The Florida State Board of Education: Governance, Powers, and Impact
The Florida State Board of Education plays a crucial role in shaping the landscape of public education in the state. Established as a body corporate, the board is the chief implementing and coordinating body of public education in Florida, with the exception of the State University System. This article delves into the structure, powers, and specific functions of the Florida State Board of Education, examining its impact on various aspects of education, from curriculum standards to financial aid.
Structure and Governance
The State Board of Education is composed of seven citizen members, residents of the state, appointed by the Governor to staggered 4-year terms, subject to confirmation by the Senate. These members serve without compensation, but are entitled to reimbursement of travel and per diem expenses. Reappointment is possible, but consecutive service is capped at 8 years for each member.
The board selects a chair and a vice chair from its appointed members, with the chair serving a 2-year term, eligible for reselection for one additional consecutive term. A quorum of four members is required to conduct any business at a meeting.
General Powers and Duties
The State Board of Education focuses on high-level policy decisions and has the authority to adopt rules to implement laws related to improving public education, excluding the State University System. The board can delegate its general powers to the Commissioner of Education or the directors of the divisions of the department, as deemed appropriate.
The board's duties include:
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- Adopting comprehensive educational objectives for public education, excluding the State University System.
- Adopting comprehensive long-range plans and short-range programs for the development of the state system of public education, excluding the State University System.
- Exercising general supervision over the divisions of the Department of Education to ensure coordination of educational plans and programs, resolve controversies, minimize articulation and student transfer problems, ensure students moving from one level to the next have acquired necessary competencies, and ensure maximum utilization of facilities.
- Adopting, in consultation with the Board of Governors, and periodically modifying minimum and uniform standards of college-level communication and computation skills, identifying college-preparatory high school coursework and postsecondary-level coursework that prepares students with the academic skills to succeed in postsecondary education.
- Adopting and submitting a coordinated education budget to the Governor and Legislature, estimating expenditure requirements for the Board of Governors, the State Board of Education (including the Department of Education and the Commissioner of Education), and all boards, institutions, agencies, and services under the general supervision of the Board of Governors or the State Board of Education for the ensuing fiscal year. The State Board of Education cannot amend the budget request submitted by the Board of Governors. Any program requiring increases in state funding for more than 1 year must be presented in a multiyear budget plan.
- Holding meetings, transacting business, keeping records, adopting a seal, and performing other duties necessary for the enforcement of laws and rules relating to the state system of public education.
- Approving plans for cooperating with the Federal Government and other public agencies in the development of rules and in the enforcement of laws for which the state board and such agencies are jointly responsible.
- Reviewing plans for cooperating with appropriate nonpublic agencies for the improvement of conditions relating to the welfare of schools.
- Creating subordinate advisory bodies as required by law or as it finds necessary for the improvement of education.
- Constituting education bodies or other structures as required by federal law.
- Assisting in the economic development of the state by developing a state-level planning process to identify future training needs for industry, especially high-technology industry.
- Assisting in the planning and economic development of the state by establishing a clearinghouse for information on educational programs of value to economic development.
- Adopting cohesive rules within statutory authority.
- Authorizing the allocation of resources in accordance with law and rule.
- Contracting with independent institutions accredited by an agency whose standards are comparable to the minimum standards required to operate a postsecondary educational institution at that level in the state to provide educational programs and facilities that meet needs unfulfilled by the state system of public postsecondary education.
- Recommending that a district school board take action consistent with the state board’s decision relating to an appeal of a charter school application.
- Enforcing systemwide education goals and policies except as otherwise provided by law.
- Establishing a detailed procedure for the implementation and operation of a systemwide technology plan based on a common set of data definitions.
- Establishing accountability standards for existing legislative performance goals, standards, and measures, and ordering the development of mechanisms to implement new legislative goals, standards, and measures.
- Adopting criteria and implementation plans for future growth issues, such as new Florida College System institutions and Florida College System institution campus mergers, and providing for cooperative agreements between and within public and private education sectors.
- Developing, in conjunction with the Board of Governors, and periodically reviewing for adjustment, a coordinated 5-year plan for postsecondary enrollment, identifying enrollment and graduation expectations by baccalaureate degree program, and annually submitting the plan to the Legislature as part of its legislative budget request.
- Requiring each Florida College System institution, prior to registration, to provide each enrolled student electronic access to the economic security report of employment and earning outcomes prepared by the Department of Commerce.
