Florida has the 3rd largest public school system in the country, serving more than 2,791,687 students in the 2020-2021 school year.
As of 2020-2021 school year, 55.4% of Florida students were considered economically disadvantaged. (Florida Department of Education)
For the 2020-2021 school year, Florida’s students self-reported as 35% Hispanic, 36.3% White, 21.6% Black, 3.9% two or more races, 2.8% Asian, and .2% Pacific Islander.
Florida has about 339,352 full-time public school employees – including 202,505 full-time instructional staff and 123,095 support staff – making Florida’s public school system one of the largest employers in the state and, often, the largest employer in each county. District and school administrators make up about 3.9% of all public school employees.
There are 67 school districts in Florida which match, geographically, with Florida’s 67 counties. In comparison, in 2019-202, California had 1,037 and Texas had about 1,029 school districts.
For the 2020-2021 school year, 9.6% of Florida students were classified as English Language Learners and 14.9% as ESE (exceptional student education).
There are more than 4,300 public schools in Florida, including elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, ESE centers, alternative schools, vocational/technical, and adult centers.
Among the 50 states, Florida has the 2nd largest number of students assigned to each elementary school and exceeds the national average by nearly 200 students per school. Florida has the largest number of students assigned to each secondary school and exceeds the national average by 750 students per school.
The average cost (not including land purchase) to build a regular elementary school is about $16 million, a regular middle school costs about $27 million, and a regular high school costs about $55 million.
School boards and districts have a massive, direct effect on local economies throughout the state through employment and payroll. The school district is the largest employer in 46 counties and the second largest in 15 counties and is in the top ten employers all 67 counties.