Charter schools may soon co-locate with Brevard Public Schools. Two separate schools could share the same campus, including gyms and cafeterias, while following different rules, answering to different principals and serving different student populations. The arrangement, known as a “School of Hope,” allows co-location of a state-approved charter school within an existing public school, a possibility that has raised concerns among parents, educators and public education advocates across the district.

“Schools of Hope legislation is not new… but [it’s] expanded,” Brevard County Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum Tara Harris said. “Now there are seven state-approved providers [called hope operators] that can go into schools that are under capacity within five miles of persistently low-performing schools.”

In July 2025, the Florida legislature amended Senate Bill 2510 to enable high-performing charter schools to take over public schools that are under capacity and underperforming, or public schools within five miles of an underperforming school. Under the law, these areas are designated as “Florida Opportunity Zones,” opening 41 elementary schools and 15 high schools in Brevard, including West Shore, to potential co-location.

“Brevard usually had anywhere between one or two, sometimes three, elementary schools considered ‘persistently low performing’,” Harris said. “Now Brevard has eight [of those] schools … it opened Brevard to a double-digit number of campuses that were now available for co-location.”

Understanding expectations

At a local meeting of South Brevard advocates on Jan. 21, Harris confirmed that capacity is determined by the number of students enrolled, not by the number of available classrooms.

“If you’re not at your published capacity, then in theory a charter school could come in and take over part of your campus,” Principal Burt Clark said. “Right now [our school] is technically under capacity, but we don’t have an empty classroom. Our teachers possibly won’t have a classroom [during their planning period] anymore and would be forced to roam the halls or go into another teacher’s planning period while pushing a cart around.”

Clark said co-location attracts charter school companies, or hope operators, since “the hardest thing for a charter school to get off the ground is a facility.”

“If their analysis states we have 75 capacity remaining, that means in theory [a charter school] could come in here and bring 75 students and probably three or four teachers,” Clark said. “By law, I would have to provide those classrooms, office space for their administration, seats for their students and access to our bathrooms, cafeteria and gym.”

Facility resources are divided based on the student populations of the respective schools, according to state legislation.

“If we have a school sitting at 60% capacity and they were to co-locate, [the hope operated charter school] would get 40% of the campus,” Harris said. “They would also get a proportionate share of cafeteria space, gym space, and playgrounds.”

Current status in Brevard

On Nov. 11 — which was the first day hope operators were allowed to request co-location in Brevard County by writing a ‘letter of intent’— Palm Bay High School, Oak Park Elementary School, Cape View Elementary School and Roosevelt Elementary School received these letters.

“All four of those [letters of intent], we were able to object to,” Harris said. “We currently have no risk in any of our Brevard schools right now.”

Harris said she ensured plans would be in place before co-location ever occurred. Additionally, following Harris’ objection to the letters of intent on Nov. 11, which she objected to for “material impracticality,” the charter schools did not respond to her offer for the hope operators to tour any Brevard schools.

“We have very good [contingency] plans, and we’ve been working all through this,” Harris said. We’ve had a task force, and we have a tentative agreement of what we would have to put out there, but we also recognize what the statutory language says. Right now, they have not demonstrated any real interest in Brevard … they’re interested in Miami-Dade County.”

“None of us really know exactly what this looks like,” Kervin said. “Especially since a district’s ideal number is to be about 95% efficient, and Brevard is only at 70% efficiency.”

Since Schools of Hope would have two principals, multiple deans and, ultimately, two staff on one campus, Kervin said she hopes Brevard has a solid action plan for fighting the Schools of Hope legislation and dealing with the day-to-day realities of co-location if it comes to Brevard schools.

“If you have two schools on the same campus, and two students get into a fight, who’s in charge?” Kervin said. “We have no idea.”

Each school would operate under its own code of conduct with separate administrative oversight, creating potential conflicts in shared spaces.

