Florida Senate poised to back off plan giving undeveloped land to charter schools

Jeffrey S. Solochek, Tampa Bay Times on Feb 3, 2026

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Florida public education advocates claimed a victory Monday in their ongoing effort to stop lawmakers from requiring school districts to hand taxpayer funded property to privately run interests.

State Sen. Keith Truenow, R-Tavares, moved to replace his bill (SB 824) that would require school districts that have lost enrollment over three years to offer to charter schools any undeveloped property the districts have owned longer than three years.

In its place, Truenow has proposed that the state establish an annual inventory of unimproved real property owned by school districts, without making any reference to what must be done with the sites. The words “charter school” do not appear in Truenow’s strike-all amendment, which is scheduled to be heard by the Senate Education PreK-12 Committee on Tuesday afternoon.

The inventory would include information such as the size and value of the owned properties, along with the intended use and recommendations based on trends and long-range facilities planning. Insiders said lawmakers have been frustrated by districts whose officials come asking for added funding while sitting on large parcels they could possibly sell.

At the same time, Floridians have increasingly expressed disapproval for initiatives such as Schools of Hope that give property and services to charter schools at no cost.

This alternative emerged as a middle ground.

If approved, Truenow’s amendment would take away the immediacy of giving undeveloped taxpayer owned sites to charters. Families for Strong Public Schools, which recently issued a call to action against what it deemed a “public school land grab,” changed its postings Monday to ones of appreciation.

“Thank you to everyone who took action!” the group wrote.

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