CURRENT LANDSCAPE
This year, Florida’s education landscape was partly obfuscated by the uncertainty around federal education policy. The release of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 in the fall of 2024—which was viewed as the blueprint for federal-level policy changes—provided insights on likely changes to federal policies, including the role and scope of the Department of Education. With respect to the federal budget, Project 2025 calls for the elimination of the federal Department of Education, which provides 17.3 percent of Florida’s education budget.i Project 2025 also outlines a phase-out of Title I funding for schools serving children in low-income families and reducing or changing funding for students with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.ii
In line with Project 2025’s goal of universal school choice, Congress instituted a mechanism in its reconciliation bill (H.R. 1) to provide federal tax credit vouchers, which allow parents to receive tax credits for school tuition.iii,iv The federal legislation created new tax credits for donations made to Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs), which are authorized to distribute the vouchers. There is no limit to how many total tax credits the program may provide to donors, and there is no cap on the award for those seeking a voucher on a per-student basis. To qualify for vouchers, households must have incomes below 300 percent of the state median income, or $95,300 in Florida, making this essentially universal as it will include 95 percent of Florida’s residents.v Like Florida’s Tax Credit Scholarship, there is little accountability for expenditures.
In June 2025, the President impounded $6.9 billion, including nearly $400 million in Florida, meant to be disbursed to school districts who had already included these funds in their 2025–26 school year budgets.vi Specifically, under the Impoundment Control Act of 1974,vii the President can delay or permanently cancel federal funding once it has been enacted by Congress. By impounding $6.9 billion, the President temporarily withheld funds for migrant education, English language acquisition, student support and academic enrichment, and adult basic literacy education, as well as other areas.viii While these funds were ultimately released, uncertainty among school districts remains high as funding for these programs has been eliminated in the U.S. Department of Education’s 2026 budget summary.ix
In many ways, Florida has preceded federal actions. For example, the Legislature passed HB 1 in 2023,x which made Florida’s education vouchers universal, meaning that there is no longer an income eligibility cap for K–12 participants and that most K–12 students can receive vouchers to either homeschool or attend private school.xi The significant cost of this expansion—over $4 billion in FY 2024–25xii and nearly $5 billion in FY 2025–26 between the Family Empowerment Scholarships and the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship—are having major impacts on public school budgets, including school closures and staff layoffs. The 2025 legislative session added pressure on public schools by revising the definition of “low-performing schools,” making it easier to convert them to charter schools (SB 2510)xiii and thus losing more public-school facilities.
Threats to education are not only limited to K–12 funding and services; in early learning, the current federal funding climate is concerning. There have already been major cuts in the federal Office of Child Care, which administers childcare grants and provides technical assistance.xiv The federal Office of Head Start has also been hit by major cuts. The threats to funding for Head Start—which provides early learning and childcare services for low-income families—could result in staff layoffs, impounded funds, and uncertainties about whether Head Start will be included in the FY 2026–27 federal budget.xv Elimination of Head Start alone would affect more than 45,000 children in Florida.xvi Other proposals include reductions to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funding, the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG), and the Childcare and Development Block Grant (CCDBG)—all of which provide funding for childcare. If TANF and SSBG were cut by 10 percent, Florida would lose $19.1 million.xvii Cuts to the CCDBG, which provides most funding to School Readiness, would eliminate even more funding.
Higher education is not immune to changes in state and federal funding, especially in financial aid support for Florida’s college and university students. In 2025, there were two special legislative sessions in Florida on immigration. During these sessions, in-state tuition was denied to more than 6,500 undocumented Florida students, at an estimated cost of $15 million in tuition and fees.xviii While Pell Grant funding was spared for student borrowers,xix H.R. 1,xx passed in July, contains provisions that affect the terms of student loan programs for current and future borrowers, including new borrowing limits, new repayment terms on student loans, and ending some loan programs altogether.xxi Universities and colleges are also affected by policies that target programs that serve students who earn low wages, the amount of taxes owed on university endowments,xxii and reductions in available scientific research grants.xxiii
Budget
Florida’s overall budget for education decreased by 1.3 percent to $31.5 billion for early learning, K–12 and higher education, with the proportionally largest cut coming from early learning—a reduction of 5.7 percent from FY 2024–25 funding.
