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Helping Lawmakers Share Responsibility for Charter Schools

Presenters:Larry Williams

Frank Mandley

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Helping Lawmakers Share Responsibility for Charter Schools

BACKGROUND

• In 2014, lawmakers passed 264 bills. That’s the fewest bills since at least 2001, and 22% less than the 10-year average of 338 bills passed per session;

• Legislators also filed fewer bills than any time since 2001. The 1,812 filed bills is a 23 % reduction from the 10-year average of 2,364 bills.

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Helping Lawmakers Share Responsibility for Charter Schools

• There were eight (8) charter school bills, in all, introduced in the two chambers (HB1265, HB7057, HB7083, SB1528, SB0452, SB1124, SB1202 and SB1284);

• Two (2) other bills that included language that mentioned charter schools, as well (HB1327 and SB0860);

• Of the 8 charter school bills, HB7083 and SB1528 were the two that came the closest to passing, although no charter school bill was passed in the 2014 session.

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Helping Lawmakers Share Responsibility for Charter Schools

• HB7083 remained fairly unchanged through all its committee stops in the House, where it was passed and sent to the Senate in Messages, it was never taken up by the Senate;

• SB1528, died in its final Senate committee.

• HB0433 permits consortia of charter schools to develop professional development systems, including re-certification training, to charter school teachers.

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Helping Lawmakers Share Responsibility for Charter Schools

The Florida Legislature can impact charter schools through laws impacting all manner of charter school operations such as:

• Determining their establishment, the application process and contract

requirements for charter schools, • Defining charter school purposes and objectives, • Mandating charter school requirements and how charter schools are

organized and operated, • Requiring accountability measure for charter schools,• Establishing enrollment requirements, and• Determining how much Capital Outlay funding charter schools are

allocated each year, and• Anything else the Legislature views as important regarding charter schools!

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Helping Lawmakers Share Responsibility for Charter Schools

To understand how frantic the Legislative Session is, it is important to remember:

• Regular sessions are only 60 consecutive days long.

• Only a member of the Legislature or a committee can introduce a bill.

• The Senate has no rule limiting the number of bills a member may introduce.

• House Members were allowed to file six bills for a Regular Session.

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Helping Lawmakers Share Responsibility for Charter Schools

2015 Legislative Calendar March 3, 2015 Session Begins March 3, 2015 Deadline for Filing Bills April 21, 2015 Last Day Committees Meet May 1, 2015 Last day of Session

All bills must go through many steps before becoming law.

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Helping Lawmakers Share Responsibility for Charter Schools

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Helping Lawmakers Share Responsibility for Charter Schools

To find out more about how the Florida Legislature functions, go to the links below and review the excellent materials and information provided:

• http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/default.aspx

• http://www.flsenate.gov/

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Helping Lawmakers Share Responsibility for Charter Schools

With such a short session, so many bills to consider and so much work to get done in such a short time; you may wonder how you can positively influence your legislator(s)???

The answer is simple:

Start meeting and talking with Legislators NOW!

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Helping Lawmakers Share Responsibility for Charter Schools

• First find out who your State Representative and State Senator are, if you don’t already know. (Both links provided on the previous slide have sections where you can determine your legislators by mailing address or Zip Code and there is a Legislative Lookup feature on FCPCS’s website.)

• Find out where they have an office closest to the your location.

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Helping Lawmakers Share Responsibility for Charter Schools

• Charter school administrators, teachers, parents and students can be powerful advocates for charter schools. Legislators want to hear from you!

• During the Legislative Session, legislators have virtually no time to visit schools, but you can invite them to visit your school before Session starts and after Session ends.

• Include Legislators in events that take place at your school.

• Write letters of invitation to your Legislator.

• When writing your letter, briefly tell about your school and your involvement with charter schools. A personal touch is very important.

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Helping Lawmakers Share Responsibility for Charter Schools

• State your purpose for writing in the first paragraph of the letter: Why do you want him/her to attend your event or participate in an activity at your school?

• State specifically what you want the official to do at your event or how you would like him/her to engage with the children, e.g., read with them, talk about public service, etc.

• Be original. Never use a form letter or send copies as originals.

• Don’t worry about typing your letter. A legibly handwritten letter can be best.

• Be sure to mention if media are expected to attend.

• Follow-up with a telephone call to the official’s appointment secretary or aide about your event.

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Helping Lawmakers Share Responsibility for Charter Schools

• If your elected official cannot attend, you may wish to request the attendance of his or her aide or staff member.

• Don’t forget to THANK elected officials for their public service, even if their views do not align with yours. They often make significant personal and financial sacrifices to serve and always appreciate your thanks.

• After the elected official or staff person has attended your event, be sure to send a THANK YOU card or note. Typed thank you letters are fine, but handwritten notes, including those from your students, are even better.

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Helping Lawmakers Share Responsibility for Charter Schools

• In addition to inviting Legislators to your school and to events (Town Hall Meeting, Open House, etc.), you can also schedule a meeting of a conference call with the Legislator in his/her office.

• You may wish to invite a few parents to the meeting or the call.

• Add your Legislator(s) to your mailing list for newsletters, press releases and events.

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Helping Lawmakers Share Responsibility for Charter Schools

• Remember that Florida has a “Citizen Legislature” and that Legislators have to learn a great deal about a myriad of issues with which they may not be familiar.

• They may suffer from the same basic lack of understanding and knowledge about charter schools as many other Floridians.

• You can help them understand charter schools and your needs by frequent communication, meetings and school visitations.

• And this should take place outside of the 60-day period of the Legislative Session.

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Helping Lawmakers Share Responsibility for Charter Schools

QUESTIONS &

ANSWERS