School Bd. of Palm Beach v. Charter Schools

• Citation: 3 So.3d 1220
• Decision Date: 27 February 2009
• Docket Number: No. SC07-2402.,SC07-2402.
• Parties: The SCHOOL BOARD OF PALM BEACH COUNTY, Florida, Petitioner, v. SURVIVORS CHARTER SCHOOLS, INC., Respondent.
• Court: United States State Supreme Court of Florida

3 So.3d 1220

The SCHOOL BOARD OF PALM BEACH COUNTY, Florida, Petitioner, v. SURVIVORS CHARTER SCHOOLS, INC., Respondent.

No. SC07-2402.

Supreme Court of Florida.

February 27, 2009.

Randall D. Burks, Ph.D., and Gerald A. Williams, Office of Chief Counsel, The School Board of Palm Beach County, West Palm Beach, FL, for Petitioner.

Bryan James Yarnall, Palm Beach Gardens, FL, for Respondent.

Bill McCollum, Attorney General, Scott D. Makar, Solicitor General, Timothy D. Osterhaus, Deputy Solicitor General, Deborah Kearney, General Counsel, Jason M. Hand, Assistant General Counsel, Tallahassee, FL, on behalf of The Florida State Board of Education; Janeia R. Daniels of Meyer and Brooks, P.A., Tallahassee, FL, on behalf of Florida School Boards Association, Inc.; and Steven Geoffrey Gieseler and Nicholas M. Gieseler on behalf of Pacific Legal Foundation, Stuart, FL, as Amicus Curiae.

PARIENTE, J.

This case involves charter schools; specifically the procedures a charter school sponsor must follow when it decides to "immediately" terminate a charter pursuant to section 1002.33(8)(d), Florida Statutes (2005), because "good cause has been shown" or the "health, safety, or welfare of the students is threatened." § 1002.33(8)(d), Fla. Stat.¹ The specific issue in this case is whether a school board, as a charter school sponsor, must utilize the provisions of Florida's Administrative Procedure Act (APA), chapter 120, Florida Statutes, when immediately terminating a charter. The Fourth District Court of Appeal in Survivors Charter Schools, Inc. v. School Board of Palm Beach County, 968 So.2d 39 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007), concluded that the APA must be followed when a school board immediately terminates a charter school charter under section 1002.33(8)(d) and concluded that "immediately" essentially meant anything less than ninety days.²

The district court's decision expressly affects school boards as a class of constitutional or state officers under article IX, section 4(b), Florida Constitution. Therefore, this Court has jurisdiction to review the district court's decision. See art. V, § 3(b)(3), Fla. Const.

The resolution of this issue is based on statutory interpretation. After a careful review of the governing charter schools statute, pertinent provisions of the APA, and our application of principles of statutory construction to ascertain legislative intent, we conclude that the Legislature did not intend for the procedures of the APA to apply to the immediate termination of charter school charters under section 1002.33(8)(d). Accordingly, we quash the decision of the Fourth District and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion. On remand, the Fourth District may consider any of the other issues raised by Survivors Charter Schools but not reached, including specific due process and evidentiary issues related to the procedures followed by the School Board in this case.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

This appeal arose out of the immediate termination by the School Board of Palm Beach County (School Board) of the charters for two charter schools in Palm Beach County, based on a finding of severe fiscal mismanagement in both charter schools. Survivors Charter Schools, Inc. (Survivors), operated both charter schools, Survivors Charter School West Palm Beach (Survivors WPB) and Survivors Charter School Boynton Beach (Survivors BB), under ten-year charters granted in 2001 and 2003, respectively. Both charters included provisions for immediate termination after twenty-four hours' notice. Although there had been a history of the School Board's concerns regarding the fiscal management of both schools, the precipitating event for the immediate termination was an audit report completed on January 13, 2006, which included fourteen findings of fiscal mismanagement by Survivors.³ The School Board considered the audit report along with the "Superintendent's Recommendation to Immediately Terminate Charter Agreement" due to the "severity of the audit findings" at a specially noticed meeting on January 25, 2006.⁴ At that meeting, the School Board heard public comments as well as comments from individuals representing Survivors, but there was no presentation of testimony under oath and no formal admission of documents into evidence. At the conclusion of the meeting, the School Board voted to terminate the charters and a notice of immediate termination was then hand-delivered to each school. The notice indicated the termination was "for `good cause' because of the severity of the Audit Findings," based on section 1002.33(8)(d) as well as the charter provisions, and would become effective in twenty-four hours.

