Chartered: Florida's First Private Takeover Of A Public School System

Chartered: Florida's First Private Takeover Of A Public School System

Chartered: Florida's First Private Takeover Of A Public School System

Florida’s first all-charter school district was engineered by unelected state bureaucrats at then-Gov. Rick Scott’s Department of Education, funded by the state Legislature and carried out by a charter school network based in South Florida, nearly 500 miles away.

This “experiment” in rural Jefferson County has been transformational for many students but disastrous for a few. And it’s already changing education in Florida forever.

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To lawmakers, Florida's first all-charter school district is ‘a success story’ worth replicating. Chronic discipline challenges complicate that narrative.

‘It’s totally obliterated local rule’: How a troubled, segregated district lost its public schools.

Unelected state education officials directed Jefferson County's private takeover. The sidelined superintendent says they 'played in places they shouldn't have.'

A South Florida charter school network now runs a small district 500 miles away. Legislators with close financial ties to charters helped make that happen.

Lawmakers argue: Money isn’t the answer to failing schools. In Jefferson County, extra millions made a difference.

What is Somerset? A look at the South Florida charter school network leading Florida’s first school-district takeover.

Charter ‘schools of hope’ get extra funding and special treatment. They’ll soon enroll thousands of students throughout Florida.

See the connections among the characters and institutions that made the Jefferson County charter district happen.

About the documentary

Chartered: Florida's First Private Takeover Of A Public School System

Chartered