On the last day of an extended legislative session, Florida lawmakers passed a sweeping charter school expansion that allows privately run, publicly funded “schools of hope” to operate rent-free inside under-enrolled public schools.

The controversial bill, pushed through late Monday night as part of a broader budget package, marks the latest Republican-led effort to grow school choice in Florida — a longtime national leader in conservative education policy.

Originally stalled at the end of the regular session in May, the proposal was revived during summer budget negotiations, bypassing typical legislative scrutiny. Critics, including Democratic lawmakers and public school advocates, slammed the move as undemocratic and harmful to traditional schools.

Backed by powerful interests such as Citadel Enterprise Americas — tied to GOP megadonor and hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin — the bill now heads to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk for final approval.

Under the new law, more charter school operators will be able to open schools of hope, including within existing public school campuses, regardless of whether the host school is high-performing, as long as the facility has unused space. Lawmakers also expanded the definition of “failing” schools, potentially increasing the number of campuses eligible for charter takeovers.

“We’re seeing a lot of vacant and underused buildings paid for by our taxpayer dollars,” said Republican Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka. “Let’s give families better options.”

Democrats, however, warned the measure will accelerate the decline of traditional public schools already losing students to charters, private schools, and homeschooling.

“It changes everything in the state for traditional public schools,” said Rep. Robin Bartleman, a Democrat. “Why are you messing with schools that are working? This is a sin.”

In another significant change, charter applicants can now bypass local school boards and apply directly to state colleges or universities — many led by former Republican lawmakers — further weakening local oversight.

Florida joins states like Tennessee, which recently adopted similar measures allowing charter school operators to circumvent local rejections.

The bill builds on Florida’s broader school choice agenda, including its universal voucher program, which now gives all K–12 students access to taxpayer-funded scholarships regardless of income.

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