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As the nation鈥檚 K鈥�12 landscape shifts, public charter schools still face a persistent barrier: equitable access to school facilities. Florida offers a revealing case study. Unlike in places such as New York City, where facilities sharing is common, Florida charters spend a significant share of their budgets on private space 鈥� funds that could be better spent on instruction.  

Rather than treating district buildings as contested territory, communities, districts and charter operators should view underused public space as an opportunity to expand access for students and make better use of the public鈥檚 investment in education infrastructure.

Experience from across the country shows that, even in a state at the forefront of education choice like Florida, legal frameworks aren鈥檛 enough to guarantee the equitable use of public resources. Charters鈥� access to public facilities also depends on local solutions and genuine collaboration between districts and charters.

In a co-authored by our organizations, the Florida Charter Institute and Momentum Strategy & Research, we analyzed 20 Florida counties that contain 90% of the state鈥檚 charter schools. Our findings show that enrollment in traditional district schools has steadily declined throughout the past decade, leaving over 645,000 seats available in district facilities. Charter school enrollment, meanwhile, has grown by more than 136,000 students over the same period.聽

We estimate that 12% of all district facilities currently have the space available to house an average-sized Florida charter school. In fact, while falling student enrollment is a growing financial problem for Florida鈥檚 school districts, our research shows that the number of district-operated buildings slightly increased across the state during this period. 

Publicly available data shows that newly opened charter schools in Florida spend nearly one-quarter of their annual budget acquiring and maintaining suitable facilities. The state provides limited facility funding to defray capital expenses, but that covers only a portion of what charters pay toward their buildings. As a result, Florida charter schools rely on an industry of building developers, landlords and lenders, often placing them in commercial spaces that don鈥檛 meet students鈥� needs 鈥� even as hundreds of district facilities operate under capacity. 

We recently surveyed over 100 charter school leaders in Florida. Their responses indicate a growing need for solutions to the state鈥檚 facilities problem: 76% said their school was at or near enrollment capacity, and 52% responded they are exploring or planning to grow beyond their current facility. 鈥淔acility issues are the number one issue facing our ability to maintain or expand,鈥� said one charter school leader in Naples, while an Orlando-based charter school referred to facilities funding as its 鈥渕ain source of concern.鈥�

However, charters don’t appear to view district space as an option, as only 18% of survey respondents reported ever exploring the availability of underutilized district space. Those who do are met with resistance: The same Naples-based school noted that there was available capacity in nearby district schools but that 鈥渄istrict leadership seems closed to the idea.鈥� A charter leader in Miami commented that the district is 鈥渧ery averse鈥� to facilities arrangements with charters. In fact, while Florida鈥檚 charter schools account for 14% of all public school enrollment in the state, only 4% operate in district-owned buildings.

Florida law lacks enforcement mechanisms that would obligate districts to share space with charter schools, instead provide 鈥渟urplus鈥� or 鈥渦nused鈥� facility space for charters 鈥渙n the same basis as it is made available to other public schools in the district.鈥� Research shows that, across the country, laws intended to expand charter access to district facilities often due to similarly vague language.

This year, Florida鈥檚 legislature partially addressed the issue through a measure that allows specially designated, high-performing charter schools to . However, the new law provides virtually no incentives for districts and no process to resolve disputes with charters or among competing charter operators. Districts are as the law goes into effect.聽

Shared facilities arrangements between districts and charters require more than legal nudges from the state. Several cities, in fact, have demonstrated that such partnerships can effectively support resource-starved public schools. In New York City, for example, then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his first chancellor, Joel Klein, promoted co-location to encourage charter growth, guided by the premise that available public school space should . Close to half of New York City charters now operate out of district buildings, and suggests that these arrangements have not negatively impacted student performance.聽

In San Diego, the citywide school district established a to support the planning and placement of charters in district facilities. In Washington, D.C., the city developed a successful to house new charters. In Indiana, the 2014 establishment of allowed districts to attract independently run schools, including charters, and promoted facilities sharing. More recently, the Indiana state legislature has pushed Indianapolis to share facilities and buses among charter and district schools.聽

Starting in 2008, Denver Public Schools leadership pursued a strategy that encouraged charter growth by sharing the district鈥檚 underutilized facilities. By 2017, the district had more charter and 鈥渋nnovation鈥� schools 鈥� district-run schools that are afforded increased autonomy 鈥�, a strategy that led to 鈥渟ignificant, sustained, systemwide improvements in learning.鈥�

While our research revealed untapped opportunity in sharing school facilities, public data does not tell the whole story of whether a given building is suitable for a specific charter 鈥� making local agency even more necessary for working out where these opportunities lie.National charter leader Nelson Smith once school districts鈥� 鈥渕onopoly鈥� over public school facilities as 鈥渁n accident of history.鈥� In states like Florida, where charter schools are an enduring part of public education, sharing unused district space with charters is an untapped opportunity, but weak laws and local obstinacy remain obstacles. Stronger legal mechanisms from the state can open the door for change, but it is up to local leadership to implement those changes and, ultimately, rethink how we manage the public schoolhouse.

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