The Florida education system consists of public and private schools in Florida, including the State University System of Florida (SUSF), the Florida College System (FCS), the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida (ICUF) and other private institutions, and also secondary and primary schools as well as virtual schools.
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There are 12 public universities that comprise the State University System of Florida. [1] In addition the Florida College System comprises 28 public community colleges and state colleges. [2] In 2008 the State University System had 302,513 students. [3] Florida also has private universities, some of which comprise the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida. In 2010, nineteen of Florida's 28 community colleges were offering four year degree programs. [4]
The state's public primary and secondary schools are administered by the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE). FLDOE also has authority over the Florida College System. The State University System is under the authority of the Florida Board of Governors.
As mandated by the Florida Constitution, Article IX, section 4, Florida has 67 school districts, one for each county. [5] All are separate from municipal government. School districts tax property within their jurisdictions to support their budgets. [5]
Florida has hundreds of private schools of all types. [6] The FLDOE has no authority over private school operations. [7] Private schools may or may not be accredited, and achievement tests are not required for private school graduating seniors. Many private schools obtain accreditation and perform achievement tests to show parents the school's interest in educational performance.
In the 2021-2022 school year, about 152,000 students in Florida were homeschooled. That number compares to about 55,000 homeschooled students in 2008 and 89,000 in 2017-2018. [8] According to the FLDOE, homeschooling parents must maintain "a portfolio of activities, records and materials showing student work" for two years; the parents must submit this portfolio to officials of their local school district if required in writing. Homeschooling students are also required to undergo, each year, one of five academic evaluation options. The parents must submit the results of the evaluation to their local school district. [8]
In August 2023, restrictions were placed on the teaching of Shakespearean plays and literature by Florida teachers in order to comply with state law. [9] [10] [11]
As of 2023, there are 4,230 public elementary and secondary schools in Florida. This includes 941 secondary (high) schools, 588 middle schools, and 2,248 elementary schools, along with some Pre-K and others. [12] These schools collectively served 2,870,527 students through the end of the 2021-2022 school year.
As of 2021, there are 2,640 private elementary and secondary schools in Florida, collectively serving 486,830 students. [12]
Attempts to develop public schools began as early as 1831, when the Florida Education Society was founded in Tallahassee. After the Civil War, the state adopted a new constitution which established the Department of Public Instruction, headed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction. The legislature passed a law in 1869 to provide "a uniform system of public instruction, free to all the youth residing in the state between the age of six and twenty-one years", and C. Thurston Chase was appointed by the governor to serve as the first superintendent. In 1968, a constitutional revision replaced the Department of Public Instruction with the Department of Education, which is headed by the Commissioner of Education. [13]
For most of the state's history, the schools were segregated by race. Prior to the civil war, little effort was made to educate African-American children, and in fact an 1832 law made it illegal to educate black people, whether slave or free. In 1885, the state passed a law prohibiting integrated education. In 1920 the state appointed J.H. Brinson as its first supervisor of Negro education. [13] The state also maintained segregated schools for Seminoles. [14]
From the end of the Reconstruction era in the 1870s until the 1940s, the state and local governments gave far less money to all-black public schools compared to the favored white public schools. (There were no racially integrated schools.) However, many private schools for Blacks were funded by Northern philanthropy well into the 20th century. Support came from the American Missionary Association; [15] the Peabody Education Fund; the Jeanes Fund (also known as the Negro Rural School Fund); the Slater Fund; the Rosenwald Fund; the Southern Education Foundation; and the General Education Board, which was massively funded by the Rockefeller family. [16] [17]
In 1954, Brown v. Board of Education , a United States Supreme Court case, declared segregated schools illegal, but few changes were made in Florida. Although a 1960 law repealed the prohibition on integration, it was not until 1963 that a black student, Chester Seabury, petitioned the Broward Board of Education, gained admittance, and became the first African-American to graduate from a white high school in Florida. [18]
School districts are organized within Florida's 67 county boundaries. Each school district has an elected Board of education which sets policy, budget, goals and approves expenditures. Management is the responsibility of a Superintendent of schools.