EARLY CHILDHOOD AND PRE K-12 EDUCATION
Childcare has both a supply side that needs to be supported—in terms of its workforce expansion and retention of its workforce—as well as a demand side in which Florida’s workforce needs to be supported with improved access and greater affordability. Nationwide, childcare employment has rebounded and is now slightly above pre-pandemic levels,xxiv though turnover rates remain a challenge for providers.xxv Even with the outlook for increased availability improving, many Florida parents struggle to find affordable childcare.xxvi The cost of childcare rose 5.5 percent between 2024 and 2025,xxvii and 15 percent of parents reported leaving a job due to childcare issues in the preceding six months.xxviii Florida’s economy annually suffers an estimated loss of $5.4 billion due to absenteeism, staff turnover, and lost tax dollars from lost wages.
Florida voters passed a constitutional amendment in 2002 that mandates universal free, quality, and Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK).xxix Currently, the program pays for three hours of educational programming a day for four- and five-year-old children. There are no limits for income eligibility, and 65 percent of eligible four-year-old children in the state attend VPK.xxx However, many families still find themselves struggling to pay for the remainder of each day’s services. While Florida ranks high on access to childcare due to VPK, the state ranks 44th in the nation for its per-student VPK spending. Three hours a day is not enough to support a robust, quality education for all of Florida’s children or to enable all parents to fully participate in work and school opportunities.
Total early learning funding for FY 2025–26 is $1.6 billion from the federal Child Care and Development Block Grant, general revenue, as well as other trust funds—a decline of $97.5 million, or 5.7 percent, as compared to FY 2024–25 (See Table 2). The two primary expenditures from these funds are for the Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten Program and School Readiness.
Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten
There has been a continued decline in VPK participation since FY 2013–14, which was accelerated during the pandemic, partly due to affordability of childcare beyond the three hours per day funded for VPK. The decline in the number of children served continued in FY 2024–25 but is expected to increase into future years after FY 2025–26.xxxi The increase is not expected to attain pre-pandemic levels through the end of the forecast. Declining birthrates have been cited as a contributing factor to the change in childcare enrollment nationwide,xxxii but there are other factors at work in Florida for families with children who are eligible but do not enroll in VPK. A recent study by the Anita Zucker Center at the University of Florida surveyed eligible families who applied for VPK but did not subsequently enroll, which is more than 30 percent of four-year-olds.xxxiii This survey revealed that most commonly, families did not enroll their children because they could not find a provider who met their needs (34 percent); they wanted full time child care but could not afford to pay for the hours not covered by VPK (16 percent); or that they wanted to stay with their current provider, who did not participate as a VPK provider (12 percent).xxxiv
The total amount allocated for VPK was $434.2 million—a decrease of $3.9 million, or 0.9 percent from FY 2024–25. The base student allocation per-pupil funding level remains the same at $3,029 for the 2025–26 school year.xxxv However, the decrease in funding is contradicted by the allocation of $1.78 million in the back-of-the-bill budget for “the projected increase in the number of children in the Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten Program.”xxxvi This bill went into effect on June 30, 2025, when the budget was signed and applied to FY 2024–25.
School Readiness Program
Florida’s School Readiness Program offers financial assistance to low-income families for early childhood education and childcare, so that parents can work or attend school and so that their children will be prepared for school. Most of the funding comes from the federal Child Care and Development Block Grant, with additional funding coming in from general revenue and other federal funds. In all, $1.1 billion is allocated to School Readiness in FY 2025–26—a decrease of $80.5 million, or 6.7 percent. This decrease in funding comes when enrollment in School Readiness is expected to increase to 115,870 children by FY 2030–2031.xxxvii
Even before the pandemic, many Florida families were unable to access School Readiness vouchers to assist with the ever-increasing cost of childcare. In FY 2023–24, there was an average of 11,580 children on the waiting list in any given month,xxxviii as compared to the monthly average in FY 2022–23 of 5,239 children—an increase of 6,341 families on waiting lists.xxxix
In FY 2024–25, non-recurring funds were allocated to expand School Readiness eligibility to families with incomes at, or below 70 percent of the state median income (SMI), so long as it does not exceed 85 percent of the SMI and that there are local matching funds available.xl In the FY 2025–26 budget, $30 million in non-recurring funds were again allocated for families meeting these income criteria.xli
School Readiness Plus
In FY 2024–25, new but non-recurring funds of $23.1 million were allocated for the School Readiness Plus Program,xlii which enables working families—who previously lost access to School Readiness due to their income—to continue eligibility. This non-recurring appropriation will mitigate the effects of the anticipated child care benefits cliff.xliii This income range allows families of four, who earn between $87,604 and $103,063, to be eligible for School Readiness Plus.xliv The unexpended funds of the original $23 million allocation are carried forward to FY 2025–26.xlv While the expansion is much needed, the use of non-recurring funds means that the sustainability of the added capacity is not guaranteed in future years. The support for families afforded by the School Readiness Plus Program is laudable, however the perpetual underfunding of Florida’s childcare systems ignores the growing proportion of income families spend on child care.xlvi
