Approve Contract for Florida Autism Charter School of Excellence (FACSE)

Charter school legislation, FS1002.33, permits individuals, organizations and community members the opportunity to submit an application to the School Board for the creation of a charter school. On February 13, 2007, the School Board approved the application for the Florida Autism Charter School of Excellence.

The Florida Autism Charter School of Excellence will be located at 6400 E. Chelsea Street, Tampa 33610. The school will serve students in grades Pre-Kindergarten through grade 12 identified with a disability on the autism spectrum. The main campus will be in Hillsborough County and the school will accept students from Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and Sarasota counties through inter-district agreements.

A copy of the proposed contract for the school is attached. The original charter application approved by the School Board will become Appendix I of this contract and is available for review in the School Board Office. The school’s academic goals and objectives are found in Appendix II. In the event there is a discrepancy between the contract and the charter application, the terms of the contract prevail. The length of the contract is five years with provisions for renewal at the end of the term.

A copy of the application review summary is attached indicating where weaknesses are addressed in the contract.

All District Goals and Critical Success Factors

The charter school’s first year enrollment of 200 exceptional education students will generate approximately $4,206,000.00 in FEFP (Part 1) funds. The District retains five (5) percent of these funds which is approximately $210,000.00 as an administrative fee to support services provided by the District. The school will also qualify for categorical, capital outlay, and grant funds as appropriate and allowed by Florida statutes. Costs associated with the development of the contract include district staff time and attorney fees.

June 30, 2012