Florida’s public schools are bracing for a new wave of charter school takeovers starting Tuesday, when districts across the state begin receiving formal notices identifying campuses targeted under the expanded Schools of Hope program .

But even as those letters go out, state lawmakers are already working to pull the plug on the program’s most controversial piece: a rule that allows private charter operators to move into “underused” public school buildings rent-free.

SB 424 , filed by Democratic Sen. Darryl Rouson of St. Petersburg, would repeal that provision. The measure would remove language in state law that requires school districts to permit charter “Hope operators” to use underused, vacant or surplus facilities without paying rent or covering maintenance and operational cos

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