Florida Public Schools

These vouchers — and other factors — have led to declining funding among the largest school districts. Teachers say they are feeling the effects.

A new law in Florida expands Schools of Hope, allowing charters to set up inside any public school with unused space, rent-free. The public school would pay many costs for the charter, like food, transport, security and utilities.

Academica, which operates charters, says on its website that it plans to open only a "handful" of schools in 2027-28 and will rescind notices for other locations after it determines those co-locations.

A series of public meetings are scheduled for November and December.

Dozens of schools across the greater Tampa Bay region are bracing for a second round of notices from School of Hope operators, which want to set up inside under-enrolled public schools.

Most at the meeting praised the superintendent for acting quickly to prevent Schools of Hope from moving into public schools with empty space.

Sarasota is one of several districts in the Tampa Bay region with low enrollment, and has public schools in danger of being taken over by charters.

A Suncoast Searchlight analysis finds Sarasota County’s public and charter schools are nearly equally under capacity — operating at 82% and 84% utilization, respectively — challenging the premise of Florida’s new “Schools of Hope” law.

For the past six weeks, parents have pressured lawmakers and district leaders to leave their neighborhood school alone, despite its low enrollment.

As Mater Academy seeks to co-locate inside Oak Park School — Sarasota County’s only K-12 school for students with special needs — the move raises critical questions about how charter schools serve (or fail to serve) children with disabilities.

In a letter to families, the district announced it was withdrawing the proposal following backlash from parents.

Booker Elementary and Booker Middle were included in the superintendent's plan to prevent a charter school from moving in because both are operating at less than half capacity.