Key Florida lawmakers have revived an attempt to let students attend public schools across district boundaries.
The change is included in a bill filed Friday by Sens. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville and Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland.
It would require school districts to allow parents from “any school district in the state” to enroll their children in “any public school that has not reached capacity.”
Charter schools would also have to accept students across district lines.
There is a twist. SB 684, titled “Choice in Sports,” would also tackle a perennial controversy over how Florida regulates high school athletics.
Among other things, it would stipulate that students are immediately eligible to participate in sports after they change schools, and create new fines for school employees who engage in athletic recruiting.
The public-school choice portion largely echoes a proposal that died earlier this year, which would have created a system of controlled open enrollment throughout the state.
Parents and school choice advocates backed the plan, and surveys show voters support the idea, but it drew logistical concerns from school districts and failed to pass in part because the regular legislative session was cut unexpectedly short amid a dispute over health care funding.
The updated proposal would require districts to give “preferential treatment” to children who might face unique hardships signing up for school, including those in foster care, those who have been uprooted by divorce and those from military families. School boards would also need to give preference to children who already live in the district where they hope to enroll.
Military families may be of particular concern to Gaetz, whose district includes Eglin and Tyndall Air Force Bases.
To decide which schools have the space to accept out-of-zone or out-of-district transfers, districts would have to consult their educational facilities plans.
State Rep. Ross Spano, R-Dover, has filed a shorter high school sports bill for the legislative session that begins in January, but it doesn’t include the public school choice proposal.
