DeSantis defends new law allowing Florida charter schools to demand free space in public school buildings

Anthony Man, South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Oct 22, 2025

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Gov. Ron DeSantis brushed aside concerns over a new Florida law that allows certain charter schools to demand free space in the state’s public schools.

DeSantis, who signed the expansion into law, and Republican lawmakers said having more so-called schools of hope would provide new avenues of success for students failed by traditional public schools.

Democrats and some school district leaders are concerned about provisions of the new law that give schools of hope the ability to demand space to set up their operations in public schools — without having to pay rent or the cost of janitorial, cafeteria and other services.

At a news conference Wednesday in Sarasota, the governor was asked about concerns from Sarasota County school leaders that the schools of hope law he signed would hurt the existing school system there. Similar concerns have been voiced in Broward County.

“I don’t think that that’s true,” DeSantis said, focusing on the goals articulated by backers of the schools of hope expansion: That it would help “attract charter operators in areas that are very poor performing and one of the aspects of that was there’s excess space in the school buildings that the charter operator could use that excess space and then do a program.”

Having school districts provide the space and the services to the hope school operators was an incentive to get them to start or expand operations in the state, DeSantis said, pointing to Success Academy of New York City, which announced after the law and associated regulations were enacted that it would begin operating in Florida.

A major Success Academy supporter is Ken Griffin, the billionaire founder and CEO of the hedge fund Citadel. He donated $50 million to support Success Academy’s Florida expansion. He also has been a political donor to DeSantis and other Florida Republicans.

“Being able to provide operators like (Success) some existing infrastructure that’s not being utilized makes economic sense, but it also helps attract folks to come in and do it. So I understand why they’re (critics) saying that. I don’t think ultimately the critique is valid and I think it’s going to make a real difference,” DeSantis said.

Success Academy isn’t the only charter operator looking to utilize the new law. Mater Academy has sent multiple school districts letters seeking space at hundreds of schools, including in Broward and Sarasota counties.

WUSF public media in Tampa Bay reported that Sarasota County Schools Superintendent Terry Connor said it was “definitely a major concern for a school district like ours.” Suncoast Searchlight, a nonprofit newsroom serving Sarasota, Manatee, and DeSoto counties, reported that Sarasota County School Board member Liz Barker called it a “hostile takeover.”

One leading opponent of the new law, state Rep. Robin Bartleman, a Broward Democrat and former School Board member, said on Tuesday that concerns from Sarasota County are significant. “Sarasota is doing a really good job right now, which is really important because that’s a Republican county,” she said.

Republicans control the Legislature, they passed the new law, and any changes are up to them.

Speaking at a Broward Legislative Delegation workshop on Tuesday, Bartleman depicted the new law in starkly different terms than DeSantis. “This is incredibly dangerous,” she said. “It is the last nail on the coffin to public schools.”

Bartleman said schools of hope are billed as a way to help students who otherwise would attend poorly performing traditional schools or live in economically disadvantaged areas. The language of the new law allows the charters to demand space in top rated “A” schools, including those that don’t really have excess space, she said.

“Imagine owning a business and you have an extra room and someone says to you, you don’t need that room. We’re going to take that room. … You’re not going to be able to charge rent. You’re going to have to pay for their electricity, their property insurance, you’re gonna have to pay for their food, their janitorial staff. You’re going to have to just pay for everything and if they need security or whatever they need, if they need your office staff, they get to use all of that,” Bartleman said.

State Sen. Rosalind Osgood, also a Broward Democrat and former School Board member, said the issue isn’t the pros and cons of charter schools.

“This is about what’s right,” she said. “That’s not a business model that should ever be appropriate for any of us, no matter who’s doing it.”

DeSantis rejected concerns during his Sarasota appearance. “I think it’s going to work out well, and I think it’s just going to provide more opportunities.”

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