Resource Library

This session provides a practical overview of the 2026 Florida legislative and regulatory updates affecting charter schools, with a focus on what school leaders and governing boards need to know for the 2026–27 school year. Topics include student services and ESE requirements, athletics and extracurricular activities, educator certification and HR changes, facilities and property, school safety and threat management, nonprofit governance under the revised Chapter 617, religious programs and instruction, and other legislative developments. The session concludes with key compliance actions and monitoring priorities to help charter schools update policies, procedures, governing documents, and operational practices in response to the 2026 changes.

Presented at the Florida Charter School Governance Conference by leaders from Charter Impact and Innovation Montessori Ocoee, this session highlights how charter school boards can transition from reactive financial reporting to proactive financial leadership. Emphasizing forward-looking forecasting over historical accounting, the guide outlines five critical questions board members must ask to ensure financial clarity: tracking year-to-date budget variances, monitoring cash flow and days cash on hand, evaluating enrollment and revenue trends, maintaining a 5–15% reserve policy, and proactively identifying financial risks. Ultimately, utilizing clear real-time dashboards and multi-year forecasts empowers board members to build financial literacy, streamline governance, and secure long-term organizational sustainability.

Presented by Dr. Kia Sweeney Scott and Marianne Blair of the Florida Association of Charter School Authorizers (FACSA), the session **Authorizers and Governing Boards: Aligning Roles and Responsibilities** explores the distinct functions and collaborative relationship needed for effective charter school oversight. While governing boards focus on internal administration, leadership evaluation, and budget approvals, authorizers—including district school boards, state universities, Florida college system institutions, and the Charter School Review Commission—are responsible for evaluating applications, negotiating contracts, and monitoring overall academic, financial, and operational compliance. To build a strong partnership, both entities must maintain clear communication, establish transparent performance metrics, respect distinct operational boundaries, and address challenges like board turnover and compliance fatigue through joint planning and streamlined processes.

This presentation by Paul O'Neill of Potomac Law Group explores the legal and operational dynamics between charter school boards and Charter Management Organizations (CMOs). It outlines essential terminology, charter expansion models, and the distinct legal contracts connecting authorizers, school boards, and management partners. While CMOs provide key advantages such as operational expertise, economies of scale, resource allocation, and facility investment, they can also present challenges regarding board control, conflicting priorities, financial entanglements, and academic oversight. Ultimately, the session highlights the terms governing contract termination and details proactive strategies for success, emphasizing clear alignment, robust management contracts with explicit performance metrics, and regular communication.

This presentation outlines the governance and compliance responsibilities of Florida charter school governing boards regarding Exceptional Student Education (ESE). It stresses that effective board oversight requires focusing on high-level system accountability—establishing approved policies, verifying staff credentials, and monitoring performance metrics—rather than interfering in daily operational case management. The guide details federal and state legal frameworks under IDEA Part B and Florida statutes, key compliance tools such as quarterly dashboard tracking and annual Matrix of Services audits, and a structured 90-day action plan designed to ensure full compliance, protect institutional reputation and funding, and guarantee that students with disabilities receive high-quality support.

This training presentation by Sherard Parker, Executive Director of the Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools (FCPCS), details the FCPCS Evaluation System for Principals and Assistant Principals. Designed to help charter school governing authorities assess leadership performance and foster continuous professional growth to drive student achievement, the system aligns with Section 1012.34, F.S., and the eight Florida Educational Leadership Standards under Rule 6A-5.080, F.A.C.. The overview highlights evaluation procedures and rubric-driven scoring across four performance tiers, combining a Leadership Practice Score (66%) with student learning and school growth data (at least 33%). Furthermore, it emphasizes best practices for collecting evidence, delivering actionable feedback, and utilizing web-based platforms such as observe4success to conduct efficient, paperless evaluations.

This presentation by Paul O'Neill of Potomac Law Group details essential governance best practices for Florida charter school governing boards. Highlighting the critical role boards play as financial stewards and mission guardians, the deck outlines necessary board expertise—spanning academic, financial, community, legal, HR, and fundraising domains—required to build credibility and ensure school success. It emphasizes key operational principles, including maintaining ethical responsibilities, working productively with school leaders, running effective meetings, observing bylaws and legal requirements, keeping transparent public records, and continuously keeping charter renewal in focus. Finally, the presentation uses a practical hypothetical scenario to illustrate common governance, conflict of interest, and authorizer challenges.

This interactive governance lab presentation from the National Charter Schools Institute (NCSI) introduces the "Governance Question Filter," a five-step discipline (Outcome, Evidence, Lane, Lever, Question) designed to help charter school boards distinguish between governing ("how well?") and managing ("how will?"). Through a simulated scenario involving the fictional Horizon Charter Academy across three board meetings (September, November, and January), participants navigate emerging challenges—such as declining proficiency, budget shortfalls, teacher turnover, and midyear staff departures—to practice asking wise, outcome-focused questions without crossing into daily school operations. Ultimately, the workshop emphasizes leveraging leadership accountability, budget alignment, and strategic monitoring to maintain effective board oversight and foster stronger school governance.

This presentation, titled "Learn a New Language: What School Leaders Need to Know About Real Estate Development and Finance," provides a comprehensive overview of real estate and financial planning essentials for school leaders. Led by Richard Moreno of Building Hope Services alongside Braxton A. Padgett and Melissa Gross-Arnold of Arnold Law Firm, the session emphasizes how better understanding leads to improved planning and outcomes. Key topics covered include preparing 5-year financial models and assessing days cash on hand, evaluating purchase or lease options, understanding various financing methods such as bonds and conventional loans, navigating construction and contract terminology, and maintaining post-construction financial compliance and reserve planning.

This presentation provides an overview of Florida's Public Records Act (Chapter 119, F.S.) and its application to charter schools, emphasizing that all materials—including emails, text messages, social media content, and potential AI prompts—created or received in connection with official business constitute public records subject to inspection and copying. It details specific exemptions, such as FERPA-protected student education records, active personnel investigation files, and security or fire safety plans, while highlighting that non-exempt items like draft documents circulated beyond the author must be disclosed. Finally, the guide outlines a structured, five-step response process—acknowledging requests immediately, assessing permissible fees, retrieving and redacting files, providing a final cost accounting, and delivering records within a reasonable timeframe—and advises charter school boards to establish clear public records policies and designate an official records custodian.

Florida’s educational landscape emphasizes widespread choice, with over half of the state's K-12 students (1.88+ million) participating in various education options such as charter schools, magnet programs, virtual learning, and state-funded scholarships. Through Step Up For Students, programs like the Family Empowerment Scholarship (FES-EO/FES-UA), Florida Tax Credit Scholarship (FTC), and Personalized Education Program (PEP) provide families with flexible funding for private school tuition, customized learning, and public school services—including CTE, AP courses, tutoring, and extra-curriculars—without out-of-pocket costs. Looking ahead to 2027, the Step Up, Step Further Scholarship Fund will leverage a new federal tax credit to prioritize funding up to $1,700 for low-income public school students to access approved educational resources.