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Charter school bill passes House, remains longshot in Senate

 
Published April 23, 2014

The Florida House approved a bill Tuesday that could limit school districts' control over privately managed charter schools.

HB 7083 would require school districts and new charter schools to use standardized contracts, effectively stripping districts of their leverage in contract negotiations. The measure found strong support among conservative lawmakers, who said it would "create real choice within our school districts."

"What we are seeing is that school districts are playing games with some of the contract issues," said House K-12 Education Subcommittee Chairwoman Janet Adkins, R-Fernandina Beach. "In order to have a successful, balanced system, we need to make sure we have a level playing field. That's what this bill seeks to do."

But Democrats said the bill would give too much power to charter schools, some of which are run by for-profit management companies. They also questioned whether the move was constitutional.

It passed in a 68-50 vote.

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