Survivors appealed to the State Board of Education, which then referred the matter to the Charter School Appeal Commission (CSAC). The CSAC held an informal hearing where representatives of Survivors spoke but unsuccessfully attempted to proffer evidence. It was the CSAC's position, based upon the Florida Charter School Appeals Commission Guidelines, that no additional evidence could be considered.⁵ Ultimately, the CSAC voted that the School Board had "competent, substantial evidence to support its finding regarding the severity of the audit findings." However, it concluded that although the School Board had good cause for the immediate termination of the Survivors BB charter, it did not have good cause for the immediate termination of the Survivors WPB charter. The CSAC prepared written recommendations regarding both charter schools, and the matter proceeded to the State Board of Education for a final decision. The State Board of Education then held a meeting at which it reviewed the recommendations. The State Board of Education took comments from representatives of Survivors, who raised due process concerns as to the procedures by which the charters had been terminated. The State Board ultimately voted to uphold the immediate termination of both charters, rejecting the CSAC's contrary recommendation as to the Survivors WPB charter. Final orders were entered from which Survivors appealed to the Fourth District Court of Appeal.

Although multiple issues were raised on appeal, the Fourth District determined two "key" issues: "whether the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) applied to the School Board's charter termination process"; and, if the APA did apply, "what due process protections were required and whether they were provided by the School Board." 968 So.2d at 42. After reviewing both the APA and the Charter School statute, the Fourth District concluded that "the process leading to the School Board's termination decision was subject to the APA." Id. at 43. Noting that under section 1002.33(8)(c),⁶ a charter school sponsor may terminate a charter on nonimmediate grounds after giving ninety days notice in writing, the district court concluded, by reading the two provisions together, that for "immediate" terminations:

Under [section 1002.33(8)(d) ], immediate means only something less than ninety days, which clearly encompasses the fourteen-day notice requirement of section 120.569(2)(b) as applied to the School Board's determination of good cause for termination (plus twenty-four hours' notice of termination once good cause is shown based on the charters).

Id. at 45 (emphasis added). The district court summarized the APA provisions that it held should apply in immediate charter school terminations:

The APA includes defined procedures for providing due process regarding decisions which determine substantial interests. Under section 120.569(2)(b), "[a]ll parties shall be afforded an opportunity for a hearing after reasonable notice of not less than 14 days," unless waived by consent of all parties. However, to receive such a hearing, a party is required to file a petition or request for a hearing. § 120.569(2)(a), (c), Fla. Stat. If a hearing is requested and the petition is granted, a hearing will be held and the "presiding officer has the power to swear witnesses and take their testimony under oath, to issue subpoenas, and to effect discovery." § 120.569(2)(f), Fla. Stat.... [The] evidence may be received in written form and testimony must be under oath. Id. Cross-examination is also permitted. § 120.569(2)(j).[⁷] Additional procedures apply in cases involving disputed issues of material fact. § 120.57(1), Fla. Stat.

968 So.2d at 43. The district court then concluded:

[I]f substantial interests are affected and the APA applies, as we have determined, immediate termination can only mean termination following a determination of good cause subject to the fourteen-day notice requirement and accompanying APA procedures (especially where such a requirement allows for more immediate termination than the general termination procedure). As much as the audit report findings may have reflected serious financial transgressions, termination following a determination of good cause can only be so immediate as to afford due process, and due process can only be afforded with fourteen days' notice and a hearing under the APA.

Id. at 45.

After deciding that the APA applied to the procedures the School Board was mandated to follow before "immediately" terminating a charter, the Fourth District then analyzed what APA protections applied. It concluded that under the APA, the School Board was required to provide "reasonable notice of not less than 14 days" and to hold a quasi-judicial hearing under the APA, where testimony would be taken under oath, subpoenas issued and cross-examination could occur. Because the School Board clearly did not follow the APA, the Fourth District reversed and remanded "so that the termination of Survivors' charters based on a determination of good cause shown can be considered following proper notice and subject to the due process protections of the APA." In so holding, the Fourth District expressly declined to comment on the other specific due process and evidentiary issues raised by Survivors. Id....