Broward challenges law

County votes to sue over state legislation benefiting charter schools

The Broward County School Board voted Wednesday to sue the state over a new law that requires public school districts to share property tax revenue with charter schools and relinquishes their authority to apranging prove charter applications.

Broward was the first to take action, but other districts are holding similar meetings within the next two weeks, said legal counsel Barbara Myrick. Miami-Dade, Orange and Pinellas counties are among the others that may collaborate in the case.

The School Board agreed to spend $25,000 to begin working toward a lawsuit that will argue several components of the law are unconstitutional.

The law restricts the district’s right to “operate, control and supervise” all schools. And its property-tax sharing measure violates the state constitution because charters are not permitted to collect property taxes, according to the district.

The law, signed by Gov. Rick Scott June 15, enacts measures from recess requirements to additional funding for scholarships for children with disabilities. But it also steers millions of dollars to charter school operators, both by making districts share property tax revenue and setting up a fund for a program called “Schools of Hope.”

Under the law, charter operators will be able to tap into a $140 million fund to open in