Florida Statute 1002.331 - Full Text and Legal Analysis

The 2025 Florida Statutes

Title XLVIII
EARLY LEARNING-20 EDUCATION CODE

Chapter 1002
STUDENT AND PARENTAL RIGHTS AND EDUCATIONAL CHOICES

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1002.331 High-performing charter schools.—

(1) A charter school is a high-performing charter school if it:

(a)1. Received at least two school grades of “A” and no school grade below “B,” pursuant to s. 1008.34, during each of the previous 3 school years or received at least two consecutive school grades of “A” in the most recent 2 school years for the years that the school received a grade; or

2. Receives, during its first 3 years of operation, funding through the National Fund of the Charter School Growth Fund, and has received no school grade lower than a “C,” pursuant to s. 1008.34, during each of the previous 3 school years for the years that the school received a grade.

(b) Received an unqualified opinion on each annual financial audit required under s. 218.39 in the most recent 3 fiscal years for which such audits are available.

(c) Did not receive a financial audit that revealed one or more of the financial emergency conditions set forth in s. 218.503(1) in the most recent 3 fiscal years for which such audits are available. However, this requirement is deemed met for a charter school-in-the-workplace if there is a finding in an audit that the school has the monetary resources available to cover any reported deficiency or that the deficiency does not result in a deteriorating financial condition pursuant to s. 1002.345(1)(a)3.

For purposes of determining initial eligibility, the requirements of paragraphs (b) and (c) only apply for the most recent 2 fiscal years if the charter school earns two consecutive grades of “A.” A virtual charter school established under s. 1002.33 is not eligible for designation as a high-performing charter school.

(2) A high-performing charter school is authorized to:

(a) Increase its student enrollment once per school year to more than the capacity identified in the charter, but student enrollment may not exceed the capacity of the facility at the time the enrollment increase will take effect. Facility capacity for purposes of expansion must include any improvements to an existing facility or any new facility in which the students of the high-performing charter school will enroll.

(b) Expand grade levels within kindergarten through grade 12 to add grade levels not already served if any annual enrollment increase resulting from grade level expansion is within the limit established in paragraph (a).

(d) Consolidate under a single charter the charters of multiple high-performing charter schools operated in the same school district by the charter schools’ governing board regardless of the renewal cycle.

(e) Receive a modification of its charter to a term of 15 years or a 15-year charter renewal. The charter may be modified or renewed for a shorter term at the option of the high-performing charter school. The charter must be consistent with s. 1002.33(7)(a)19. and (10)(h) and (i), is subject to annual review by the sponsor, and may be terminated during its term pursuant to s. 1002.33(8).

(f) Assume the charter of an existing charter school within the same school district in which it operates. Any request to assume a charter must be initiated by a school in a written format to the high-performing charter school.

A high-performing charter school shall notify its sponsor in writing by March 1 if it intends to increase enrollment or expand grade levels the following school year. The written notice shall specify the amount of the enrollment increase and the grade levels that will be added, as applicable. If a charter school notifies the sponsor of its intent to expand, the sponsor shall modify the charter within 90 days to include the new enrollment maximum and may not make any other changes. The sponsor may deny a request to increase the enrollment of a high-performing charter school if the commissioner has declassified the charter school as high-performing. If a high-performing charter school requests to consolidate multiple charters or to assume an existing charter, the sponsor has 40 days after receipt of that request to provide an initial draft charter to the charter school. The sponsor and charter school shall have 50 days thereafter to negotiate and notice the charter contract for final approval by the sponsor.

(3)(a)1. A high-performing charter school may submit an application pursuant to s. 1002.33(6) in any school district in the state to establish and operate a new charter school that will substantially replicate its educational program. An application submitted by a high-performing charter school must state that the application is being submitted pursuant to this paragraph and must include the verification letter provided by the Commissioner of Education pursuant to subsection (4).

2. If the sponsor fails to act on the application within 90 days after receipt, the application is deemed approved and the procedure in s. 1002.33(7) applies.

(b) A high-performing charter school may submit two applications for a charter school to be opened within this state under paragraph (a) at a time determined by the high-performing charter school. A subsequent application to establish a charter school under paragraph (a) may not be submitted unless each charter school applicant commences operations or an application is otherwise withdrawn. However, a high-performing charter school may establish more than one charter school within this state under paragraph (a) in any year if it operates in the area of a persistently low-performing school and serves students from that school. This paragraph applies to any high-performing charter school with an existing approved application.

(4) The Commissioner of Education, upon request by a charter school, shall verify that the charter school meets the criteria in subsection (1) and provide a letter to the charter school and the sponsor stating that the charter school is a high-performing charter school pursuant to this section. The commissioner shall annually determine whether a high-performing charter school under subsection (1) continues to meet the criteria in that subsection. Such high-performing charter school shall maintain its high-performing status unless the commissioner determines that the charter school no longer meets the criteria in subsection (1), at which time the commissioner shall send a letter providing notification of its declassification as a high-performing charter school.

(5) A high-performing charter school replicated under this section may not be replicated as a virtual charter school.

History.—s. 1, ch. 2011-232; s. 3, ch. 2013-250; s. 8, ch. 2016-237; s. 23, ch. 2017-116; s. 10, ch. 2018-6; s. 5, ch. 2021-35; s. 4, ch. 2025-106.

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Amendments to 1002.331

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Cases Citing Statute 1002.331

Total Results: 7 | Sort by: Relevance | Newest First

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Sch. Bd. of Seminole Cnty. v. Renaissance Charter Sch., Inc., 113 So. 3d 72 (Fla. 5th DCA 2013).

