What is the purpose of the program?

Public education is a basic function and responsibility of the state of Florida .  The state’s K-12 public education program is designed to ensure the establishment and provision of a state system of schools, courses, classes and institutions, and services to meet the basic educational needs of all citizens of the state.  This statewide system is administered in local school districts overseen by a school board and monitored by the Department of Education.

What are the state’s responsibilities to public schools?

The state is responsible for establishing standards and regulations to ensure the efficient operation of all schools and adequate educational opportunities for all Florida children.

What services do public schools provide?

Florida public schools provide numerous educational programs, ranging from basic to specialized instruction, and operational programs that support student education.  In addition, public schools are involved in state school improvement, accountability, and testing initiatives to ensure that students meet established academic standards so they successfully progress from grade to grade, are successful in attaining higher education, and become productive members of society.  Florida offers parents the opportunity to make choices from a wide range of public schools offering appropriate educational programs for their children. 

What are the general roles and responsibilities of school boards, superintendents, and principals?

School boards.  The school board in each school district is established in Article IX of the Florida Constitution.  Each school board establishes policies, and operates, controls, and supervises all of the public schools in the district.  Among the specific responsibilities Florida law assigns to school boards is to maintain a system of school improvement and education accountability as provided by statute and the State Board of Education rule.  The following six state education priorities establish the framework for school improvement: (1) learning and completion at all levels, including increased high school graduation rate and readiness for postsecondary education without remediation; (2) student performance; (3) alignment of standards and resources; (4) educational leadership; (5) workforce education; and (6) parental, student, family, educational institution, and community involvement.  More information on Florida ’s school improvement and accountability program can be found in the School Improvement, Accountability, and Testing and Federal Title I Programs  FGAR profiles.  More detailed information on school boards can be found in ss. 1001.34-1001.453, Florida Statutes.

Superintendents.  District superintendents are either elected in a general election or appointed by the school board.  As of August 2007, 24 superintendents were appointed by the district school board and 43 superintendents were elected by county voters.  Florida law outlines the general powers and responsibilities of district school superintendents including attending all regular meetings of the district school board; keeping minutes of all official school board actions and proceedings; acting for the school board as custodian of school property; supervising the assembling of data and sponsoring studies and surveys essential to the development of a planned school program for the entire district; and, recommending the establishment, organization, and operation of schools, classes, and services as needed to provide adequate educational opportunities for all children in the district.  In addition, the superintendent is responsible for directing the work of school and district personnel; recommending plans for improving, providing, distributing, accounting for, and caring for instructional materials; providing for student transportation as prescribed in law; recommending and executing plans as approved, regarding all phases of the school plant program; and recommending measures to the district school board to assure adequate educational facilities throughout the district.  More detailed information on the responsibilities of superintendents can be found in ss. 1001.46-1001.53, Florida Statutes. 

Principals.  Florida law gives school principals authority over school district personnel, including recommending to the superintendent the hiring of instructional personnel assigned to the principal’s school; overseeing the performance of all personnel employed by the district school board and assigned to the principal’s school; and assisting teachers with the use of student assessment data, as measured by student learning gains, for self-evaluation.  Specific principal responsibilities include supporting the authority of each teacher and school bus driver to remove disobedient, disrespectful, violent, abusive, uncontrollable, or disruptive students from the classroom and the school bus; providing instructional leadership in the development, revision, and implementation of a school improvement plan; and making the necessary provisions to ensure that all school reports are accurate and timely.  Finally, the school principal is responsible for the management and care of instructional materials and for implementing the Family and School Partnership for Student Achievement Act.  More detailed information on the responsibilities of school principals can be found in s. 1001.54, Florida Statutes.

How many school districts and public schools are in Florida ?

Florida has 67 school districts, with each county constituting a school district.  As of 2006-07, Florida had approximately 3,877 traditional public schools, over 347 charter schools, and 7 university research schools and special school districts. 

How many children attend Florida public schools?

In the fall of 2006, student membership, from pre-kindergarten through the twelfth grade, totaled 2,662,701 for Florida ’s 67 school and special districts.  This represented a slight decrease of less than 1% from the fall 2005 school population.  When compared to the fall 2002 membership of 2,539,932, Florida school population has increased by 122,769 students, or 4.83% during the five-year period. 

How many people do Florida public schools employ?

Florida ’s public schools reported a total of 328,533 full-time employees in the fall of 2006, an increase of 2.59% from the previous school year.  Instructional staff accounted for 57.3% (188,277 employees), support staff comprised 39.3%, (129,008 employees), and administrators made up the remaining 3.4% (11,248 employees). 

How is the performance of public schools measured?

