Updated School Siting Ordinance Passes

Joint Effort by Orange County Government and Orange County Public Schools Sets New Standards for Building and Replacing Schools

WHAT: Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs, the Board of County Commissioners and Orange County Government staff will be joined by Orange County Public School Board Chairman Bill Sublette, Orange County Public Schools Superintendent Barbara Jenkins and OCPS Board members to announce and ceremonial signing of the passing of the updated school siting ordinance. The ordinance was passed at the Orange County Board of County Commissioners meeting on April 25.

WHERE: Orange County Administration Center
Room 105 – First Floor (next to the Board of County Commissioner Chambers)
201 S. Rosalind Ave.
Orlando, FL 32801

WHEN: Wednesday, April 26 at 10 a.m.

BACKGROUND:  The school siting ordinance was originally adopted by Orange County Government in 1996 and these regulations were limited to traditional public schools. The updated ordinance establishes standards for Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) for building new schools and renovating existing sites and includes charter schools. Orange County Government and OCPS have jointly developed a revised version of the ordinance. OCPS held a work session on the ordinance on February 23, 2017. The final version was passed at the Orange County Board of County Commissioners meeting on April 25, 2017.

About Orange County Public Schools: Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) is the 10th-largest school district in the nation. The district serves 203,000 students at 188 schools. OCPS was named a co-winner of the 2014 Broad Prize for Urban Education, regarded by many as the Nobel Prize for public education. Eighteen of the district’s 19 traditional high schools have been named to the Washington Post’s annual Challenge Index