Strategic Planning and Financial Aid
The State Board of Education is mandated to adopt a strategic plan that specifies goals and objectives for the state’s public schools and Florida College System institutions. This plan is formulated in conjunction with the Board of Governors' plans to coordinate the roles of universities and Florida College System institutions, ensuring cost-effective use of state resources. The strategic plan clarifies the mission statements of each Florida College System institution and the system as a whole, identifying degree programs, including baccalaureate degree programs, to be offered at each Florida College System institution. The strategic plan must cover a period of 5 years, with modification of the program lists after 2 years. Development of each 5-year plan must be coordinated with and initiated after completion of the master plan. The strategic plans must specifically include programs and procedures for responding to the educational needs of teachers and students in the public schools of this state and consider reports and recommendations of the Office of Reimagining Education and Career Help and the Articulation Coordinating Committee. The state board submits a report to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives upon modification of the plan and as part of its legislative budget request.
The State Board of Education and the Board of Governors jointly develop long-range plans and annual reports for financial aid in the state. The long-range plans establish goals and objectives for a comprehensive program of financial aid for Florida students and are updated every 5 years. The annual report includes programs administered by the department as well as awards made from financial aid fee revenues, any other funds appropriated by the Legislature for financial assistance, and the value of tuition and fees waived for students enrolled in a dual enrollment course at a public postsecondary educational institution. The annual report includes an assessment of progress made in achieving goals and objectives established in the long-range plans and recommendations for repealing or modifying existing financial aid programs or establishing new programs.
Oversight of Florida College System Institutions
The State Board of Education provides for each Florida College System institution to offer educational training and service programs designed to meet the needs of both students and the communities served. It specifies, by rule, procedures to be used by the Florida College System institution boards of trustees in the annual evaluations of presidents and review the evaluations of presidents by the boards of trustees, including the extent to which presidents serve both institutional and system goals.
The board establishes, in conjunction with the Board of Governors, an effective information system that will provide composite data concerning the Florida College System institutions and state universities and ensure that special analyses and studies concerning the institutions are conducted, as necessary, for provision of accurate and cost-effective information concerning the institutions. It also establishes criteria for making recommendations for modifying district boundary lines for Florida College System institutions, including criteria for service delivery areas of Florida College System institutions authorized to grant baccalaureate degrees, and criteria for making recommendations concerning all proposals for the establishment of additional centers or campuses for Florida College System institutions. The board also examines the annual administrative review of each Florida College System institution and adopts and submits to the Legislature a 3-year list of priorities for fixed-capital-outlay projects. The State Board of Education may not amend the 3-year list of priorities of the Board of Governors.
The State Board of Education is responsible for reviewing and administering the state program of support for the Florida College System institutions and prescribes minimum standards, definitions, and guidelines for Florida College System institutions that will ensure the quality of education, coordination among the Florida College System institutions and state universities, and efficient progress toward accomplishing the Florida College System institution mission. At a minimum, these rules must address:
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- Personnel.
- Contracting.
- Program offerings and classification, including college-level communication and computation skills associated with successful performance in college and with tests and other assessment procedures that measure student achievement of those skills. The performance measures must provide that students moving from one level of education to the next acquire the necessary competencies for that level.
- Provisions for curriculum development, graduation requirements, college calendars, and program service areas. These provisions must include rules that provide for the award of an associate in arts degree to a student who successfully completes 60 semester credit hours at the Florida College System institution, require all of the credits accepted for the associate in arts degree to be in the statewide course numbering system as credits toward a baccalaureate degree offered by a state university or a Florida College System institution, and require no more than 36 semester credit hours in general education courses in the subject areas of communication, mathematics, social sciences, humanities, and natural sciences. The rules should encourage Florida College System institutions to enter into agreements with state universities that allow Florida College System institution students to complete upper-division-level courses at a Florida College System institution. An agreement may provide for concurrent enrollment at the Florida College System institution and the state university and may authorize the Florida College System institution to offer an upper-division-level course or distance learning.
- Student admissions, conduct and discipline, nonclassroom activities, and fees.
- Budgeting.
- Business and financial matters.
- Student services.
- Reports, surveys, and information systems, including forms and dates of submission.
Specific Powers: Curriculum Standards
The State Board of Education is responsible for adopting, periodically reviewing, and revising the state academic standards.
The Commissioner of Education
From Reconstruction through 2002, the commissioner of education had been a Cabinet-level position, elected by the people and directly responsible for public education in Florida. In 2003, the Florida commissioner of education became an appointed position, and the Florida Department of Education became the overall responsibility of the governor. The Florida commissioner of education manages the day-to-day operations of the FLDOE.
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