HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: CS/CS/HB 633 K-12 Education
SPONSOR(S): Education & Employment Committee, Education Quality Subcommittee, Salzman and others
TIED BILLS: None. IDEN./SIM. BILLS: SB 1236
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
1) Education Quality Subcommittee 16 Y, 0 N, As CS Dixon Sanchez
2) PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee 13 Y, 0 N Bailey Potvin
3) Education & Employment Committee 15 Y, 1 N, As CS Dixon Hassell
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
The Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) is the primary mechanism for funding the operating costs of
Florida school districts and is the foundation for financing Florida’s K-12 educational program. In addition to
FEFP funds, the Legislature uses major categorical funding programs to provide funds to school districts for
specific purposes such as class size reduction for core-curricula courses.
Compliance with class size reduction requirements is calculated at the classroom level for traditional public
schools and at the school level for charter schools, district-operated schools of choice, schools of excellence,
innovation schools of technology, and schools participating in the Principal Autonomy Program Initiative.
Reduction in the class size categorical funding is assessed for school districts and charter schools that are out
of compliance with class size requirements. Up to 25 percent of the reduction is reallocated to school districts
and charter schools that comply with class size requirements. The remaining balance is restored to school
district and charter schools that are not in compliance but submit a certified plan to the Commissioner of
Education explaining the actions the school district or charter school will take to ensure compliance. The
reallocations for traditional public schools, district-operated schools of choice, and charter schools are each
calculated separately based on their respective reduction amounts.
This bill repeals the penalty for schools that exceed class size maximums.
For a student whose parent is active duty military personnel and meets the eligibility criteria for special
academic programs offered through public schools, the bill requires the student be enrolled in such a program
if the student’s parent is transferred to the state during the school year.
The bill also provides that a student whose parent is on active military duty and is transferred within the state
after the controlled open enrollment window, can enroll in any school within the state.
The bill does not have a fiscal impact on state government and a positive fiscal impact on local government.
See Fiscal Comments.
The bill provides an effective date of July 1, 2023.
This docum ent does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives .
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 FULL ANALYSIS
I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS
A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
Present Situation
Maximum Class Size Requirements
In 2002, voters approved the Class Size Reduction Amendment to Section 1, Article IX of the Florida’s
Constitution that sets limits on the number of students in classes attending public schools. 1 The
amendment required the Legislature, by the beginning of the 2010 school year, to make adequate
provisions to ensure that there are a sufficient number of classrooms in Florida so that the maximum
number of students assigned to each teacher, who is teaching core-curricula courses 2, does not
exceed:
 18 students for prekindergarten through grade 3;
 22 students for grades 4 through 8; and
 25 students for grades 9 through 12.
Additionally, the amendment requires that the Legislature provide sufficient funds, beginning in Fiscal
Year (FY) 2003-2004, for school districts to reduce the average number of students in each classroom
by at least two annually until the constitutionally prescribed maximum number of students is achieved.
Under the initial implementing statute3, compliance with the class size requirements was to be
determined at the:
 district level for each of the three grade groupings during FYs 2003-2004, 2004-2005, and
2005-2006;
 school level for each of the three grade groupings in FYs 2006-2007 and 2007-2008;
 individual classroom level for each of the three grade groupings in FY 2008-2009 and
thereafter.
The timeframe for measuring class size at the school level was extended twice. In 2008, the Legislature
extended school level measurement through FY 2008-2009.4 The next year, the Legislature extended
this timeframe by one more year, thereby delaying measurement of class size at the individual
classroom level until FY 2010-2011 and thereafter.5 Legislation enacted in 2010 established the
compliance calculation for charter schools at the school level average.6 Legislation enacted in 2013
granted the same treatment to district-operated schools of choice7 and district innovation schools of
technology.8 Subsequently, legislation enacted in 2016 and 2017 extended the compliance calculation
using the school level average to schools participating in the Principal Autonomy Program Initiative 9
and Schools of Excellence.10
In 2013, the Legislature added a provision to exempt “blended learning courses” from the core courses
