The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Fiscal Policy
BILL: CS/SB 1236
INTRODUCER: Education Pre-K -12 Committee and Senator Wright
SUBJECT: K-12 Education
DATE: April 24, 2023 REVISED:
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Jahnke Bouck ED Fav/CS
2. Gray Elwell AED Favorable
3. Jahnke Yeatman FP Favorable
Please see Section IX. for Additional Information:
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE - Substantial Changes
I. Summary:
CS/SB 1236 repeals the class size reduction penalty calculation. However, the bill maintains the
requirement that the Department of Education monitors compliance and requires a compliance
plan for any school that exceeds class size maximums based on the October student membership
survey.
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 to 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
school district.
The bill has no impact on state revenues or expenditures. The bill may have a positive impact on
school districts. See section V.
The bill is effective July 1, 2023.
BILL: CS/SB 1236 Page 2
II. Present Situation:
Maximum Class Size Requirements
In November 2002, Florida voters approved a state constitutional amendment setting the limits
on the number of students in a class 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, does not exceed:
 18 students in prekindergarten through grade 3;
 22 students in grades 4 through 8; and
 25 students in grades 9-12.2
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; and
 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 the 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 and in 2013 the same treatment was granted 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 Initiative9 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
1
FLA. CONST. Art. IX, s. 1(a).
2
Section 1003.01(14), F.S. See Florida Department of Education, Class Size, available at
https://www.fldoe.org/finance/budget/class-size/ (last visited Apr. 05, 2023).
3
Ch. 2003-391, s.2, Laws of Fla.
4
Ch. 2008-142, s. 5, Laws of Fla.
5
Ch. 2009-59, s. 13, Laws of Fla.
6
Section 1002.33(16), F.S.
7
Section 1002.31(5), F.S.
8
Section 1002.451, F.S.
9
Section 1011.6202(3)(b), F.S.
10
Section 1003.631(2), F.S.
11
Section 1003.01(14), F.S.
BILL: CS/SB 1236 Page 3
Class Size Reduction Funding
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.12 Since 2003, the
Legislature has appropriated more than $52 billion for operational expenses and over $2.5 billion
in facilities funding to implement the Class Size Reduction Amendment. The table below shows
the history of funding for Class Size Reduction.13
History of Funding for Class Size Reduction
Fiscal Year Operating Funds Facilities Funds Total 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
2022-202314 $ 2,896,071,526 $ $ 2,896,071,526
Total $52,352,259,884 $2,533,400,000 $54,885,659,884
Class Size Compliance Calculation
The Department of Education (DOE) calculates compliance with class size maximums for
traditional schools, charter schools, and district-operated schools of choice using data from the
October student membership survey (Survey 2). Prior to the survey, the DOE allows school
districts and charter schools to participate in the class size trial runs occurring in September. The
class size trial runs allow school districts and charter schools the opportunity to reduce data
12
Sections 1013.735 and 1013.737, F.S.
13
Florida Department of Education, Finance, Budget, Class Size, https://www.fldoe.org/finance/budget/class-size/ (last
visited April 06, 2023).
14
Florida Department of Education, 2022-23 FEFP Third Calculation (January 17, 2023), available at
https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/7507/urlt/2223FEFPThirdCalc.pdf.
BILL: CS/SB 1236 Page 4
reporting errors or appropriately adjust class schedules to be within the class size maximum
requirements before Survey 2.15
During the Survey 2 reporting window, the DOE provides a number of class size calculation
reports that allow school districts and charter schools to view class size calculations at the
classroom and school levels. The final class size calculation reports are created at the close of the
Survey 2 reporting window and are used to determine compliance at the classroom level for
traditional schools, compliance by grade group at the school-level average for charter schools
and district-operated schools of choice,16 and conduct initial penalty calculations.
A memorandum is sent from the DOE to notify school districts and charter schools of class size
compliance and the details of the process and timeline for appeals, as well as a follow-up
memorandum with the pre-appeals initial reduction calculation. School districts and charter
schools are able to submit an appeal regarding the class size compliance findings by the DOE.
