Historical public education information in Florida, 2011-2014

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Education policy in the U.S.

Public education in the U.S.

School choice in the U.S.

Charter schools in the U.S.

Higher education in the U.S.

Glossary of education terms

Education statistics

This page contains archived information on Florida's public education system, primarily from 2011-2012, but also from other years due to the availability of data at the time it was written. For more recent information, view Florida's public education page.

The Florida public school system (prekindergarten through grade 12) operates within districts governed by locally elected school boards and superintendents. In 2012 Florida had 2,668,156 students enrolled in a total of 4,212 schools in 76 school districts. While the national ratio of teachers to students was 1:16, in Florida there were 175,006 teachers in the public schools, or roughly one teacher for every 15 students. There was roughly one administrator for every 326 students, compared to the national average of one administrator for every 295 students. On average Florida spent $8,887 per pupil in 2011, which ranked it 39th in the nation. The state's graduation rate was 75 percent. This was the Regulatory Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate reported to the United States Department of Education for all students in 2011-2012.

State agencies

See also: Florida Department of Education

The Florida Department of Education serves as the state's repository of education data, which allows the department to track student performance over time. The Department of Education also administers a statewide reading initiative with the goal of every child in the state reading at or above grade level. Pam Stewart is the Florida Commissioner of Education.

The Florida State Board of Education has eight members, including a chair, a vice chair and the Commissioner of Education.

The mission statement of the Florida State Board of Education reads:

“

Increase the proficiency of all students within one seamless, efficient system, by providing them with the opportunity to expand their knowledge and skills through learning opportunities and research valued by students, parents, and communities, and to maintain an accountability system that measures student progress toward the following goals: Highest student achievement Seamless articulation and maximum access Skilled workforce and economic development Quality efficient services

”

Regional comparison

See also: General comparison table for education statistics in the 50 states and Education spending per pupil in all 50 states

The following chart shows how Florida compared to three neighboring states during school year 2011-2012 with respect to number of students, schools, the number of teachers per pupil, and the number of administrators per pupil. Further comparisons between these states with respect to performance and financial information are given in other sections of this page.

Regional comparison, 2011-2012
State	Schools	Districts	Students	Teachers	Teacher/pupil ratio	Administrator/pupil ratio	Per pupil spending
Florida	4,212	76	2,668,156	175,006	1:15.2	1:325.8	$8,887
Alabama	1,618	170	744,621	47,723	1:15.6	1:293.5	$8,813
Georgia	2,388	216	1,685,016	111,133	1:15.2	1:274.9	$9,253
Mississippi	1,069	163	490,619	32,007	1:15.3	1:251	$7,928
United States	98,328	17,992	49,521,669	3,103,263	1:16	1:295.2	$10,994
Sources: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), "State Nonfiscal Public Elementary/Secondary Education Survey", 2011-12 v.1a. National Center for Education Statistics, "Table 2. Number of operating public schools and districts, state enrollment, teacher and pupil/teacher ratio by state: School year 2011–12" U.S. Census Bureau, "Public Education Finances: 2011,Governments Division Reports," issued May 2013

Demographics

See also: Demographic information for all students in all 50 states

The following table displays the ethnic distribution of students in Florida as reported in the National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data for 2011-2012.

Demographic information for Florida's K-12 public school system
Ethnicity	Students	State percentage	United States percentage**
American Indian	9,888	0.37%	1.10%
Asian	67,758	2.54%	4.68%
African American	612,465	22.95%	15.68%
Hawaiian Nat./Pacific Isl.	3,008	0.11%	0.42%
Hispanic	762,854	28.59%	24.37%
White	1,131,901	42.42%	51.21%
Two or More	80,282	3.01%	2.54%
**Note: This is the percentage of all students in the United States that are reported to be of this ethnicity.

Enrollments by region type

See also: Student distribution by region type in the United States

During the 2011-2012 school year a plurality of students in Florida attended suburban schools. Unlike Florida, Alabama and Mississippi students were more likely to attend rural schools than suburban schools during that same year. For more comparisons, look to the table below.

Student distribution by region type, 2011 - 2012 (as percents)
State	City schools	Suburban schools	Town schools	Rural schools
Florida	24.3%	50.3%	5.0%	20.5%
Alabama	20.6%	16.9%	14.4%	48.0%
Georgia	14.0%	38.0%	9.9%	38.0%
Mississippi	10.0%	8.9%	28.9%	52.2%
U.S. average	28.9%	34.0%	11.6%	25.4%
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD)

Academic performance

Education terms
For more information on education policy terms, see this article.
School board elections portal Glossary of education terms School choice on the ballot Education on the ballot

NAEP scores

See also: NAEP scores by state

The National Center for Education Statistics provides state-by-state data on student achievement levels in mathematics and reading in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Florida's scores were higher than its three comparison states (Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi) during the 2012-2013 school year. The state's grade four scores were also higher than the national average.

