Charter school authority to enforce parent volunteer contracts – A memo from the Florida Dept of Education

 

Date: May 9, 2013

Prepared By: Richard E. Shine

Phone: (850) 245-0442 Opinion

No.: 13-01

TO:  Stephen W. Johnson, Lake County School Board Attorney

FROM:  Matthew J. Carson, General Counsel, Florida Department of Education

SUBJECT:  Charter school authority to enforce parent volunteer contracts

 

QUESTION PRESENTED: Can a charter school that has a parent volunteer contract requirement for admission or continued enrollment in the school allow a parent to satisfy all or part of those volunteer hours by way of a donation to the school?

DISCUSSION: The following statutory references are applicable to a review of this question:

Section 1002.33(10)(a), Florida Statutes, states that “a charter school shall be open to any student covered in an interdistrict agreement or residing in the school district in which the charter school is located.”

Section 1002.33(10)(b), Florida Statutes, states that a “charter school shall enroll an eligible student who submits a timely application, unless the number of applications exceeds the capacity of the program, class, grade level, or building. In such case, all applicants shall have an equal chance of being admitted through a random selection process.”

Section 1002.33(10)(e)5., Florida Statutes, states that “a charter school may limit the enrollment process only to target the following student populations:…[s]tudents who meet reasonable academic, artistic, or other eligibility standards established by the charter school and included in the charter school application and charter or, in the case of existing charter schools, standards that are consistent with the school’s mission and purpose. Such standards shall be in accordance with current state law and practice in public schools and may not discriminate against otherwise qualified individuals.”

As we noted in DOE Opinion 03-05, if a “charter school includes the parent volunteer requirement in its application and charter, or if the requirement is consistent with the mission and purpose in an existing charter school, the parent volunteer contract is enforceable under Florida law. Failure of a parent or parents to uphold or fulfill their responsibilities under that contract would be sufficient grounds for that charter school to deny admission to the child the following year.”

However, if a charter school includes in its parent volunteer contract a volunteer donation option to satisfy all or a part of the parent volunteer hours, such a provision would no longer meet the requirements of section 1002.33(10)(e)5. The key to meeting the intent of section 1002.33(10)(e)5., is that the school has set forth in its application or charter contract that part of its overall mission is to foster parental involvement in the charter school. Allowing a parent to satisfy this requirement by means of a donation no longer furthers the stated mission of parental involvement. Accordingly, it does not satisfy the section 1002.33(10)(e)5., exception to the requirements of section 1002.33(10)(a) and (b).

CONCLUSION: Florida law does not provide an opportunity for a charter school to allow volunteer hours identified in a parent volunteer contract to be “purchased” as a monetary donation to the school.

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