The DOE then performs a post-appeals alternate reduction calculation.17
Class Size Reduction Penalty Calculation
The DOE is required to reduce class size categorical funding for school districts and charter
schools that are out of compliance with class size requirements. The penalty is calculated at the
classroom level for traditional public schools18 and at the school level for charter schools,19
district-operated schools of choice,20 schools of excellence,21 innovation schools of technology,22
and schools participating in the Principal Autonomy Program Initiative.23 The DOE must
calculate the penalty for traditional public schools out of compliance as follows:
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.
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.
15
Florida Department of Education, Intro to Class Size Reporting, Presentation at the FAMIS Summer Conference (June 30,
2020), available at https://famisonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Intro_to_Class_Size_Reporting.pdf.
16
The DOE reported for FY 2022-2023 that there are 9,842 traditional public school classrooms, 700 charter schools, 6 lab
schools, and 2,952 district-operated schools of choice. Florida Department of Education, Memorandum: 2022-23 School
Class Size Compliance and Timeline for Appeals (January 4, 2023), available at
https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/7603/urlt/2223SchClassSizesProTimeLineAppeals.pdf.
17
Florida Department of Education, Class Size Reduction – Memorandums, https://www.fldoe.org/finance/budget/class-
size/class-size-reduction-memorums.stml (last visited March 21, 2023).
18
Section 1003.03(4), F.S.
19
Section 1002.33(16), F.S.
20
Section 1002.31(5), F.S.
21
Section 1003.631(2), F.S.
22
Section 1002.451(5), F.S.
23
Section 1011.6202(3)(b)., F.S.
BILL: CS/SB 1236 Page 5
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.24
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 4.25 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.
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. 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
24
Section 1003.03(4), F.S.
25
Section 1003.03(5)(a)., F.S.
26
Section 1003.03(4), F.S.
 BILL: CS/SB 1236 Page 6
The table below shows 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 Schools, Charter Schools, and District-Operated Schools of Choice
Fiscal Reallocation for
Initial Reduction Reduction Adjusted
Year Schools in Compliance
District- District- District-
Traditional Charter Operated Traditional Charter Operated Traditional Charter Operated
Schools Schools Schools of Schools Schools Schools of Schools Schools Schools of
Choice Choice Choice
2003-04 $21,488,179 $0 $1,479,948 $0
2004-05 $11,354,475 $0 $1,076,719 $0
2005-06 $5,222,735 $0 $496,059 $0
2006-07 $7,836,834 $6,831,504 $3,273,943 $2,724,878
2007-08 $5,330,411 $802,515 $333,302 $194,836
2008-09 $1,396,108 $0 $0 $0
2009-10 $1,912,030 $0 $267,263 $0
2010-11 $40,795,637 $2,292,191 $31,305,124 $355,539 $7,826,281 $88,885
2011-12 $58,749,605 $3,921,323 $43,407,465 $652,851 $10,851,866 $163,213
2012-13 $26,965,789 $1,570,397 $22,698,784 $431,345 $5,674,696 $107,836
2013-14 $12,674,357 $835,448 $1,129,183 $9,558,513 $204,863 $475,592 $2,389,628 $51,216 $118,898
2014-15 $11,306,609 $2,789,830 $421,513 $1,260,083 $562,397 $177,347 $315,021 $140,599 $44,337
2015-16 $2,302,910 $3,763,908 $927,533 $921,429 $816,147 $194,578 $230,357 $204,037 $48,645
2016-17 $2,562,990 $5,075,827 $305,915 $724,620 $859,117 $115,534 $181,155 $214,779 $28,884
2017-18 $232,550 $2,242,009 $395,563 $123,955 $1,170,120 $64,684 $30,989 $292,530 $16,171
2018-19 $1,092,986 $617,981 $844,802 $392,103 $133,435 $653,264 $98,026 $33,359 $163,316
2019-20 $633,808 $1,352,176 $956,440 $50,723 $0