Forest St., 32204 leases its building from JEB Jacksonville Support Corporation. Details of that real estate investor group:
https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_fl/N19000011884

Quote from this November 2020 opinion piece published after the sales tax referendum was passed:

Rood said that Jacksonville Classical Academy will benefit from the recent half-cent sales tax referendum. Funds will be used to build a gym and free the school from some fundraising.
https://www.jacksonville.com/story/opinion/editorials/2020/11/29/editorial-new-charter-school-looks-like-classic-success/6373373002/

I see that the new KIPP school is requesting to be designated as a feeder school so it can get our sales surtax money BEFORE the two year probation period. Will this new charter school attempt to be designated as a feeder school also?

Anyone want to comment about Critical Race Theory and the propaganda pamphlet I received from Hillsdale College? Excerpt I received from a public request I sent to Jacksonville Classical Academy:

Jacksonville Classical Academy (JXC) has been supported through the early stages of startup by the Barney Charter School Initiative (BCSI) of Hillsdale College. Jacksonville Classical Academy is a Licensed User of the Hillsdale College K-12 Curriculum.

This blog post is about Hillsdale College and Critical Race Theory:
https://uniteusdonotdivideus.com/2021/05/01/critical-race-theory/

2015 article but this is still true:

A recent spate of charter-school closings illustrates weaknesses in state law. Florida requires local school districts to oversee charter schools but gives them limited power to intervene when cash is mismanaged or students are deprived. Lack of regulation can allow abuses. … A handful of South Florida charter schools that failed in the past five years owe a total of at least $1 million in public education money to local school districts, records show. The actual amount may be much higher. Districts struggle to track spending at troubled schools.
http://interactive.sun-sentinel.com/charter-schools-unsupervised/investigation.html

How much PECO funds did Duval County Charter Schools receive in April 2021?

When I asked the FLDOE if these were PECO funds of which I believe the district run schools got zero, this was the response:

Per the 2020 General Appropriations Act, Chapter 2020-111, specific appropriation 21, these capital funds are from the Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund (state funds).

These Duval County charter schools received capital outlay funds from the state every month this year. The amount received for April:

April		Name of charter school
15,090	160471	LONE STAR HIGH SCHOOL
8,338	160531	DUVAL MYCROSCHOOL OF INTEGRATED ACADEMICS AND TECHNOLOGIES
4,823	161021	SCHOOL OF SUCCESS ACADEMY-SOS
7,060	161131	WAYMAN ACADEMY OF THE ARTS
36,014	161201	RIVER CITY SCIENCE ACADEMY
9,919	161211	TIGER ACADEMY
66,154	161221	GLOBAL OUTREACH CHARTER ACADEMY
29,932	161231	DUVAL CHARTER SCHOLARS ACADEMY
19,197	161251	SOMERSET ACADEMY-ELEMENTARY, EAGLE CAMPUS
10,394	161261	SOMERSET ACADEMY-MIDDLE, EAGLE CAMPUS
107,446	161271	KIPP VOICE / KIPP IMPACT K-8
26,947	161291	RIVER CITY SCIENCE ELEMENTARY ACADEMY
25,028	161311	DUVAL CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL AT BAYMEADOWS
52,537	161321	DUVAL CHARTER AT BAYMEADOWS
6,078	161331	WAVERLY ACADEMY
24,544	161371	SEACOAST CHARTER ACADEMY
31,866	165381	SAN JOSE PREP
17,215	165401	SEASIDE COMMUNITY CHARTER SCHOOL
39,629	165411	DUVAL CHARTER SCHOOL AT WESTSIDE
8,535	165421	BISCAYNE HIGH SCHOOL
23,158	165441	RIVER CITY SCIENCE ACADEMY INNOVATION SCHOOL
34,614	165511	DUVAL CHARTER SCHOOL AT MANDARIN
49,009	165551	DUVAL CHARTER SCHOOL AT SOUTHSIDE
43,475	165591	DUVAL CHARTER SCHOOL AT FLAGLER CENTER
37,139	165601	RIVER CITY SCIENCE ACADEMY AT MANDARIN
16,461	165611	BRIDGEPREP ACADEMY DUVAL COUNTY
49,728	165621	DUVAL CHARTER SCHOOL AT COASTAL
20,989	165631	SEASIDE CHARTER K-8 SCHOOL
23,256	165731	GLOBAL OUTREACH CHARTER ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL
7,827	165761	SAN JOSE PRIMARY SCHOOL

The above information is from this website:
http://www.fldoe.org/finance/fco/charter-school-capital-outlay/

