Florida's Constitutional Limits On Class Size

Background

In 2002, voters approved an amendment to the Florida Constitution that set limits on the number of students in core classes, such as math, reading and science, in the state’s public schools.

As of the 2010-2011 school year, the maximum number of students in each core class are:

18 students in prekindergarten through grade 3
22 students in grades 4 through 8
25 students in grades 9 through 12

Class sizes got larger again at the start of the 2010-2011 school year, after the state re-defined what a core class was.

About two-thirds of the 849 “core” classes offered in Florida elementary, middle and high schools were downgraded to “extra-curricular” status, which has no limit on class size. Classes like calculus, anatomy and Spanish were affected.

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January 5, 2015

Why Small Schools Might Be Better For Students Than Small Classes

The School of Arts and Sciences (SAS) in Tallahassee has just over 300 students, and the waiting list to get in is much longer. Maureen Yoder is one of the founders of the 15-year-old K-8 charter school. “We started this school with the intent of keeping it small because we want to create a school […]

October 30, 2014

Broward Schools Want Changes To Evaluations And High School Schedules

Broward County school and union leaders want to make changes to test-based teacher evaluations and the county’s high school schedule. Superintendent Robert Runcie announced two task forces will study the issues and recommend changes. One goal is to come up with a teacher evaluation system that is less about punishing teachers who earn low scores […]

February 21, 2013

Analyzing Florida’s Class Size Limit Penalties

Florida lawmakers are considering a bill which would change the way the state calculates class size limits required by the state constitution. Lawmakers may allow district schools to use the more flexible rules granted to charter schools. District schools must calculate the class size of every classroom and count every violation. Charter schools are allowed […]

February 20, 2013

Legislation Gives Florida School Districts More Flexibility On Class Sizes

A bill that would change the way schools are penalized for not complying with class size requirements is getting bipartisan support so far in Tallahassee. The House Choice and Innovation panel made a few tweaks to the legislation and approved it Wednesday with just one member voting against it. Voters approved a constitutional amendment in […]

October 23, 2012

66 Students in a Classroom: Why Some Subjects Have No Class Size Limits

Schools can pack as many students as they want into classes like Calculus, Writing, Spanish and Physical Education. There are no class size limits. But there is the issue of space. In order to accommodate 66 students at once, the girls locker room at Hialeah High is being used as a classroom. There aren’t enough desks […]

October 2, 2012

Five Questions For The National Education Association VP

The first presidential debate of 2012 will be held tomorrow night between President Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney. The National Education Association will be watching. NEA Vice President Lily Eskelsen says the differences between the two candidates “are night and day.” The NEA has already endorsed Obama, and Eskelsen was appointed by Obama to […]

September 16, 2012

In K12 Courses, 275 Students to a Single Teacher

Student-teacher ratios at K12, the nation’s largest online educator, are nearly twice as high as Florida’s state-run virtual school, according to internal company documents obtained by the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting and StateImpact Florida. A high school teacher working for K12 may have as many as 275 students, compared to Florida Virtual School, which […]

December 27, 2011

Broward Biggest Violator Of Class Size Requirements

When Florida voters implemented the class size amendment in 2002, they mandated that public schools limit the number of students in core classes like math and science. The limit varies depending on the grade level. Schools were given until the 2010-2011 school year to be in full compliance. Since 2002, districts have been striving to […]

October 4, 2011

Inside Florida Charter School Contracts

Yesterday we looked at some of the misconceptions about how Florida charter schools must operate. Today we’ll take a look at a couple of charter contracts to see the different requests school districts make of charter applicants. Seminole County asked Galileo School for Gifted Learning to abide by the class size limits for district schools, […]

August 17, 2011

What a National Education Survey Says About Florida

A new nationwide education survey released this morning has some interesting implications in Florida, namely that the state sometimes disagrees with the national view on education. The biggest difference between Florida and the nation in the Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll phone survey of 1002 people is on class sizes. The poll sets up a choice […]