Increasing Funding for Early Learning and Child Care
Increasing access to early learning and childcare is an essential component of the economic system, and childcare providers are described as “the workforce behind the workforce.”xlvii The end of COVID relief funding, once described as a “cliff,” can more accurately be described as a slope in which states make decisions about which supports can be sustained.xlviii Many states used federal relief funds to increase wages for childcare staff and teachers and moved to enrollment-based reimbursement to ensure adequate availability. Not all states anticipate being able to sustain these enhancements, including the state of Florida.xlix
During the 2025 legislative session, there were proposals to expand income eligibility to School Readiness (Chapter 2025-110)l and to increase the number of hours of VPK (SB 70/HB 191),li,lii though the latter died in committee. HB 1255 expanded income eligibility for School Readiness for families who are at up to 55 percent of the state median income. This change will make 130,082 children eligible this fiscal year, at a projected cost of $127.3 million.liii This exceeds the projected decrease in School Readiness funding of $80.5 million. Increases in projected enrollment, combined with the increased income eligibility from newly enacted legislation, will likely have an adverse impact on the already growing waitlist.liv
This session, legislative action on early learning and childcare suggests that there is continued recognition that working families need additional support by expanding income eligibility. However, this support is not matched by investment, which decreased even as enrollment in School Readiness and VPK is expected to increase.
Threats to early learning and childcare in the federal policy climate causes the need to invest in Florida’s youngest children and their families to be even more urgent, not less urgent. There are numerous opportunities to raise revenue for childcare if policymakers choose to do so, such as using unallocated general revenue, reallocating tobacco settlement funds to childcare, levying an excise tax on e-cigarettes, or earmarking potential sales tax revenue raised by recreational marijuana sales for early learning.lv Given such a climate of uncertainty in federal policy and the large percentage of Florida families who still cannot access childcare despite previous investments, lawmakers should be compelled to invest more, not less.
K–12 EDUCATION
Providing quality education to all of Florida’s students is a core constitutional responsibility of the state government and is critical to economic growth. Adequate state funding for education provides the foundation for students to compete in an ever-changing economy and it also helps recruit and retain highly qualified teachers, thus fostering equity and fairness in Florida’s education system. During the Great Recession, many states reduced their education funding due to lost tax revenues.lvi In many states, including Florida, there were no renewed investments in education as the economy improved. Nationally, the inflation-adjusted Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by 17 percent between 2008 and 2018, whereas public K–12 spending increased by only 6 percent.lvii
Increasing pay for teachers has been a focus of policymakers over the last few years, and the budget includes funds to boost educator salaries. Although Florida has made progress with starting to increase teacher pay and is now ranked 17th nationwide, the state still ranks 50th in the nation again this year, for its average teacher pay of $54,875.lviii
Florida schools receive 32 percent of their funds from state funds; 51 percent from local sources, including the Required Local Effort portion of Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) funds; and 17 percent from federal sources.lix The FEFP is the funding formula that combines federal funding, state general revenue, and local tax dollars to allocate financial assistance on a student-by-student basis. The program accounts for students' grade levels, which districts they live in, whether they have a disability, and other factors to ensure equitable distribution of education funding.lx
The FY 2025–26 budget includes:
- More than $3.8 billion in FEFP funds for Family Empowerment Scholarships (FES).lxi Vouchers now constitute 24.2 percent of total FEFP spending for more than 524,000 students.lxii In comparison, $1.4 billion was expended from the FEFP in FY 2022–23,lxiii $2.1 billion was expended in FY 2023–24,lxiv and $3.2 billion was expended in FY 2024–25.lxv
In addition, there are also funds for vouchers that appear in the budget outside of the FEFP. This includes $1 million to assist school districts in conducting assessments for students with disabilities, who receive FES-Unique Abilities (FES-UA) vouchers. These assessments are required in order for FES-UA students to obtain their Individualized Education Plans, which detail the services and supports they need.lxvi Nearly $2 million in funds are allocated for the FES program evaluation and for the School Choice Online Portal.lxvii Finally, another $1.1 billion is approved for voucher tax expenditures or credits, which do not appear in the budget at all. These are tax expenditures that are approved by the Department of Revenue for the Florida Tax Credit Scholarships (FTC).lxviii