Florida ’s A+ Plan grades public schools A through F primarily based on student performance on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT).  The FCAT is a state student achievement test that specifically addresses a student's ability to perform on the Sunshine State Standards benchmarks.  The performance of public schools is discussed in more detail in several program profiles including Educational Programs and School Improvement, Accountability, and Testing.

What significant changes did the Florida Legislature make to K-12 Education in 2007?

Career and professional education.  The 2007 Legislature created the Florida Career and Professional Education Act ( Ch. 2007-216, Laws of Florida), defining career and professional academies and requiring school districts to develop five-year strategic plans in collaboration with local workforce boards and postsecondary institutions.  The act requires participating public high schools to offer a rigorous and relevant curriculum that leads to 1) industry-recognized certification in high-demand occupations; 2) the award of a standard high school diploma; and 3) opportunities for high school students to simultaneously earn college credit.  The act also requires the Agency for Worforce Innovation (AWI)  to identify appropriate industry certifications based on the highest national standards and annually update a list of industry certifications to be used within career academies.

Physical Education.  The 2007 Legislature also passed CS/CS/HB 967 ( Ch. 2007-28, Laws of Florida) relating to physical education.  The law requires each district school board to provide 150 minutes of physical education each week for students in kindergarten through grade 5.  The elementary school principal may designate any instructional personnel to provide the physical education.  The law also defines the term physical education to mean “the development or maintenance of skills related to strength, agility, flexibility, movement, and stamina, including dance; the development of knowledge and skills regarding teamwork and fair play; the development of knowledge and skills regarding nutrition and physical fitness as part of a healthy lifestyle; and the development of positive attitudes regarding sound nutrient and physical activity as a component of personal well-being.”

Merit Award Programs.  The Legislature also passed CS/CS/SB 1226 ( Ch. 2007-3, Laws of Florida), creating a voluntary performance pay program, the Merit Award Program, for instructional personnel and school-based administrators.  In order to eligible for funding under the program, school districts must adopt plans that would designate outstanding performers, who would receive a merit-based pay supplement of at least 5%, but no more than 10% of the district’s average teachers’ salary.  School districts would determine eligibility for the supplement based on student academic proficiency, learning gains, or both as measured by statewide standardized assessments and local district-determined assessments, as well as other performance factors.  At least 60% of the overall personnel evaluation must relate to student performance and up to 40% must relate to professional practices, including the ability to implement differentiated instructional strategies to meet student needs for remediation or acceleration and the ability of administrators to maximize resources used for direct instruction.  The law repeals the Special Teachers are Rewarded proviso and reappropriates $147 million to the Department of Education for Fiscal Year 2006-07 to allocate to school districts for performance pay.

What are the program’s expenditures?

School-level program expenditures for Fiscal Year 2005-06 (the most recent year for which expenditure data is available) totaled $17.4 billion.  In Fiscal Year 2005-06, program costs for schools ranged from $465.9 million for 9-12 vocational programs to $5.2 billion for Exceptional Student Education (ESE) programs.  A more detailed description is available on the expenditures of specific programs.

How is the program funded?

Between 2006-07 and 2007-08, total funding for public education increased 4% ($22.7 billion in 2006-07 to $23.7 billion in 2007-08).  The main sources of funding for public education include general revenue, local required effort funding, state trust funds, federal trust funds, lottery funds, and local discretionary funding.  In 2007-08, school districts will receive approximately 53% of their revenues from state sources, 38% from local sources (including the Required Local Effort portion of the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP)), and 9% from federal sources.

The majority of education funding is allocated to school districts through the FEFP and categorical funding programs.  During the 2006-07 school year, FEFP funding will account for approximately 75% of all school funding and is made up of both state (55%) and local (45%) funds.  State funds appropriated to finance the FEFP in 2007-08 are $9.8 billion.  To provide equalization of educational opportunity, the FEFP formula recognizes variances in (1) local property tax base; (2) education program costs; (3) costs of living; and (4) costs for equivalent educational programs due to sparsity and dispersion of the student population.  The key feature of the FEFP is to base financial support for education upon the individual student enrolled in a particular program rather than the numbers of teachers or classrooms.

The major categorical funding programs provide school districts funds to be used for specific purposes such as class size reduction, student transportation, instructional materials, and school technology.  Total categorical funding appropriated for 2007-08 is $3.5 billion.  Since 1999, the Legislature has provided districts flexibility in their use of categorical funds by creating the supplemental instructional categorical fund, which districts may use for programs such as (but not limited to) intensive skill development in summer school, class size reduction, a modified curriculum, reading instruction, after school instruction, tutoring, mentoring, or an extended school year.  In 2007-08, districts will receive a total of $736 million for supplemental instructional categorical programs.