The Florida Constitution allows districts to either elect the superintendent in a popular election (the default provision) or choose (via popular election) to allow the school board to appoint the superintendent. As of 2010 [update] , school boards in 25 districts (Alachua, Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Collier, Duval, Flagler, Hernando, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lake, Lee, Manatee, Miami-Dade, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pinellas, Polk, Saint Johns, Saint Lucie, Sarasota, Seminole, and Volusia) appointed the superintendent; the remaining districts elect their superintendent. [19]
Education Week evaluated Florida's schools for 2010, fifth in the nation overall, with As for student testing, teacher accountability and progress on closing the achievement gap. It gave the state an F for per-pupil spending. [20]
In 2011, the liberal [21] Center for American Progress stated that for half the states it studied, it found no correlation between spending and achievement after allowing for cost of living, and students living in poverty. [20] The Center commended Florida as one of two states that provides annual school-level productivity evaluations which report to the public how well school funds are being spent at the local level. [22] [23]
Florida's public-school revenue per student and spending per $1000 of personal income usually rank in the bottom 25 percent of U.S. states. [24] [25] Average teacher salaries rank near the middle of U.S. states. [26]
Florida public schools have consistently ranked in the bottom 25 percent of many national surveys and average test-score rankings before allowances for race are made. [27] When allowance for race is considered, a 2007 US Government list of test scores shows Florida white fourth graders performed 13th in the nation for reading (232), 12th for math (250); while black fourth graders were 11th for math (225), 12th for reading (208). [28] White eighth graders scored 30th for math (289) and 36th for reading (268). Neither score was considered statistically significant from average. Black eighth graders ranked 19th on math (259), 25th on reading (244).
In 2002, voters approved a constitutional amendment to limit class size in public schools starting in the 2010-11 school year from 18 in lower grades to 23 in high school. This was phased in by the legislature from 2003 to 2009, to promote compliance when the amendment took effect. [29] As of March 2011, 28 school districts had failed to comply and owed fines, which were to be redistributed to districts that were in compliance. [30]
Florida, like other states, appears to substantially undercount dropouts in reporting. [31]
Some school districts had backed up the start of the academic year well into August in order to complete the semester and exams before the December holiday break. In 2006, the legislature required districts to start no earlier than two weeks before the end of August,[ citation needed ] but that was changed in 2015 to no earlier than August 10. [32] The state requires that each school teach for 180 days. Private schools may be open for more than 170 days. [33]
Florida does not handpick the best students to take the Advanced Placement exams. [34]
In 2010, there were about 60,750 foreign-born children of illegal immigrants attending public schools. The cost per year averaged $9,035 annually. The total cost of educating these children is over $548 million. [35]
Paddling students for discipline is legal in Florida. [36]
Florida had a voucher system for low-income families from failing school districts from 1999 until 2006. In the final year, 750 students out of 190,000 eligible made this choice. The state paid an average of $4,000 per student as opposed to the $7,206 per student attending public schools.
The system was overturned by the Florida Supreme Court for violating separation of church and state, since some students used these for church schools. [37]
Between 2000 and 2008, school enrollment increased 6%, the number of teachers 20%. [38]
For 2012, StudentsFirst, a political lobbying organization, ranked Florida second among the fifty states, for policy related to education reform. [39]
As in most areas, high schools compete in sports in two types of division. One, because of logistical and geographical constraints, is necessarily local. That is, large schools play small ones in the same area. A second division is based on school population and is statewide. Eventually, schools with the best records in this type of division will meet each other for seasonal playoffs to determine the state champion.
Competition is under the auspices of the Florida High School Athletic Association.
In the fiscal year 2007-2008, the Florida Educational Enhancement Trust Fund received $1.28 billion from the Florida Lottery, passing the billion-dollar mark for the sixth time in the lottery's 20-year history. As of 2009 [update] , the current lottery's total contribution since start-up was more than $19 billion. [40]
Florida provides various voucher programs allowing K-12 students to enroll in schools outside their local school district, including other public schools, private schools, home schooling and charter schools.
