Florida school districts seek grants from charter law they said they'll challenge

TALLAHASSEE - A new law giving charter networks more money has led school districts to promise lawsuits, but schools in those same districts are vying for grants the law also offers for student mental health services. 

One of several school boards that voted to sue over the Schools of Hope Law is Bay County. Two of its elementary schools also have applied to receive money offered by the law. Dawn Capes, Bay County school district coordinator of teacher and administrator appraisal systems, said the money is badly needed to help students cope with parents who are struggling with opioid addiction. 

"We have to speak to the whole student, and part of that is in the form of additional support from the community," Capes said. "We have parents of children and other family members who are dealing with addiction, and it's coming into our schools and severely affecting our students."

Language for the Schools of Hope Law was stuffed into a 274-page education bill debated during this year's legislative session. The law includes $140 million to be split between charters and failing schools that have applied for grants to help them improve. 

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The two Bay County schools are among 50 public schools in the state that applied for Schools of Hope. The law allows for 25 schools to receive $2,000 per student for services such as counseling or after-school activities. 

Two St. Lucie County elementary schools also applied for the grants. District spokeswoman Kerry Padrick said the School Board there intends to file a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the law. 

"The grant application is about students," Padrick said. "More importantly, it is about an opportunity to provide support for students who need it the most."

Schools of Hope was a top priority for members of the state House of Representatives. Rep. Manny Diaz, chairman of the House PreK-12 Education Appropriation Subcommittee, said none of the districts have filed a lawsuit because they have realized the law is good for students. 

"I'm glad to see those schools are applying, and I had hoped they would see the value in the policy," said Diaz, R-Hialeah. "The pressure is going to mount on those school boards as people realize the expense of a lawsuit over helping those kids."

To qualify for the grant, a school must have a D or F rating for three years. The Florida Department of Education identified more than 90 that were eligible. The deadline to apply for the program, called TOP-3 was Aug. 15, and the state board plans to announce its recipients Sept. 13. 

Diaz said the new law also helps high-performing charter networks expand into the state's poorest areas. A network must have a proven track record of turning around struggling schools before it receives any money. 

"We're talking about the highest standards possible," Diaz said. "It's much higher than the standards we hold for other schools."

The call for legal challenges to the law began with Broward County and now also include Palm Beach, Miami-Dade and Volusia counties. Officials in those counties think taxpayers' money should not be given to for-profit companies to buy buildings and properties. 

Despite the debate, some of the eligible schools were eager to receive the money. East Lee County High School applied after receiving a D grade this year. Jeff McCullers, the Lee school district director of grants and program development, said the money would go toward social services and mentoring.  

"I don’t have any specifics today, but the full proposal will be available when it gets scheduled on a school board meeting agenda," McCullers wrote in an email.  "In general, however, we hope to be able to provide additional social services to our students as well as mentoring programs in collaboration with community organizations."

McCullers declined to discuss the lawsuit the Lee School Board voted to file last month.