LULAC Florida urges all members to sign the petition supporting Senate Bill 424—legislation that will repeal Florida’s harmful new co-location mandate and protect the public schools our communities rely on every day.

✍️ SIGN THE PETITION NOW
📘 Learn more: EDUVOTER.org

This action step is urgent because Florida’s public schools—the heart of our neighborhoods, cultural centers, and pathways to opportunity—are facing an unprecedented threat.

In the final hours of the 2025 Legislative Session, lawmakers quietly approved language allowing “Schools of Hope” charter operators to co-locate inside public school buildings for free whenever a district school has unused seats.

Imagine someone moving into your home rent-free and demanding access to your utilities, pantry, medicine cabinet, and security system—while also competing for your job. You wouldn’t call it fairness. You’d call it overreach. That is exactly what this mandate does to our neighborhood public schools.

Under this unfunded requirement, districts must provide private operators free space, utilities, maintenance, nursing, food service, and even security—with no guaranteed reimbursement. Co-location forces two very different school systems to operate under one roof, sharing cafeterias, playgrounds, parking lots, gyms, and media centers. Public schools must make all accommodations, even though they serve as community hubs, emergency shelters, and polling places.

Senate Bill 424, filed by Senator Darryl Rouson, would repeal this mandate and restore fairness, safety, and local control. This bill does not oppose school choice—it protects public oversight, fiscal responsibility, and the stability of schools serving every child.

LULAC Florida members know how essential strong public schools are to Latino families.

📢 Sign the petition and urge your legislators to support SB 424.
Our students, educators, and communities are counting on us.