charter schools

This system hands authorizing power to unelected members of the Miami Dade College Board of Trustees, stripping that exclusive authority from directly elected local school board members at the school district. All members of the Miami Dade College Board of Trustees were appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Miami’s mayoralty is officially a nonpartisan position. And as the saying goes, there are no Democratic or Republican potholes; they are all of local concern.

Miami Dade College will soon begin to authorize new charter schools, according to a presentation reviewed by WLRN, cutting out the school district. “If it's going to be funded by public dollars, in my opinion, the public should have a method by which to hold it accountable," said Miami-Dade school board member Luisa Santos.

The groups — including the United Teachers of Dade, NAACP Miami-Dade Branch, the Miami-Dade County Council of PTA/PTSA, and others — oppose the "co-location" efforts, which they argue threaten the financial stability and local control of the public education system.

Success Academy is expanding to Miami, thanks to a $50 million gift from billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin and Florida's Schools of Hope program, which allows charter operators to essentially operate out of district buildings at no cost.

One provision of a new sweeping state education law allows for a library, community service organization, museum, performing arts venue, theater, cinema or church to house a school.

The state's top education official has long been an advocate for school choice. Now, he's pushing Broward County Public Schools to pay millions to charter schools, which are publicly funded but privately run.

HB 109 would allow municipalities to apply to convert public schools within city bounds into charter schools.

Property taxes collected through discretionary 1.5-mill local levies and allocated for constructing and renovating traditional public schools and buying land could largely go toward charter schools through the state budget.

School districts will still serve as sponsors and ultimately be in charge of monitoring the charter schools once they're approved.

Waivers for those opposed to vaccination are easy to obtain under state regulations, and schools will work with students who aren't inoculated, the district's superintendent said.

A proposal that would allow state colleges and universities to authorize the creation of charter schools and sponsor the schools is advancing in the Florida Senate. The proposal would allow higher education institutions, upon approval by the state Department of Education, to solicit applications from charter schools.