required to be in compliance with class size.11
Class Size Reduction Funding
1 Art. IX, s. 1(a), Fla. Const.
2 Section 1003.01(14), F.S.
3 Section 2, ch. 2003-391, L.O.F.
4 Section 5, ch. 2008-142, L.O.F.
5 Section 13, ch. 2009-59, L.O.F.
6 Section 1002.33(16)(b)3., F.S., as created in section 6, ch. 2010-154, L.O.F.
7 Section 9, ch. 2013-250, L.O.F.
8 Section 1002.451, F.S., as created in section 10, ch. 2013-250, L.O.F.
9 Section 1, ch. 2016-223, L.O.F.
10 Section 1003.631(2)(e), F.S., as created in section 7, ch. 2017-116, L.O.F.
11 Section 1003.01(14), F.S, as created in section 3, ch. 2013-225, L.O.F.
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 To implement the class size amendment, the Legislature annually appropriates class size reduction
categorical funding for school district operating costs. Additionally, the Legislature has appropriated
funds for capital outlay (facility) needs and granted bonding authority to fund classroom construction
and other capital needs related to class size reduction. Since 2003, the Legislature has appropriated
more than $49.4 billion for operational expenses and over $2.5 billion in facilities funding to implement
the Class Size Reduction Amendment.
History of Funding for Class Size Reduction12
Fiscal Year Operating Facilities Funds Total Funds
Funds
2003-2004 $ 468,198,634 $ 600,000,000 $ 1,068,198,634
2004-2005 $ 972,191,216 $ 100,000,000 $ 1,072,191,216
2005-2006 $ 1,507,199,696 $ 83,400,000 $ 1,590,599,696
2006-2007 $ 2,108,529,344 $1,100,000,000 $ 3,208,529,344
2007-2008 $ 2,640,719,730 $ 650,000,000 $ 3,290,719,730
2008-2009 $ 2,729,491,033 $ - $ 2,729,491,033
2009-2010 $ 2,845,578,849 $ - $ 2,845,578,849
2010-2011 $ 2,913,825,383 $ - $ 2,913,825,383
2011-2012 $ 2,927,464,879 $ - $ 2,927,464,879
2012-2013 $ 2,974,748,257 $ - $ 2,974,748,257
2013-2014 $ 2,974,766,164 $ - $ 2,974,766,164
2014-2015 $ 3,013,103,776 $ - $ 3,013,103,776
2015-2016 $ 3,035,025,330 $ - $ 3,035,025,330
2016-2017 $ 3,071,776,000 $ - $ 3,071,776,000
2017-2018 $ 3,081,304,285 $ - $ 3,081,304,285
2018-2019 $ 3,097,618,502 $ - $ 3,097,618,502
2019-2020 $ 3,111,099,382 $ - $ 3,111,099,382
2020-2021 $ 3,145,795,385 $ - $ 3,145,795,385
2021-2022 $ 2,837,752,505 $ - $ 2,837,752,505
13
2022-2023 $ 2,896,071,526 $ - $ 2,896,071,526
Total $52,352,259,884 $2,533,400,000 $54,885,659,884
Accountability
The Department of Education (DOE) is required to reduce class size categorical funding for school
districts and charter schools that are out of compliance with class size requirements. 14 The penalty is
calculated at the classroom level for traditional public schools 15 and at the school level for charter
schools 16, district-operated schools of choice17, schools of excellence18, innovation schools of
technology19, and schools participating in the Principal Autonomy Program Initiative.20 The DOE must
calculate the penalty for traditional public schools out of compliance as follows: 21
Step 1: Identify, for each grade group, the number of classrooms that exceed the maximum
and the total number of students which exceeds the maximum for all classes.
12 Florida Department of Education, Class Size Implementation Budget, https://www.fldoe.org/finance/budget/class -size/ (last visited
Jan. 11, 2023).
13 Florida Department of Education, 2022-23 FEFP Third Calculation, available at
https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/7507/urlt/2223FEFPThirdCalc.pdf.
14 Section 1003.03(4), F.S.
15 Section 1003.03(4)(a), F.S.; the DOE reported in FY 2022 that there are 9,842 traditional public school classrooms.
16 Section 1002.33(16)(b)3., F.S.; the DOE has reported in FY 2022 that there are 700 charter schools and 6 lab schools.
17 Section 1002.31(5), F.S.; the DOE has reported in FY 2022 that there are 2,952 district-operated schools of choice.
18 Section 1003.631(2)(e), F.S.
19 Section 1002.451, F.S.
20 Section 1011.6202(3)(b)7., F.S.
21 Section 1003.03(4)(a), F.S.
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 Step 2: Determine the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) students which exceeds the
maximum for each grade group.
