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, including teacher certification and professional development. The Florida Department of Education, under the direction of the State Board of Education, is responsible for monitoring school districts and collecting and reporting certain information on K-12 education.

Each of the state's 67 counties represents a single school district. Each local school district is governed by a school board in conjunction with a superintendent. A school principal is responsible for the day-to-day operations at individual schools. The following is a brief description of these roles and links to their legal source, outlining specific duties and responsibilities.

• School Boards. The school board in each school district is established in article IX, section 4 of the Florida Constitution. Each school board establishes policies, and operates, controls, and supervises all of the public schools in the district. 
• Superintendents. District superintendents are either elected in a general election or appointed by the school board based on the decision of the local electorate (article IX, section 5 of the Florida Constitution). More detailed information on superintendent responsibilities can be found in Ch. 1001 Part II B., Florida Statutes.
• Principals. Florida law gives school principals authority over certain school district personnel, including making recommendations to the superintendent regarding 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. More detailed information on principal responsibilities can be found in ss. 1001.54 and 1012.28, Florida Statutes.

• Classroom Instructional Support Programs
• Instructional and Educational Technology
• Instructional Materials
• Remedial and Supplemental Instruction  

• College and Workforce Preparation Programs
• Acceleration Programs
• Career Education 

• Operational Programs
• Educational Facilities
• School Safety, Security, and Discipline
• Student Transportation  

• Specialized Instructional Programs
• English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)
• Exceptional Student Education
• Federal Title I Programs

Florida's public schools reported a total of 343,238 full-time employees in the fall of 2022. Instructional staff accounted for approximately 60% (204,132 employees), support staff comprised approximately 36% (124,499 employees), and administrators made up the remaining approximately 4% (14,607 employees).

• Charter Schools
• Choice Scholarship Programs
• Home Education
• Virtual Education

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.

The majority of education funding is allocated to school districts through the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) and categorical funding programs.  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.

In addition to FEFP funds, the Legislature uses major categorical funding programs to provide school districts funds for specific purposes such as class size reduction.

School Choice. The 2023 Legislature enacted Ch. 2023-16, Laws of Florida, which expands eligibility for the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship (FTC) and Family Empowerment Scholarship for Education Options (FES-EO), reduces state regulations for public schools, and removes barriers to teacher certification. Among its provisions, the law

• eliminates the current financial eligibility restrictions for FTC and FES-EO scholarships and allows any student who is a resident of Florida and is eligible to enroll in K-12 to participate;
• creates a second tier priority group for students whose household income is between 185% and 400% of the federal poverty level;
• increases annual growth in the number of FES-EO scholarships from 1% to 3%;
• adds flexibility for student transportation by allowing vehicles other than school buses to regularly transport students;
• waives the mastery of general knowledge requirement for a teacher who has been in the classroom for three years and has been rated effective or highly effective for each of the last three years; and
• expands the length of a temporary certificate to five years instead of three years for all teachers.   

School Boards Term Limits and Instructional Materials Review Process. The 2022 Legislature enacted Ch. 2022-21, Laws of Florida, which establishes terms limits for school board members and modifies school district requirements for instructional materials, including instructional materials in school libraries and media centers, to provide increased oversight over, and public access to, all materials used in instruction.

• School Board Term Limits. The law establishes term limits of 12 years for school board members. A person may not appear on the ballot for reelection as a school board member if, by the end of his or her current term of office, the person will have served, or but for resignation would have served, in that office for 12 consecutive years. The term limits begin with the November 8, 2022, election, allowing current school board members to serve an additional 12 years.
• Instructional Materials Review Process. The law requires that district school board meetings of committees convened for the purpose of selecting instructional materials for recommendation to the district school board must be noticed and open to the public, and must include parents of district students. Additionally, the law modifies the requirement that each school district publish on its website a list of all instructional materials to include those used for specified required instruction. The law also requires that all books in a school district library media center or included in a recommended or assigned school or grade-level reading list must be selected by a school district employee who holds a valid educational media specialist certificate. Each public elementary school is required by law to publish on its website a list of all materials maintained in the school library or required as part of a booklist used in a classroom. Also, each district school board is required to adopt and post on the website procedures for developing library media center collections. 

Financial Literacy Instruction. The 2022 Legislature enacted Ch. 2022-17, Laws of Florida, which establishes the “Dorothy L. Hukill Financial Literacy Act,” and requires that, beginning with students entering grade 9 in the 2023-24 school year, students must earn one-half credit in personal financial literacy and money management in order to receive a standard high school diploma. The law requires that, beginning in the 2023-24 school year and thereafter, financial literacy standards within the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards must include content specific to, at a minimum, personal financial literacy and money management that addresses specific topics such as balancing a checkbook, managing debt including retail and credit card debt, and computing federal income tax.

Parental Rights in Education. The 2022 Legislature enacted Ch. 2022-22, Laws of Florida, which reinforces parents’ rights to make decisions regarding the care and upbringing of their children in the public school setting. The law requires each district school board to adopt procedures for notifying a student’s parent if there is a change in services or monitoring related to the student’s mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being. All procedures adopted under the law must require school district personnel to encourage a student to discuss issues related to their well-being with parent. The law prohibits a school district from maintaining procedures that require school district personnel to withhold from a parent, or encourage a student to withhold, information related to a student’s mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being. School district procedures may authorize school district personnel to withhold information only for a reasonable belief that disclosure would subject the student to abuse, abandonment, or neglect. The law prohibits classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students. In addition, the law requires each school district to adopt procedures for a parent to notify the principal of concerns regarding the provisions in the law, and the process for resolving concerns within seven days of the complaint. By June 30, 2023, the Department of Education must review and update, as necessary, all relevant guidelines, standards, and frameworks for compliance with the law.

School Choice Landscape, February 17, 2021
Prevention and Treatment of Exertional Heat Illness, October 23, 2019

Other Reports
The Auditor General reports on district school board operations are available on its website

Websites of Interest
Florida Association of District School Superintendents
Florida Association of School Administrators
Florida Department of Education, Data Publications and Reports
Florida Department of Education, K-12 Public Schools
Florida School Boards Association
U.S. Department of Education

Performance Information

Chancellor, Division of Public Schools, 850-245-0509
Website