New charter schools	They need to be in existence 2 years to get capital outlay funds OR qualify as a feeder
165801	Cornerstone Classical Academy (K-6)	Approved in 2019 or 2020
not opening until 2022	Global Outreach Charter Academy High School (9 – 10)	Approved in 2019 or 2020
165831	Jacksonville Classical Academy (K-6)	Approved in 2019 or 2020
165711	Seaside Charter North Campus	Approved in 2019 or 2020
165791	Seventh Generation Classical Academy at Mandarin	Approved in 2019 or 2020
trying to get money early as a feeder school	KIPP Jacksonville HS	Approved in 2019 or 2020
165841	River City Science Academy Intracoastal	Approved in 2019 or 2020
not opening until 2022	Global Outreach Intercoastal	Approved in 2019 or 2020
not opening until 2022	River City Science Academy Southeast	Approved in 2019 or 2020
not opening until 2022	San Jose North	Approved in 2019 or 2020
165871	Becoming Collegiate Academy	School board approved January 2021
	RIVER CITY EDUCATION ORGANIZATION, INC., TO OPEN SAN JOSE CYBER ACADEMY	School board approved March 2021
	GLOBAL ARTS ACADEMY	School Board approved May 2021
	JACKSONVILLE CLASSICAL ACADEMY EAST	School Board approved May 2021

Should a gun be required on every K-12 campus? And if yes, carried by whom?

My question for the reasonable reader: Should there be a gun on campus?

If you answer yes and a school safety officer shoots someone, will you feel culpable?
If you answer no and someone else shoots someone, will you wonder if the armed school safety officer could have stopped it?

Do you agree that people who don’t vote don’t have a right to complain? But how much is required of citizens after we’ve voted? Do we need to keep an eye on what our elected officials are doing?

The state legislators passed a bill that says that there must be a gun on all K-12 public school campuses. It’s 2018 SB 7026. How do you feel about that? Do you see the difference between these two different position statements?
1. Oppose any effort to arm teachers, or anyone who is not a law enforcement officer.
2. Oppose the arming of teachers in public schools.

The difference is that #2 allows for school safety officers (in addition to police officers) to carry a gun on campus. There are rules in place for training these school safety officers. The school district is required to have a gun on campus by state legislators. They have basically three choices as to who can carry that gun
1. A teacher
2. A dedicated school safety officer
3. A police officer

Quote from bill analysis of SB 7026:
[The school safety officer] may carry concealed, approved firearms on campus. Only concealed carry safety holsters and firearms approved by the sheriff may be used under the program. … A school safety officer has the authority to carry weapons when performing his or her official duties.

The Duval school district was sued because they chose to satisfy the state law by arming school safety officers instead of police officers. The school district won the suit. I assume the plaintiffs didn’t want to remain silent. They didn’t want to feel culpable if a school safety officer shot someone. Their conscious is clear?
Link to article about it:
https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/courts/2021/02/19/court-rejects-jacksonville-challenge-armed-school-guardians/4504650001/

School district superintendents walk a thin line. We may or may not learn more later, but for now here’s what we seem to know:

The schools superintendent in Broward County, Fla. had spent years battling accusations tied to his leadership before and after the Parkland school shooting — and the indictment, he claimed, was simply another politically motivated attack tied to the massacre. As parents and officials continue to point fingers over the failures that preceded the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, a wide-ranging grand jury investigation has been tasked with probing “possible failures in following school-related safety laws and moving funds solicited for school safety initiatives to other areas of need,” according to Florida state officials.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/04/28/florida-broward-parkland-runcie-resigns/

References

Link to bill 2018 SB 7026:
https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2018/7026

Excerpt from Florida statute 1006.12
Safe-school officers at each public school.—For the protection and safety of school personnel, property, students, and visitors, each district school board and school district superintendent shall partner with law enforcement agencies or security agencies to establish or assign one or more safe-school officers at each school facility within the district, including charter schools. … A school safety officer has the authority to carry weapons when performing his or her official duties.

1006.12 says each school must have one or more safe-school officers but they can be
(1) SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER
(2) SCHOOL SAFETY OFFICER
(3) SCHOOL GUARDIAN.
(4) SCHOOL SECURITY GUARD

I think (1) and (2) are both law enforcement officers.
(3) is defined below and I think Duval is doing (3) (b) ONLY and not (3)(a).