From the school year 2019-20 through the school year 2022-2023, enrollment in Florida's private schools grew to 445,000 students, an increase of 47,000. During the same period, the number of homeschooled children in the state rose to 154,000, an increase of 50,000. [41]
In 2010, the annual tuition alone, at Florida's 12 public universities was $4,886, third lowest in the country. [42] The average cost total for books, tuition, fees, and living expenses, is $15,500 compared to $16,140 average for the country. [43]
In an attempt to save money, entering students may take nationally standardized Advanced Placement exams. In 2010, 67, 741 Florida seniors took the exam. 33,712 scored 3 or more, sufficient for advanced placement. [44] A total of 307,000 Florida students took AP exams in 2010. 64,000 scored a minimum of three or more; 43,000 scoring a four or higher. [45]
The State University System of Florida manages and funds Florida's twelve public universities and a public Liberal Arts college:
In 2009, the system employed 45,000 people statewide. The budget was $4.1 billion for community colleges and universities. [46]
In 2000, the governor and the state legislature abolished the Florida Board of Regents, which long had governed the State University System of Florida, and created boards of trustees to govern each university. As is typical of executive-appointed government boards, the appointees so far have predominantly belonged to the governor's party. This effect has not been without controversy. [47] In 2002, former governor and then-U.S. Senator Bob Graham (Dem.) led a constitutional-amendment ballot referendum designed to restore the board-of-regents system. Voters approved. Therefore, the legislature created the Florida Board of Governors; however, each university still maintains a board of trustees which work under the board of governors. During Florida's 2007 legislative session, Governor Charlie Crist signed into law SB-1710, which allowed the board of governors to allow a tuition differential for the University of Florida, Florida State University, and the University of South Florida. This legislation ultimately created a tier system for higher education in Florida's State University System. [48]
The Florida College System manages and funds Florida's 28 public community colleges and state colleges, with over 100 locations throughout the state of Florida. [49]
The Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida is an association of around 30 private, educational institutions in the state of Florida. [50] The association reported that their member institutions enrolled over 121,000 students in the fall of 2006. [51]
Additionally, there are many colleges and universities that are not affiliated with the ICUF.
St. Johns County is a county in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 273,425. The county seat and most populous incorporated city is St. Augustine, although the nearby community, St. Johns, has a higher population. St. Johns County is part of the Jacksonville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) is a not-for-profit organization designated by the Florida Legislature as the governing organization to regulate all interscholastic activities of high schools in Florida. It is a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). Florida uses the contest rules set by the NFHS in its sports.
Brevard Public Schools is a school district serving Brevard County, Florida, and based in Viera, Florida.
The Jacksonville Metropolitan Area, also called the First Coast, Metro Jacksonville, or Northeast Florida, is the metropolitan area centered on the principal city of Jacksonville, Florida and including the First Coast of North Florida. As of the 2020 United States census, the total population was 1,605,848. The Jacksonville–Kingsland–Palatka, FL–GA Combined Statistical Area (CSA) had a population of 1,733,937 in 2020 and was the 34th largest CSA in the United States. The Jacksonville metropolitan area is the 40th largest in the country and the fourth largest in the State of Florida, behind the Miami, Tampa, and Orlando metropolitan areas.
Marshall McAllister Criser, Jr. is an American corporate lawyer and former university administrator. Criser is a native of New Jersey, and earned his bachelor's and law degrees before becoming a practicing attorney. He was the eighth president of the University of Florida, serving from 1984 to 1989.
Kurt S. Browning is an American Republican politician and former Secretary of State of Florida. He currently serves as Superintendent of Schools for Pasco County, Florida.
Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) is the public school district that serves the families and children residing in the urban, suburban, and rural areas of the City of Jacksonville and Duval County, Florida. As of 2015, the district had an enrollment of over 130,000 students, making it the 20th largest school district in the United States, and the 6th largest school district in Florida. The district's 196 schools are traditional neighborhood and magnet schools, charter schools, and alternative schools, all of which serve students of various needs.