Step 3: Multiply the total number of FTE students over the maximum for each grade group by
the district’s FTE dollar amount of the class size reduction operating categorical
allocation for that year and calculate the total for all three grade groups.
Step 4: Multiply the total number of FTE students over the maximum for all classes by an
amount equal to 100 percent of the base student allocation adjusted by the district cost
differential.22
A school district’s class size reduction operating categorical allocation is then reduced by an amount
equal to the sum of the calculations in Steps 3 and 4.23 The amount of funds reduced is the lesser of
the DOE’s calculation or the undistributed balance of the school district’s class size reduction
categorical allocation.24
The district operated schools of choice and charter school reductions are calculated using the same
methodology as traditional public schools, except that compliance is measured at the school-level
average. The district-operated schools of choice and charter school reduction calculations are
independent of each other and of the traditional public school reduction calculation. The amount of
funds reduced for a school district is the lesser of the sum of the reduction amounts for traditional public
schools, district-operated schools of choice and charter schools, or the undistributed balance of the
district’s class size categorical allocation.
If a district made appropriate efforts to reduce class sizes but still failed to achieve compliance or an
emergency caused noncompliance, the Commissioner of Education (commissioner) is authorized to
recommend an alternative transfer amount for approval by the Legislative Budget Commission. 25 Once
the reduced amount is determined, the commissioner must prepare a reallocation of funds, made
available as a bonus to districts that have fully met the class size requirements by calculating an
amount that is up to five percent of the base student allocation multiplied by the total district FTE
students. The reallocation total may not exceed 25 percent of the total funds reduced. 26
The tables below show the history for the calculated initial reduction, the adjusted reduction post
appeals, and the reallocations of funds for schools in compliance. 27
History of Class Size Transfer and Reallocation Calculations
For Traditional Public Schools
FY Initial Reduction Reduction Adjusted Reallocation for
Schools in
Compliance
2003-04 $21,488,179 $1,479,948
2004-05 $11,354,475 $1,076,719
2005-06 $5,222,735 $496,059
2006-07 $7,836,834 $3,273,943
2007-08 $5,330,411 $333,302
2008-09 $1,396,108 $0
2009-10 $1,912,030 $267,263
22 In Fiscal Year, 2022-2023, the class size reduction allocation per FTE student is $964.60 for grades prekindergarten through grade
3; $920.98 for grades 4-8; and $923.21 for grades 9-12. The base student allocation is $4,587.40. Sections 6 and 86, ch. 2022-156,
L.O.F.
23 Section 1003.03(5)(a)5., F.S.
24 Section 1003.03(4)(b), F.S.
25 Section 1003.03(4)(c), F.S.
26 Section 1003.03(4)(d), F.S.
27 Florida Department of Education, Class Size Reduction – Memorandums, https://www.fldoe.org/finance/budget/class -size/class-
size-reduction-memorums.stml (last visited Jan. 12, 2023).
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 2010-11 $40,795,637 $31,305,124 $7,826,281
2011-12 $58,749,605 $43,407,465 $10,851,866
2012-13 $26,965,789 $22,698,784 $5,674,696
2013-14 $12,674,357 $9,558,513 $2,389,628
2014-15 $11,306,609 $1,260,083 $315,021
2015-16 $2,302,910 $921,429 $230,357
2016-17 $2,562,990 $724,620 $181,155
2017-18 $232,550 $123,955 $30,989
2018-19 $1,092,986 $392,103 $98,026
2019-20 $633,808 $50,723 $12,681
2020-2128 N/A N/A N/A
2021-22 $603,517 $113,701 $28,425
History of Class Size Transfer and Reallocation Calculations
For Charter Schools
FY Initial Reduction Reduction Adjusted Reallocation for
Schools in
Compliance
2003-04 $0 $0
2004-05 $0 $0
2005-06 $0 $0
2006-07 $6,831,504 $2,724,878
2007-08 $802,515 $194,836
2008-09 $0 $0
2009-10 $0 $0