Percent of students scoring at or above proficient, 2012-2013
	Math - Grade 4	Math - Grade 8	Reading - Grade 4	Reading - Grade 8
Florida	41%	31%	39%	33%
Alabama	30%	20%	31%	25%
Georgia	39%	29%	34%	32%
Mississippi	26%	21%	21%	20%
U.S. average	41%	34%	34%	34%
Source: United States Department of Education, ED Data Express, "State Tables," accessed May 13, 2014

Graduation, ACT and SAT scores

See also: Graduation rates by groups in state and ACT and SAT scores in the U.S.

The following table shows the graduation rates, average composite ACT and SAT scores, and rankings for Florida and surrounding states for 2012 and 2013.

Comparison table for graduation rates and test scores*
State	Graduation rate, 2012		Average ACT composite, 2012		Average SAT composite, 2013
	Percent	Quintile ranking**	Score	Participation rate	Score	Participation rate
Florida	75%	Fourth	19.8	70%	1457	67%
Alabama	75%	Fourth	20.3	86%	1608	7%
Georgia	70%	Fifth	20.7	52%	1452	75%
Mississippi	75%	Fourth	18.7	100%	1673	3%
U.S. average	80%		21.1		1498
*Regulatory Adjusted Cohort Rate (except for Idaho, Kentucky, Oklahoma, which did not report “Regulatory Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate,” but instead used their own method of calculation). **Graduation rates for states in the first quintile ranked in the top 20 percent nationally. Similarly, graduation rates for states in the fifth quintile ranked in the bottom 20 percent nationally. Source: United States Department of Education, ED Data Express

Dropout rate

See also: Public high school dropout rates by state for a full comparison of dropout rates by group in all states

The high school event dropout rate indicates the proportion of students who were enrolled at some time during the school year and were expected to be enrolled in grades 9–12 in the following school year but were not enrolled by October 1 of the following school year. Students who have graduated, transferred to another school, died, moved to another country, or who are out of school due to illness are not considered dropouts. The average public high school event dropout rate for the United States remained constant at 3.3 percent for both school year 2010–2011 and school year 2011–2012. The event dropout rate for Florida was lower than the national average at 2.1 percent in the 2010-2011 school year, and 2.1 percent in the 2011-2012 school year.

Educational choice options

See also: School choice in Florida

As of 2014, more students in Florida took online courses than in any other state. Other school choice options open to students in Florida included charter schools, homeschooling, scholarship programs, private schools and two public school open enrollment policies.

Education funding and expenditures

See also: Florida state budget and finances

Breakdown of expenditures by function in fiscal year 2012
Source: National Association of State Budget Officers

According to the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO), Florida spent approximately 18.8 percent of its fiscal year 2012 budget on elementary and secondary education. This was down 1.4 percentage points, a 6.9 percent decrease in the share of the budget from fiscal year 2008, when the state spent 20.2 percent of its budget on elementary and secondary education. Nearly 48 percent of Florida's education revenue comes from local funding. State funding accounts for just over 34 percent, and federal funding accounts for just under 18 percent.

Comparison of financial figures for school systems
State	Percent of budget (2012)	Per pupil spending (2011)	Revenue sources (2011)
			Percent federal funds	Percent state funds	Percent local funds
Florida	18.8%	$8,887	17.81%	34.29%	47.9%
Alabama	20.9%	$8,813	14.6%	53.77%	31.63%
Georgia	24%	$9,253	12.57%	41.58%	45.85%
Mississippi	16.9%	$7,928	22.33%	45.95%	31.72%
Sources: NASBO, "State Expenditure Report," Table 8: Elementary and Secondary Education Expenditures As a Percent of Total Expenditures U.S. Census Bureau, "Public Education Finances: 2011,Governments Division Reports," issued May 2013

Revenue breakdowns

See also: Public school system revenues in the U.S.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, public school system revenues in Florida totaled approximately $26.4 billion in fiscal year 2011. The table below presents further detail, including revenue sources, for Florida and surrounding states.

Revenues by source, fiscal year 2011 (amounts in thousands)
	Federal revenue	State revenue	Local revenue	Total revenue
Florida	$4,710,376	$9,069,119	$12,666,978	$26,446,473
Alabama	$1,077,070	$3,965,614	$2,332,472	$7,375,156
Georgia	$2,267,612	$7,499,327	$8,268,366	$18,035,305
Mississippi	$1,006,465	$2,071,467	$1,429,770	$4,507,702
U.S. total	$74,943,767	$267,762,416	$264,550,594	$607,256,777
Source: National Center for Education Statistics

Expenditure breakdowns

See also: Public school system expenditures in the United States

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, public school system expenditures in Florida totaled approximately $27 billion in fiscal year 2011. The table below presents further detail, including expenditure types, for Florida and surrounding states.