The following is an alphabetical list of articles related to the U.S. state of Florida.
The Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) is the state education agency of Florida. It governs public education and manages funding and testing for local educational agencies. It is headquartered in the Turlington Building in Tallahassee.
The Florida Board of Education, also known as the State Board of Education (SBE), is a committee composed of members appointed by the Florida governor to guide and direct the public K-12, community college and state college education in the U.S. state of Florida.
Florida is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Straits of Florida and Cuba to the south. About two-thirds of Florida occupies a peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. It has the longest coastline in the contiguous United States, spanning approximately 1,350 miles (2,170 km), not including its many barrier islands. It is the only state that borders both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of over 21 million, it is the third-most populous state in the United States and ranks eighth in population density as of 2020. Florida spans 65,758 square miles (170,310 km2), ranking 22nd in area among the states. The Miami metropolitan area, anchored by the cities of Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach, is the state's largest metropolitan area, with a population of 6.138 million; the most populous city is Jacksonville. Florida's other major population centers include Tampa Bay, Orlando, Cape Coral, and the state capital of Tallahassee.
Education in Brevard County, Florida consists of public and private schools, including private colleges, and secondary and primary schools.
Brooks-DeBartolo Collegiate High School is a charter school in Tampa, Florida, United States, founded with support from former NFL player Derrick Brooks and former San Francisco 49ers owner Edward J. DeBartolo, Jr. Both of the founders are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It is part of the Hillsborough County Public Schools system.
Education in Jacksonville, Florida is available through both public and private sources.
Tampa College was a private business college founded as a coeducational, nonsectarian, and proprietary institution, in 1890. The school was originally located in Tampa, Florida. The final owner, Corinthian Colleges, folded the school into its Everest brand.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) is the public school district serving Miami-Dade County in the U.S. state of Florida. Founded in 1885, it is the largest school district in Florida, the largest in the Southeastern United States, and the third-largest in the United States with a student enrollment of 356,589 as of August 30, 2021.
Richard Michael Corcoran is an American politician who was speaker of the Florida House of Representatives. A Republican, Corcoran represented the 37th district, which includes central Pasco County, from 2012 to 2018, and previously represented the 45th district from 2010 to 2012. From 2019 to 2022, Corcoran was the state's education commissioner. In 2023, he became president of the New College of Florida.
Step Up for Students is a 501(c)3 nonprofit in Florida providing low income students, bullied students and students with special needs with scholarships to help pay tuition for private school, assistance to attend an out of district public school, or for tutoring, textbooks or therapies. Step Up For Students was created as part of a merger between Florida's two largest scholarship organizations Florida P.R.I.D.E and Children First, which was founded by Tampa Bay businessman John Kirtley. Kirtley had founded a previous scholarship organization, Children's Scholarship Fund of Tampa Bay in 1998 and received more than 15,000 applications for 750 available scholarships. The large demand led Kirtley to help push for the creation of the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, which was signed into law in 2001. That scholarship program allows donors to receive dollar for dollar tax credits for contributions to nonprofits offering scholarships to low-income students in Florida. The scholarship was capped at $50 million for the 2002-03 school year and scholarships were awarded to 15,585 students.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)Jones, who has been consulting for companies and nonprofits on environmental issues, will start teaching at Princeton University in June and is rejoining the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, next month.
'The liberal Center for American Progress estimates (optimistically) that the effect of the entire package could be to save or create 2.2 million jobs.
Obama made the charge after his campaign cited a new study to reporters by the liberal group Center for American Progress Action Fund, an organization with close ties to his campaign.
If Obama carries the popular vote by a narrow margin, it could have implications on his ability to govern effectively, according to Ruy Teixeira, a senior fellow at the liberal Center for American Progress.
Neera Tanden, the president of the liberal research group Center for American Progress, called the election 'a decisive mandate for a fair tax system where the wealthy contribute to address our deficit challenges.'
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