Editor's note: Another year, another legislative session, another stack of school-choice bills in Florida. Here's a roundup of choice legislation that lawmakers will consider in the annual session that begins today.

Career Academies:

SB 1076 by Sen. John Legg, R-Lutz. Expands the "Career and Professional Education Act (CAPE)," revising requirements for high school graduation and accelerated high school graduation, and allowing students to earn and substitute certain industry certifications for certain course credits. Also requires districts to make digital materials available to students and to use the Postsecondary Industry Certification Funding List in determining annual performance funding distributions to school districts and Florida College System institutions, etc.

Charter Schools:

HB 373 by Rep. Joe Saunders, D-Orlando. Provides that a contract for a charter school employee or service provider may not extend beyond the school’s charter contract, and that the employee or service provider is not entitled to compensation after the school’s closure. (Identical to SB 780 by Sen. Geraldine Thompson, D-Orlando.)

HB 453 by Rep. Victor Torres, D-Orlando. Requires the compensation and salary schedules for charter school employees to be based on school district schedules. (Identical to SB 784- Charter Schools by Sen. Geraldine Thompson, D-Orlando.)

SB 744 by Sen. David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs. Requires charter school applications to demonstrate the applicant is financially qualified to open and maintain a high-quality charter school, requires the charter to set forth detailed reporting of the financial operations of the school to ensure employees are not paid unreasonable compensation, and requires that the term of the charter must provide for cancellation of the charter if the school becomes insolvent, fails to provide a quality education, or does not comply with applicable law.  The bill also clarifies that a charter school system shall be designated a LEA solely for the purpose of receiving federal funds if certain criteria are met.

SB 828 by Sen. Rene Garcia, R-Hialeah. Grants school districts the ad valorem tax exemption given to charter schools, and restricts the use of capital outlay funds for property improvements if the property is exempt from ad valorem taxes. It restricts charter schools or technical career centers having financial problems from certain activities, and grants flexibility to high-performing school choice districts.

HB 1001 by Rep. Karen Castor Dentel, D-Maitland. Prohibits charter schools from requiring, soliciting, or accepting certain student information before student's enrollment or attendance. Also requires charter schools to submit attendance plans to the school district for students enrolled in school; provide funding to the school district in event of student transfers; and report to the school district certain student enrollment and wait-list information.

SB 1092 by Sen. Geraldine Thompson, D-Orlando. Requires charter school to submit attendance information for each student to the school district, and requires the charter school to provide a prorated portion of per-student funding to the school district if a student transfers to another public school in the school district before the last day of the school year.

SB 1164 by Sen. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland. Revises the eligibility criteria for extracurricular activities to include students in charter schools, and revises the criteria for bylaws, policies, or guidelines adopted by the Florida High School Athletic Association. (Compare to HB 1279 by Rep. Larry Metz, R-Groveland.) (more…)

Charter schools. The exorbitant payouts to the principal of a failing Orange County charter school are behind legislative efforts to tighten charter laws. Orlando Sentinel.

Privatization. The Volusia County school district considers outsourcing 500 custodial and grounds maintenance jobs, reports the Daytona Beach News Journal. The Bay County school district considers bids for privatizing the district's transportation services, reports the Panama City News Herald.

School choice. Vouchers and tax credit scholarships can make private school more affordable. Panama City News Herald.

Forget the furloughs. The Pasco school district finds the $3 million it needs to keep from making employees take two unpaid days off, as originally planned. Tampa Bay Times.

Raising the bar. Don't set it too high with graduation requirements, a high school principal tells the House K-12 Subcommittee. WTXL.

Educator conduct. Prosecutors drop fraud charges against a band teacher who was accused of using nearly $15,000 in school funds to pay for relatives who accompanied the band on a trip to Paris, reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel. More from the Palm Beach Post. An assistant football coach in Manatee County is accused of improperly touching a student and asking her for naked photographs, reports the Sarasota Herald Tribune. More from the Bradenton Herald. A Hernando middle school teacher with a history of off-campus incidents - including three DUI arrests - returns to the classroom after his latest DUI, reports the Tampa Bay Times.

Substitutes. The Marion County teachers union is accusing the district of using "full time" subs to avoid paying benefits. Ocala Star Banner. (more…)

The Florida House subcommittee on choice and innovation approved its first bill along party lines Wednesday, giving charter schools more freedom to grow but also including new accountability measures.

Lawmakers continue to amend the bill, which would allow charter schools to move into unused district facilities. It would also tighten some contract requirements to deter fiscal mismanagement.

Charter school advocates mostly offered praise for the proposal, which still has a long way to go in the legislative process.

“We think this is a very good bill,’’ said former legislator and lobbyist Jim Horne, who recalled supporting the state’s very first charter bill in 1995.

