Education in Florida
Education in Florida consists of primary,
secondary,
undergraduate and graduate
schooling.
There are eleven public universities and
28 community colleges.[1] In 1998 there were
over 216,000 college students in public uni-
versities.[2] The state has many private
universities.
The state’s public school systems are ad-
ministered by the Florida Department of Edu-
cation (FLDOE). 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 achieve-
ment tests are not required for private school
graduating seniors. Many private schools ob-
tain 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 loc-
al school district has authority to regulate
home school activities. The government sup-
ports 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 stu-
dent and spending per $1000 of personal in-
come 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 na-
tional
surveys
and
average
test-score
rankings before allowances for race are
made.[10] When allowance for race is con-
sidered, a 2007 US Government list of test
scores shows Florida white fourth graders
performed 13t