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Education in Florida

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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.

Overview

See also: List of colleges and universities in Florida

There are ten public universities and a liberal arts college that comprise the State University System of Florida. In addition the Florida College System comprises 28 public community colleges and state colleges.[1] In 2008 the State University System had 302,513 students.[2] Florida also has many private universities, some of which comprise the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida.

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.[3] All are separate from municipal government. School districts have the power to tax their residents.[3]

Florida has hundreds of private schools of all types.[4] The FLDOE has no authority over private school operations.[5] 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 2008, about 55,000 students were homeschooled.[6] Neither FLDOE nor the local school district has authority to regulate home school activities. The government supports and assists homeschooling activities. There is no minimum number of days in a year, or hours in a day, that must be met, and achievement tests are not required for home school graduating seniors.

Primary and Secondary Schools

In the state of Florida, public primary and secondary schools are administered by the Florida Department of Education.

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.[7][8] Average teacher salaries rank near the middle of U.S. states.[9]

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.[10] 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).[11] White eight 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).

Florida educators criticized former Governor Jeb Bush for a program that penalizes underperforming schools (as indicated by standardized tests, most prominently the FCAT) with fewer funding dollars.[citation needed] Supporters say the program's tough measures have resulted in vast improvements to the education system. Major testing organizations frequently discount the use of state's average test-score rankings, or any average of scaled scores, as a valid metric (for details on scaled test scores, see psychometrics).

Florida, like other states, appears to substantially undercount dropouts in reporting.[12]

In 2007, the state's school population grew by 477 students to 2,641,598, which was far below the projected 48,376 increase. School boards blamed rising insurance and property tax costs and the major 2004 and 2005 hurricane season, which have discouraged migration into Florida. Growth in counties such as Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Hillsborough, Orange, Pinellas, and Duval counties was under state projections. Hillsborough County was the only one of these to have grown; growth in the county was projected to be 4,537, but the actual increase was only 536 students.[13]

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]

Florida does not handpick the best students to take the Advanced Placement exams.[14]

History

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.[15]

Sports

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.

Funding

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 6th time in the lottery's 20-year history. As of 2009, the current lottery's total contribution since start-up is more than $19 billion. [16]

Public colleges and universities

State University System of Florida

The State University System of Florida manages and funds Florida's ten 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.[17]

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.[18] 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 responded by creating 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.[19]

Members of SUSF

Brevard Community College
File:FCCJ Kent Campus Memory Garden.JPG
Florida State College at Jacksonville
Santa Fe College

Florida College System

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.[20]

Private colleges and universities

University of Miami
Palm Beach Atlantic University

The Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida is an association of 28 private, educational institutions in the state of Florida.[21]

Florida has many large and small private institutions. The "Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida", serves the interests of the private universities in Florida. This Association reported that their member institutions served over 121,000 students in the fall of 2006.[22]

Additionally, there are 20 colleges and universities that are not affiliated with the ICUF, but are fully-accredited universities in the state of Florida.[citation needed]

Pensacola Christian College

See also

References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ 2009 SUSF Quick Facts
  3. ^ a b "Florida State Constitution, Article IX: Education". Florida Legislature. Retrieved 2009-01-22.
  4. ^ [2]
  5. ^ [3]
  6. ^ [4]
  7. ^ "Elementary-Secondary Per Pupil Expenditure Amounts by State:2004-05", Public Education Finances 2005 (PDF), U.S. Census Bureau, April 2007, p. 8, retrieved 2007-09-13
  8. ^ "Table 12:States Ranked According to Relation of Elementary-Secondary Public School System Finance Amounts to $1,000 Personal Income:2004-2005" (XLS). U.S.Census Bureau. Retrieved 2007-09-13.
  9. ^ Teacher Pay Review (PDF), Florida Department of Education, May 2006, retrieved 2007-09-13
  10. ^ Matus, Ron, (6 March 2005). "Schools still rank near the bottom". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 2007-09-05. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ US Department of Education retrieved June 14, 2008
  12. ^ Ramirez, Eddy (May 26-June 2, 2008). Keeping Count of Students Who Drop Out. US News and World Report. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ "Comparison of 2006-07 third calculation FTE with projected 2006-07 FTE and 2005-06 FTE" (PDF). Florida Department of Education. Retrieved 2007-09-05.
  14. ^ Gillum, Jack (4 February 2010). "Nearly 60% pass test in Brevard". Melbourne, Florida: Florida Today. pp. 3A.
  15. ^ Bush, Jeb (March 4, 2009). NO:Choice forces educators to improve. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  16. ^ Florida Lottery Contributions, Florida Lottery, 2009, retrieved 2009-09-06
  17. ^ "College presidents unite to protest education cuts". Melbourne, Florida: Florida Today. 24 April 2009. pp. 8B. {{cite news}}: |first= missing |last= (help)
  18. ^ Klein, Barry (8 May 2001). "Bush's trustees mostly in GOP". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 2007-09-05. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  19. ^ Zaragosa, Luis; Kennedy, John (28 June 2007). "Tuition will jump at 3 universities". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2007-09-05. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  20. ^ "Florida Colleges". Florida Department of Education. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
  21. ^ Official website of ICUF
  22. ^ Atherton, Blair (August 2006), 2005-2006 Accountability Report: Quality, Productivity, Diversity, and Access (PDF), retrieved 2007-09-14
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