Major charter school network expanding to Miami after lobbying for pro-charter state law
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) 鈥 A charter school network backed by a billionaire hedge fund manager announced Thursday that it is expanding in Miami, after they successfully lobbied Florida’s GOP-controlled Legislature to pass a new state law easing restrictions on the privately run schools and freeing up more state subsidies for the operators.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) 鈥 A charter school network backed by a billionaire hedge fund manager announced Thursday that it is expanding in Miami, after they successfully lobbied Florida’s GOP-controlled Legislature to pass a new state law easing restrictions on the privately run schools and freeing up more state subsidies for the operators.
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has overseen a in state funding for school choice, presided over Thursday鈥檚 announcement in Miami alongside Success Academy Charter Schools CEO Eva Moskowitz and Citadel investment firm founder , a who has pledged $50 million toward the charter school network鈥檚 Florida expansion.
鈥淚 think Miami鈥檚 just the beginning,鈥 DeSantis said Thursday.
Success Academy, a major charter network in New York City, and Griffin’s firm pushed for the new state law, which Florida legislators slipped into a budget package on the 105th and of what was supposed to be a 60-day session.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
The measure clears the way for charter schools known as 鈥渟chools of hope鈥 to 鈥渃o-locate鈥 inside traditional public schools and qualify for millions of dollars in additional state funding.
Lawmakers created the schools of hope program in 2017 to encourage more publicly funded, privately run schools to open in areas where traditional public schools had been failing for years, giving students and families in those neighborhoods a way to bail out of a struggling school.
This year鈥檚 law loosens restrictions on where schools of hope can operate, allowing them to set up within the walls of a public school 鈥 even a high-performing one 鈥 if the campus has underused or vacant facilities.
Traditional schools across the state are struggling with declining enrollments, including in some of Florida’s largest metro areas, where school districts manage sprawling real estate holdings in prime locations.
Success Academy prides itself on high-performing schools that boost test scores and college preparedness among its students, many of whom come from low-income communities of color. But it has also been plagued by allegations of cherry-picking the families it admits and pushing out hard-to-serve students, according to reporting by the New York Times and others.
At Thursday’s announcement, DeSantis touted the school choice 鈥渆cosystem鈥 created by the legislation he signed, which he predicted would open the door for the charter network to open new campuses across Florida and move into traditional schools in some of the state鈥檚 largest public districts, including those serving Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando and West Palm Beach.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
鈥淲e also, with schools of hope, do have an ability when some perform poorly, where that can basically be taken over by a charter operator,鈥 DeSantis added.
Moskowitz thanked the governor, saying she is expanding her schools in Florida because of the new legislation her network helped shape, a move she said will help some of the state’s neediest students.
鈥淚鈥檓 not used to being welcomed. I鈥檓 not used to people liking high standards,鈥 Moskowitz said, referring to the more adversarial environment for charter schools in New York City.
By contrast, under Florida’s new law, public school districts now have to provide the same facilities-related services to schools of hope as they do their own campuses, including custodial work, maintenance, school safety, food service, nursing and student transportation 鈥 鈥渨ithout limitation” and 鈥渁t no cost鈥 to the charters.
Mina Hosseini, executive director of the Miami public education advocacy group P.S. 305, called the move a 鈥渃orporate takeover.”
鈥淢iami鈥檚 public schools are community lifelines, not corporate assets,鈥 she said in a statement.
___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