Current issues

High School Athletics and Drug Testing.  The use of anabolic steroids among teens continues to be a concern.  The 2007 Legislature passed two bills addressing this issue.  Chapters 2007-192 and 2007-193, Laws of Florida, require the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) to implement a one-year anabolic steroid testing program for ninth through twelfth grade student athletes who participate in football, baseball, or weightlifting competitions at member schools.  Public and private schools must consent to the program as a prerequisite to membership in FHSAA.  The law provides that an athlete who tests positive for steroids must be suspended from all athletic competition and practice for 90 days and may not be reinstated until he or she tests negative for steroids.  Additionally, an athlete who tests positive for steroids will be subject to repeated tests for the duration of his or her high school athletic eligibility.  The law specifies procedures for an appeal of the test findings, and authorizes challenges to findings and penalties by the member school of the student.  The FHSAA is required to provide the Legislature a report on the steroid testing program by October 1, 2008.

Class-Size Reduction.  In 2002, voters approved Amendment 9 to the state’s constitution.  This amendment mandates that by 2010, class sizes in Florida ’s public schools be no larger than 18 students per class in prekindergarten through third grade, 22 students per class in grades 4 through 8, and 25 students per class in grades 9 through 12.  To meet the requirements of Amendment 9 school districts have implemented various strategies including building numerous additional classrooms and schools, purchasing relocatables in which to instruct students, redrawing school attendance zones to maximize the use of existing facilities, or adopting alternative methods of class scheduling such as block scheduling.  In Fiscal Year 2007-08, the Legislature appropriated $1.3 billion in fixed capital outlay for remodeling, renovation, maintenance, and repair, $650 million of which is specifically for class size reduction.  More information on this issue can be found in the Educational Facilities FGAR profile. 

Where can I get more information?

OPPAGA Reports

OPPAGA has published education-related reports, which are available on our website the Florida Monitor.  Listed below are several of OPPAGA’s more recent education reports related to public schools. 

Half of College Students Needing Remediation Drop Out; Remediation Completers Do Almost as Well as Other Students, Report No. 07-31, May 2007.

School Districts Are Reducing Class Size in Several Ways; May Be Able to Reduce Costs, Report No. 07-29, May 2007.

High School Completion Rate Increased Slightly After FCAT Graduation Policy Implemented, Report No. 07-27, April 2007.

Dissatisfaction with School Governance, Student Behavior, Parent Support, and Career Opportunities Lead to Teacher Attrition, Report No. 07-19, February 2007.

17 School Districts Offered Differentiated Pay Policies to Support Staffing Needs During 2005-06 School Year, Report No. 07-02, January 2007.

Restrictive District Requirements Limited Participation in Performance Pay Systems, Report No. 07-01, January 2007.

Third Grade Retention Policy Leading to Better Student Performance Statewide, Report No. 06-66, October 2006.

School Readiness Guidance and Communication Improve; Fiscal Issues, Evaluation Need Attention, Report No. 06-60, August 2006.

Most School District Career Academies Incorporated Nationally Recognized Core Elements in 2004-05, Report No. 06-56, July 2006.

More Than Half of the State’s School Districts Have Career Academies, Most Operating in 2004-05 Incorporated Nationally Recognized Core Elements, Report No. 06-55, July 2006.

Steps Taken to Maximize Federal Revenue for Exceptional Student Education Program, Report No. 06-49, May 2006.

Steps Can Be Taken to Reduce Remediation Rates; 78% of Community College Students, 10% of University Students Need Remediation, Report No. 06-40, April 2006.

Users Satisfied with FIRN2; Options Exist for Future Services to Educational Entities, Report No. 06-36, April 2006.

K-8 Schools May Help School Districts Improve Student Performance, Report No. 05-02, January 2005.

K-12 Accountability System and Student Achievement Improved, But Challenges Remain, Report 04-41, June 2004.

Comprehensive School District Reviews.  Under the Sharpening the Pencil Program, OPPAGA has examined or contracted with private consulting firms to examine the performance of individual school districts including district educational programs.  Each review chapter contains findings, recommendations, and potential cost savings.  These reviews are listed by district on the Florida Monitor. 

Other Reports

The Department of Education includes a variety of publications on its website including statistical briefs, information notes on current topics, and profiles of Florida ’s 67 school districts.

Auditor General school district audits  www.state.fl.us/audgen/pages/subjects/dsb.htm 

Florida Education and Community Data Profiles, Florida Department of Education, Education Information and Accountability Services, April 2007.

What are the applicable statutes?

Section 1, Article, IX, Constitution of the State of Florida .

K-20 Education Code, Title XLVIII, Florida Statutes.

Whom do I contact for help?

Cheri Pierson Yecke, Ph.D., Chancellor of K-12 Public Schools, Department of Education, (850) 245-0509

Web Address:  www.fldoe.org/k12/