Detailed explanation (3) SCHOOL GUARDIAN:

At the school district’s or the charter school governing board’s discretion, as applicable, pursuant to s. 30.15, a school district or charter school governing board may participate in the Coach Aaron Feis Guardian Program to meet the requirement of establishing a safe-school officer. The following individuals may serve as a school guardian, in support of school-sanctioned activities for purposes of s. 790.115, upon satisfactory completion of the requirements under s. 30.15(1)(k) and certification by a sheriff:(a) A school district employee or personnel, as defined under s. 1012.01, or a charter school employee, as provided under s. 1002.33(12)
(a), who volunteers to serve as a school guardian in addition to his or her official job duties; or
(b) An employee of a school district or a charter school who is hired for the specific purpose of serving as a school guardian.

My understanding is the school district got more money if they agreed to participate in the school guardian program. This article says not every county is participating in the guardian program:
http://www.fldoe.org/safe-schools/guardian-program.stml

What is the future of charter schools?

It’s interesting to read the 2012-2013 study. My comments are in red. Everything else is from the study at this link:
https://lwvfl.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/issue-education-studies-actions-statewide-school-study.pdf

This ship has left the port, eh? Is there any chance of giving the school district this kind of flexibility?

Districts must identify unmet student and community educational needs as part of their strategic plans and submit priorities for alternative and/or charter schools to the Florida Department of Education.
Only charter schools that offer identifiable innovative teaching/learning methods or meet specific unmet needs should be authorized.
Districts must identify unmet student and community educational needs as part of their strategic plans and submit priorities for alternative and/or charter schools to the Florida Department of Education.
Only charter schools that offer identifiable innovative teaching/learning methods or meet specific unmet needs should be authorized.

These seem like ideas we should be able to advocate for:

A charter school governing board must have a minimum of one local representative, not the administrator, who resides in the community and is answerable to the school parents and community.
Those charter schools that educate students requiring ESE services must hire appropriately certified full or part time instructors before applying for additional funding for the services.
Charter schools must report teacher and student retention.
The charter school audit template must be adequate for comparison and analysis and identify facilities ownership and management contractors.
Teachers and administrators, including principals, must meet certifications and qualifications at the same level as all other public school instructors or administrators.
All schools, even small ones, receiving state funds must report state assessment test scores, and receive some indicator of student achievement levels.
Administrators and board members of all public schools, including charters, must not supervise or determine compensation for family members.
Members of charter school governing boards must not have financial interests in the charter school.
Legislators serving on education or appropriation committees must recuse themselves on votes related to charter school finance if they have financial interests in charter schools.
As a recipient of public education funds, charter schools should be required to meet the same procurement requirements as other public institutions, including competitive bids for leasing, acquisition of sites and purchasing of supplies, equipment and facilities. The records should meet all public records laws for full disclosure.
Charter schools that acquire their facility using public funds must assure that the facility reverts to public ownership at the termination of the charter. If a facility is subject to a mortgage to be paid using public funds, the mortgage must disclose and protect the public’s interest in the facility.

These should be monitored by the FLDOE not the local school district staff. The school district has enough on their plate especially if they don’t get the funds for the administrative staff to do this or the ability to deny charter school applications.

Charter school admissions and dismissal policies and procedures should be supervised by district staff to ensure they conform to state guidelines.

Has your view changed over time?

How do you view charter schools? One of these two choices or another way?

Quote from ref 1:

The story goes something like this. In 1988, Albert Shanker, legendary president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), gave a speech at the National Press Club where he outlined his vision for a new kind of publicly funded, independently managed school. He called them “charters” and saw them as educational laboratories, where teachers could try out new pedagogical approaches. By empowering teachers to experiment with their craft, charters could serve as R&D spaces for new and better practices that could then be transferred back into traditional public schools. In a New York Times column published later that year, Shanker carried his ideas to the wider public.

Quote from ref 2:

Charter School Purpose: The purpose of charter schools is to serve unmet needs with a primary focus on low income families, reading, and innovative instructional methods. Local needs are best identified by the local school district as part of its strategic plan. To avoid inefficiency through duplicative programs or to avoid insufficient funding for either program to be successful, charter schools should serve as a complement to, not a competitor of, traditional public schools.

Quote from ref 3

Charter schools were intended to be centers of education experimentation and innovation, but they generally neither invent new teaching methods nor develop and spread new education practices. They’re businesses first, and schools second.
https://networkforpubliceducation.org/privatization-toolkit/

Ref 1 is a great article and worth the read.