Cited 1 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 2013 WL 1775527, 2013 Fla. App. LEXIS 6742

...des K through 6 in its first year, grades K through 7 in its second year, and grades K through 8 thereafter. Renaissance hoped to open the school with 862 students and to grow to 1,415 students by its fifth year. The application was made pursuant to section 1002.331, Florida Statutes (2011), which allowed Renaissance to replicate a “high-performing” charter school already in operation....

...be reversed. The “substantially replicates” requirement is contained in those provisions of the charter school statute which refer to “high-performing” charter schools. Schools identified as “high-performing” charter schools pursuant to section 1002.331, Florida Statutes, are given preferential treatment in the application process....

...hin the state under paragraph (a) in any year. A subsequent application to establish a charter school under paragraph (a) may not be submitted un *75 less each charter school established in this manner achieves high-performing charter school status. § 1002.331(3)(a)-(b), Fla....

...and by allowing it to use the elementary portion of the school being replicated (North Broward *76 Elementary) to establish yet another school (this one in Lake County), the State Board is allowing Renaissance to sidestep the limitations imposed by section 1002.331(3)(b), Florida Statutes, which states that “[a] high-performing charter school may not establish more than one charter school within the state under paragraph (a) in any year.” The State Board’s interpretation of the statute es...

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Sch. Bd. of Indian River Co. v. Somerset Academy, Inc. & Somerset Academy Middle Sch., Etc. (Fla. 4th DCA 2017).

Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal

...We agree and reverse. 1 1 We have consolidated both appeals for purposes of this opinion. In August 2015, Somerset filed two applications with the Indian River School Board to replicate high-performing charter schools it was operating in Miami, pursuant to section 1002.331, Florida Statutes (2015)....

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Dep't of Educ. v. Educ. Charter Found. of Florida, Inc., 177 So. 3d 1036 (Fla. 1st DCA 2015).

Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal

...Melissa Gross-Arnold and Shawn A. Arnold of Arnold Law Firm, Jacksonville, for Appellee. SWANSON, J. This is an appeal from a summary final judgment enjoining the Department of Education from declassifying appellee as a high-performing charter school pursuant to section 1002.331, Florida Statutes (2013)....

...which remained the sole mechanism for determining the loss of high-performing 2 charter school status or for the Commissioner of Education to declassify high- performing charter schools based upon school grades. This appeal followed. Section 1002.331, Florida Statutes (2013), provides in pertinent part: (1) A charter school is a high-performing charter school if it: (a) Received at least two school grades of “A” and no school grade below “B,” pursuant to s....

...longer meets the criteria in subsection (1), at which time the commissioner shall send a letter providing notification of its declassification as a high-performing charter school. (Emphasis added). The legislature first enacted section 1002.331 effective July 1, 2011....

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The Sch. Bd. of St. Lucie Co. v. Somerset Academy, Inc. & Somerset Coll. Prep, Etc., 238 So. 3d 344 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017).

Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal

...In August 2015, Somerset filed an application with the St. Lucie County School Board to establish a middle school that would replicate a high- performing charter school that it was currently operating in Broward County. The application was made pursuant to section 1002.331, Florida Statutes (2015), which allows “[a] high-performing charter school [to] submit an application pursuant to s. 1002.33(6) in any school district in the state to establish and operate a new charter school that will substantially replicate its educational program.” § 1002.331(3)(a), Fla. Stat....

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The Sch. Bd. of St. Lucie Co. v. Somerset Academy, Inc. & Somerset Coll. Prep, Etc. (Fla. 4th DCA 2017).

Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal

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Sch. Bd. of Hillsborough Cnty. v. Tampa Sch. Dev. Corp., 113 So. 3d 919 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013).

Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 2013 WL 275585, 2013 Fla. App. LEXIS 1079

...rminate a charter contract. See id. at 1193 . We see no constitutional impediment to the ALJ’s decision. Affirmed. ALTENBERND and NORTHCUTT, JJ., Concur. . In 2011, the legislature enacted legislation regarding high-performing charter schools. See § 1002.331, Fla....

...(2011); Ch.2011-232, § 1, at 3451, Laws of Fla. (effective July 1, 2011). The statute is not applicable to the dispute before us and we do not opine on whether Trinity's two schools would satisfy the definition of a high-performing charter school. See § 1002.331(1). We note that the statute allows the sponsor of such high-performing schools to consolidate the schools under a single charter; School Board approval does not appear to be necessary. See § 1002.331(2)....

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Sch. Bd. of Polk Cnty. Florida v. Renaissance Charter Sch., Inc., 147 So. 3d 1026 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014).

Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 2014 WL 3843758, 2014 Fla. App. LEXIS 11987

...(Renaissance) to operate a charter school in Polk County over the objections of the School Board. The School Board argues that the proposed charter school's educational program did not "substantially replicate" that of the high-performing charter school being replicated. See § 1002.331(3)(a), Fla....

...We agree and reverse. The facts of this case are substantially similar to those articulated in School Board of Seminole County v. Renaissance Charter School, Inc., 113 So. 3d 72 (Fla. 5th DCA 2013). Here, Renaissance filed a high-performing charter school application pursuant to section 1002.331, for Renaissance Charter School at Polk, a K through 8 charter school....

...rd, Renaissance argued that the material issue was not substantial replication, but instead whether the proposed charter school would be a high-performing school. The School Board countered that -3- section 1002.331 required substantial replication....

...City of Fort Walton Beach, 534 So. 2d 754, 755 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988) ("That an appellate court may not consider matters outside the record is so elemental there is no excuse for an attorney to attempt to bring such matters before the court."). Moreover, section 1002.331(3)(b) limits a high-performing charter school to one application for a charter school per year....