Andrade introduces new bill allowing municipalities to convert public schools to charter schools

PENSACOLA, Fla. – Rep. Alex Andrade, R-Pensacola, introduced a bill for the 2024 Florida Legislative Session that would allow municipalities to convert public schools into charter schools.

Andrade told Florida’s Voice that current Florida law allows municipalities “to create a charter school from scratch.”

“But in the very next paragraph from Florida Statute, when it discusses who can convert a public school to charter school, they’re left off the list.”

Under current law, if a majority of parents, teachers and the county school board wish to convert a public school into a charter school, they are able to.

In Andrade’s bill, cities would be able to independently request a conversion without county school board approval by submitting an application to a newly created state Charter Review Board.

“I think some cities in different counties might want to have more say and more direction in the schools within their jurisdiction,” he added. “And if parents are okay with it, and parents support the idea of having more local control than just their school boards, then they should at least have the option to pursue that.”

The legislation would still require a majority of parents with students in that specific school to approve of the school’s conversion before it is reviewed by the board.

“I think parents are the ones that are funding schools, parents should be the sole deciders of whether or not these schools are government owned or charter,” he said.

Andrade said that the main criticism of the legislation will most likely come from teachers unions.

“I think that the only people who should really have a say on this are people that actually care about students,” he said. “And I’ll shout from the rooftops that the teachers unions do not care about students.”

Certain states already allow for their municipalities to apply for a public school conversion into a charter school.