The Untold History of Charter Schools

Ref 2 is to the League of Women Voters-Florida study

http://files.ctctcdn.com/9e023c2e001/312a667d-ca9e-4dc6-be72-3eb1d9d47c25.pdf

It was referenced in this article. Excerpt from article:

RAVITCH: Florida is one of the most corrupt states in the country when it comes to education. I’ve read the reports of a group called Integrity Florida, which is a government ethics watchdog. I read the reports of the Florida League of Women Voters, and when they write about charter schools, they write about the blatant conflicts of interests of the people in the Florida Legislature
In New Book, National Education Historian Calls Florida ‘Model Of Lawlessness And Greed’

Ref 3 is Toolkit: School Privatization Explained

https://networkforpubliceducation.org/privatization-toolkit/

Why don’t the state legislators give local school districts more flexibility rather than outsourcing education to charter schools?

The facts as stated in various articles seem conflicting. BUT let’s suppose they have good ideas to make the neighborhood school better for the neighborhood kids. Why wasn’t the principal allowed more flexibility to do those things as a neighborhood school?

“297 parents voted for the charter, with 51 voting against the measure. A charter would allow us to venture outside the box to give our Hispanic population different resources,” he said. “We have a large Latino population. We need to do things to ensure they are able to acquire the language at a more different pace. We need the autonomy to do things differently.” “It is impossible to expect these students to take a Florida Standards Assessment in English,” she said. By contrast, if the school transitions to a charter, it would give Kaiser the freedom to choose the best learning methods to help her students succeed, she said. Hundley said there would be several changes to the curriculum if the conversion takes place: The school would change the way it teaches history, to better appeal to the students’ heritage; it would extend instructional days by one hour; the school would provide dual-language electives; students would be able to take classes in English and Spanish simultaneously. That’s excerpts from this link:
https://www.redefinedonline.org/2017/07/lincoln-middle/

This is a 2017 article but it brings up some interesting issues.

How easy is it for a school district to deny a charter school application?
Why would parents vote to convert a neighborhood school to a charter school rather than lobby their elected school board to make changes to the neighborhood school?

Once the neighborhood school was converted to a charter school the kids were rezoned to other neighborhood schools. The kids had the same “choices” that they had previous to the conversion except there was a new charter school choice closer to their home and they’d get automatic admission at the newly assigned neighborhood school. 297 parents voted for the neighborhood school to convert to a charter school and 51 parents voted against the measure.

The Superintendent at the time, Diana Greene, told the board the charter school application met the minimal standards so if the board denied the application, then the state officials would probably override the board and side with the charter. Board member Scott Hopes sharply questioned the school’s finances, curriculum and leadership. The way the state handles conversions is the district retains a small portion of charter school’s per-pupil funding, maintains ownership of the building and is responsible for the maintenance, while the charter school is responsible for day-to-day operating costs. Board member Hopes said that is a raw deal for the district.
Quote from the article (link in button above):

Board member Scott Hopes and board vice chairman John Colon began gathering support for legislation they say would limit charter school leaders’ salaries, make charter leaders disclose their finances and require conversion charters like Lincoln to pay to use district-owned facilities. “There needs to be a level playing field,” Hopes said. “If the school district has to provide a building and maintenance, you should not be collecting the same per-pupil payment as if you were responsible for maintaining that building.”

The new charter school had financial problems as explained in this article:
https://thebradentontimes.com/clients/thebradentontimes/Ken_aff.pdf

In a 95-page ruling, an administrative law judge Friday backed a decision by the Manatee County School Board to terminate a contract with the charter school that he said showed “gross financial mismanagement,” including failing to pay salaries and payroll taxes, getting cut off by food suppliers and facing a shutoff of water service. Among other things, Cohen wrote that the school had more than $1.5 million in outstanding financial liabilities as of Aug. 23, including nearly $374,000 owed to the Internal Revenue Service and almost $82,000 owed to the Florida Retirement System. Also, it owed $259,000 in unpaid salaries and $76,000 to Humana for employee health-insurance coverage.
https://wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/education/2019-09-29/manatee-charter-school-contract-terminated-for-gross-financial-mismanagement

I said in the first line of this blog post that the facts seem inconsistent across the different articles. This January 2021 lawsuit says

The “public interest” component in this case consists of the Defendants [the school board, etc] having deprived the Plaintiffs Lincoln Memorial Academy and Eddie Hundley [the charter school operators] of their contractual right to operate a majority-African-American run private charter school that is specifically designed to improve the provision of public school education to underprivileged, inner-city African American youth,
https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn%3Aaaid%3Ascds%3AUS%3A9d2c021e-0740-4f97-8021-8b3df7d0c5c0&fbclid=IwAR0vxktj4B03R6A_0zV_3JQHv5MhEw24vIUjDt0ubnu9Mf3ualmVAc7uES8#pageNum=10