It didn’t pass that year, but did in 1996. Soon after, the first charter school opened, said Horne, who also served as education commissioner. Today, there are more than 500 charters serving 200,000 students – enough, if they were a school district, to rank as second- or third-largest in Florida and eighth-largest in America, he said.

Yet “we still have over 80,000 students on a waiting list,’’ said Horne, who represents Charter Schools USA. “Legislation like this moves things along.’’

The bill drew its share of criticism from traditional public school proponents. They cautioned the representatives to think about how some of the proposals – especially one that allows charters to move into district schools - might impact the future of public education.

“We have capacity at our schools because of charters,’’ said Colleen Conklin, a member of the Flagler County School Board. “We need to be responsible for reform. We need to have education settings where students don’t want to leave. We need a balance.’’ (more…)

A Florida House subcommittee devoted to school choice has drafted a bill that, if approved, could make life a little easier for the state’s charter school operators - especially when it comes to facilities.

The bill, proposed by the the Choice & Innovation Subcommittee, would give charters free use of certain unused district facilities - and require the district to pay for upkeep.

If a district-owned facility that previously has been used for K-12 educational purposes is no longer being used, the bill says, “it shall be made available for a charter school at no cost.’’

The district may give academically successful charters priority for such facilities, and may require charters to enroll students previously assigned to the school if it was open the year before as a public school.

The district would have to maintain the charter school facility “at the same standard and level it would maintain any other district-operated school similar in age and condition.’’

That suggestion might prove popular among charter advocates, including the Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools, which represents more than 400 charter schools.

Access to unused district facilities is No. 2 on the consortium’s list of legislative priorities this year. No. 1 is creating a charter school facilities assistance fund to help with new construction, maintenance and furniture and equipment purchases.

“Charter schools are public schools and deserve the same level of financial support and opportunities afforded to district public schools,’’ said Robert Haag, the consortium’s president. “Charter schools should have … equal access to school buildings that are sitting empty and are not being used for their original educational purpose.’’ (more…)

I was a news reporter for 20 years. I appreciate what good journalists do. But I’m often perplexed by the selective scrutiny that permeates so much education coverage in Florida, particularly when it comes to school choice issues.

The latest example: An “investigation” by an Orlando TV station into the "cozy connections" between Florida state lawmakers and rapidly expanding charter schools. WFTV-Ch. 9 raised conflict-of-interest questions this week about lawmakers who work for charter schools and who have backed legislation that generally promotes charter expansion. It  singled out incoming House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel; Rep. Erik Fresen, R-Miami; and John Legg, R-New Port Richey, a state rep headed to the state senate.

First off, this is old news. The ties between all three lawmakers and charter schools have been well publicized. In fact, they were among a bigger handful of lawmakers cited last December in a front-page Tampa Bay Times piece on the same issue. Curiously, the TV station kicked off its story with the same anecdotal lead as the Times did, one involving Legg and the Pasco County School Board.

More important, the station neglected to mention that a number of other lawmakers have strong if not direct ties to school districts. Sen. Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee, heads the state superintendents association. Former state rep and now Sen. Dwight Bullard, D-Miami, is a public school teacher and local union rep. Two newly elected  Democratic state reps, Mark Danish in Tampa and Karen Castor Dentel in the Orlando area, also teach in district schools. Should teacher-lawmakers be voting on state budgets that could affect how much they’re paid? Should they vote on legislation that could impact how they’re evaluated? (more…)

School district officials and state lawmakers aren’t the only ones outraged by a failing Orlando charter school that cut its principal a check, as it was closing its doors, for half a million dollars.

“This is totally unacceptable,’’ Cheri Shannon, president and chief executive officer of the Florida Charter School Alliance, told redefinED Friday.

Added Lynn Norman-Teck of the Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools, in a prepared release: “The alleged behavior of NorthStar is the exception, not the rule. There are many examples of public charter schools, their governing boards, and administrators, with exemplary records.’’

The Orlando Sentinel reported Thursday that NorthStar High School’s board of directors paid Principal Kelly Young $519,453.36 in taxpayer dollars. The lump-sum payment occurred two days after the Orange County School Board accepted the school’s plan to close instead of being shut down by the district for poor performance.

The principal’s payout was based on a contract that paid her $305,000 a year through 2014, even though the school’s contract with the district was up for renewal in 2012, the Sentinel reported. In addition, the charter school is still paying Young $8,700 bi-monthly to oversee the school’s shutdown, the newspaper wrote.

The story has stoked criticism of charter schools, which receive public money but are run by private boards. And it comes at a sensitive time. Charter schools in Florida served 180,000 students last year and are expected to enroll twice that many by fall 2017. Proponents, including Gov. Rick Scott, are pushing for even greater expansion. (more…)