Florida Gov. Charlie Crist was in Fort Myers Friday to sign a bill that would put schools that constantly get failing marks under state control as a state-run charter school or leasing the school out to a privately-owned charter school firm.

Crist signed the bill at the Lee Charter Academy on Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard in Fort Myers. Several people gathered in the foyer of the school for the signing.

The bill is known as Florida’s Equal Opportunity in Education Act and was introduced by Rep. Tom Grady, R-Naples. The bill essentially allows the state to step in to shut down schools that are academically deficient.

Crist said he was pleased to be in Fort Myers to sign the legislation because “what it talks about is the education of our young people.”

The governor said the bill will give Florida the opportunity to have more charter schools and a better chance for parents to choose schools for their children.

Grady said penalties by the state to take over schools would come about after several years of bad performance by a school. Lee County school board members Bob Chilmonik and Jane Kuckel were at the short ceremony and said they supported the legislation.

The state educational department chose Lee Charter Academy for Crist to visit and sign the bill because of how it has improved since it opened its doors to students five years ago.