“That’s a gray area we are continuing to seek legal guidance on, and it’s a concern,” Harris said.

Funding

The hope operators would co-locate with the public schools free of rent, treating the charter students with the same “per pupil cost” a public student would typically be allotted.

“We would be covering their internet, phones and electricity,” Kervin said. “If that wing of the school [with primarily charter students] broke, it would be Brevard Public Schools having to fund that fix.”

Schools of Hope operators are state-approved charter companies that can receive both state and federal funding. While the parent company can operate for profit, the schools themselves receive the same ‘per pupil’ funding as traditional public schools.

“Whether a School of Hope operator or a traditional charter, a student has an FTE dollar amount [which is the ‘per pupil’ funding allocation]. The money goes with the child,” Harris said. “That is the status quo, regardless.”

Politics

Trying to rationalize the expansion of Schools of Hope legislation, Kervin said she points to ethical concerns in state politicians.

“Unfortunately, politics and money go hand in hand,” Kervin said. “When you dig into some of the bigger private schools and some of the bigger charter schools, specifically those that take vouchers, if you look at the owners of some of the biggest ones, they’re the biggest [political] donors.”

Clark said the push for parental choice in education comes from a good-natured place.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that our current legislative and political leaders are in favor of school choice,” Clark said. “They want parents to be able to choose what’s best. I don’t know that they’re anti-public schools, but they want every family to have an opportunity to not do that if it’s what they want.”

Education

Florida statute 1002.333 said the purpose of Schools of Hope is to “serve students from one or more persistently low-performing schools or students who reside in a Florida Opportunity Zone” by enabling the high-performing charter schools to co-locate.

“I can’t even say that [co-location] would [improve underperforming schools’ test scores],” Harris said. “The traditional BPS school would be running as usual, and I don’t know that having another school on the site would impact the scores of those students.”

Having experienced both private and public schools, sophomore Kavish Patel said privately operated schools don’t always provide higher quality education.

“Private school was definitely easier and more fun, but I feel like I learned less,” Patel said. “They both have the same level of education. West Shore may even be better. In public school, you have to actually work, and it prepares you better for college.”

Patel said he was concerned about the social dynamics of Schools of Hope.

“The [charter] school kids may make fun of the students going to public school that’s underperforming, and then it might mess with the public school kids’ feelings and morale at school,” Patel said. “Although, it might also benefit them because they’re going to see how good the private school is and maybe want to do better.”

Beyond academics, Clark said public schools build comprehensive skills necessary after high school.

“Almost without fail, students we inherited from charters or homeschooling were not as prepared — academically or socially,” Clark said. “Public school is hard, but that’s where students learn how to navigate conflict, failure and success.”

By bringing a diverse group of people together, Clark said public schools foster a strong sense of community and teach students to navigate their differences.

“[Public school is] a microcosm of life… working out conflicts and social situations collectively helps build resiliency,” Clark said.

“I’m fearful of what the short, medium and long-term impacts could be to public education,” Clark said. “I’m fearful because I’m not sold on the quality of it all yet.”

During the South Brevard advocate meeting, Bernard Bryant of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) urged community members to take action now while the legislation could still be influenced.

“A house divided cannot stand,” Bryant said. “If you want to fight, this is the time to do it. BPS is just following what the law says. The cat is already out of the bag, and now we have to fight it.”

District leadership has committed to advocating against Schools of Hope co-location if it moves forward in Brevard, according to Bryant.

Kervin said there are fundamental stakes in the school choice debate.

“Public schools are meant to provide every student with the education that they need to then go off into the world to be a successful adult,” Kervin said. “Dismantling public education literally does the exact opposite.”

Clark said the issue represents more than policy; it reflects competing visions for education’s future.

“It’s a battle for students right now,” Clark said. “It’s a battleground for our future. My children go to public school. Not because I can’t afford private school, but because I believe in what happens at public schools.”

This story was originally published on The Roar on February 13, 2026.