Expenditures by type, fiscal year 2011 (amounts in thousands)
	General expenditures**	Capital outlay	Other***	Total expenditures
Florida	$23,428,499	$2,217,069	$1,346,378	$26,991,946
Alabama	$6,582,496	$564,183	$255,905	$7,402,584
Georgia	$15,465,308	$1,368,403	$291,801	$17,125,512
Mississippi	$3,888,831	$368,906	$88,046	$4,345,783
U.S. total	$520,577,893	$52,984,139	$29,581,293	$603,143,325
**Funds spent operating local public schools and local education agencies, including such expenses as salaries for school personnel, student transportation, school books and materials, and energy costs, but excluding capital outlay, interest on school debt, payments to private schools, and payments to public charter schools. ***Includes payments to state and local governments, payments to private schools, interest on school system indebtedness, and nonelementary-secondary expenditures, such as adult education and community services expenditures. Source: National Center for Education Statistics

Personnel salaries

See also: Public school teacher salaries in the United States

Note: Salaries given are averages for the state. Salaries may vary between a state's urban, suburban, and rural districts and should be adjusted for cost of living. For example, a MacIver Institute study of average teacher salaries in 60 metropolitan areas found that salaries in New York City were the third-highest in absolute figures but 59th-highest when adjusted for the cost of living.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the average national salary for classroom teachers in public elementary and secondary schools declined by 1.3 percent from the 1999-2000 school year to the 2012-2013 school year. During the same period in Florida, the average salary decreased by 6.5 percent.

Estimated average salaries for teachers (in constant dollars**)
	1999-2000	2009-2010	2011-2012	2012-2013	Percent difference
Florida	$50,184	$49,858	$47,253	$46,944	-6.5%
Alabama	$50,139	$50,779	$48,802	$47,949	-4.4%
Georgia	$56,062	$56,694	$53,819	$52,880	-5.7%
Mississippi	$43,535	$48,722	$42,339	$41,994	-3.5%
U.S. average	$57,133	$58,925	$56,340	$56,383	-1.3%
**"Constant dollars based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, adjusted to a school-year basis. The CPI does not account for differences in inflation rates from state to state."

Organizations

Unions

In 2012, the Fordham Institute and Education Reform Now assessed the power and influence of state teacher unions in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Their rankings were based on 37 different variables in five broad areas, including: resources and membership, involvement in politics, scope of bargaining, state policies and perceived influence. Florida ranked 50th overall, or weakest, which was in the fifth tier of five.

List of local Florida school unions:

• Florida Education Association
• United Teachers Of Dade
• Hillsborough County Class Room Teachers Association
• American Federation Of Teachers (Jacksonville)
• American Federation Of Teachers (Tallahassee)
• Palm Beach County Classroom Teachers Association
• Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association Inc
• Sarasota Classified Teachers Association
• Collier County Education Association Inc

Government sector lobbying

See also: Florida government sector lobbying

As of 2009, 27 Florida school districts had registered lobbyists, and at least 52 school districts were members of the Florida School Boards Association, the main education government sector lobbying organization.

On June 10, 2009, Governor Charlie Crist signed into law a bill that prevents taxpayer-funded organizations from using taxpayer money on political advertisements. The law took effect July 1, 2009 but still allowed school boards, cities and counties to distribute ballot information as long as it was "factual."

Transparency

See also: Evaluation of Florida school district websites

• In June 2009, a Florida circuit court judge ruled that "a man has no right to have access to thousands of names, addresses and telephone numbers of employees and their dependents enrolled in the Manatee County School District’s health insurance plan." Circuit Judge Edward Nicholas said the information was exempt under Florida law and could not be requested. The ruling came to light after Joel Chandler made a public records request for health insurance information from all the Florida school districts.
• In early 2009, Senator Mike Fasano sponsored Senate Bill 468. The bill proposed to exempt personal identifying information regarding the health and benefit coverage of public school employees from the Sunshine Law. The transparency legislation was proposed in reaction to the outcry that arose after Joel Chandler requested the information.

Studies and reports

State Budget Solutions education study

See also: State spending on education v. academic performance (2012)

State Budget Solutions examined national trends in education from 2009 to 2011, including state-by-state analysis of education spending, graduation rates and average ACT scores. The study showed that the states that spent the most did not have the highest average ACT test scores, nor did they have the highest average graduation rates. A summary of the study is available here. The full report can be accessed here.

See also

• Public education in Florida
• Florida
• Education Policy in the U.S.