In FY 2025–26, total voucher expenditures through the FEFP and these other funding means will reach $5 billion, including both the FES and FTC vouchers. The effects of vouchers are already being seen in many districts that are laying off teachers and instructional support staff, as well as the advent of schools closing because of the drain from public coffers.lxix
- $383.4 million in additional dollars for the state’s portion of the FEFP funding, bringing the total state funding to $15.8 billion.lxx Local funding increased by 5.2 percent, to $13.7 billion. Per-pupil spending increased, as did the base student allocation (BSA), which increased by less than one percent.lxxi Increases to the overall general education budget and to the BSA are particularly critical, given the state’s ranking of 39th in per-pupil expenditures.lxxii However, the BSA still falls behind when adjusted for inflation. The BSA for FY 2007–08 would be equal to $6,149 in today’s dollars, as compared to the FY 2025–26 BSA of $5,373.lxxiii
- $102 million in additional dollars to increase teacher salaries. This is in addition to the recurring $1.3 billion appropriation for the Teacher Salary Increase Allocation—bringing the total to $1.25 billion, an increase of 8.1 percent.lxxiv When accounting for inflation, greater investment is needed, as teacher pay in Florida declined by 12.4 percent between 2016 and 2025.lxxv This is important because Florida continues to lose qualified educators and needs greater investment in recruiting and retaining K-12 faculty. While some progress has been made in increasing teacher pay, the new funding only amounts to an increase of $648 annually, or $54 per month, and does not do much overall to raise the average teacher salary.lxxvi Such funding would improve the quality of life for teachers and their families, increasing stability in the workforce and enhancing the academic success of all students—especially children and youth of color—who are disproportionately affected adversely by high teacher turnover.lxxvii
- $587 million for students in Advanced Academics, Career, and Technical Education Classes. These advanced academic, career, and technical courses are an important offering by Florida’s schools and include International Baccalaureate, Advanced Placement, Dual Enrollment, and Advanced International Certification of Excellence, as well as industry certifications and advanced technical training. In FY 2024–25, more than 100,000 students participated statewide, and the programs were funded at a level of $587 million.lxxviii These programs are highly sought out, as students who participate in them can earn college credit and industry certifications—saving them and their parents from higher postsecondary expenses. The Legislature had already proposed cutting funding for these programs by half. The restoration of funding, due largely to widespread public outcry, was not completely successful. The funding was fully restored but the Legislature changed how the funding will be allocated,lxxix so that allocations will not be directly tied to the achievements of students—as they have been—but will instead be subjected to legislative budget negotiations that occur out of direct public view.
- A continued increase in funding for Mental Health Assistance. The budget again allocates $180 million for mental health services provided at K-12 schools, lxxx the same amount that was allocated in FY 2024–25. Adolescents are experiencing mental health challenges at increasing rates—with four in 10 youths reporting persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, and one in five teenagers reporting serious suicidal ideation.lxxxi These are critical services, as only 58.5 percent of the nation’s teens report that they have received needed support. The shortage of school psychologists and mental health professionals, who provide both clinical and assessment services to students, has deeply plagued schools across the state. In Florida, the ratio of school psychologists to students is one school psychologist for every 2,023 students, which is a considerable shortage given that the recommended ratio is one school psychologist to 500 students, and that the national ratio is one school psychologist to 1,065 students.lxxxii
HIGHER EDUCATION
There is a direct relationship between education and income: higher education leads to higher wages.lxxxiii,lxxxiv This is logical on an individual level: in 2024, the median income for those who have a bachelor’s degree was $92,260—roughly twice that of those who have a high school diploma alone, who had a median income at $46,610.lxxxv Investment in higher education is also a cogent decision to make at the community level: the larger the supply of a highly skilled workforce, the more attractive the community is to high-wage employers.lxxxvi Investments in higher education also have benefits to society and public coffers—including increased democratic engagement, reduced crime, reduced healthcare costs, and greater state tax revenues.lxxxvii However, investments that have been adjusted for inflation in higher education general operating funds have not kept pace with nationwide increases in enrollment and inflation after the two recessions of the early 2000s. Investment in individual students, such as financial aid, has increased more favorably over time.lxxxviii More balanced increases in higher education, at both the institutional and individual levels, would result in better student achievement and economic outcomes.
Florida College System
Florida has 28 public community and state colleges across the state and served 303,736 students in FY 2024–25.lxxxix This number represents an increase of 6.9 percent in the overall student body population, as enrollment rebounds toward pre-pandemic levels as observed in FY 2019–20.xc The FY 2025–26 Florida College System (FCS) allocation is $1.8 billion—an increase of $73.8 million, or 4.3 percent,xci from the FY 2024–25 appropriation.
State University System
Florida is home to 12 public universities statewide, serving more than 430,000 students.xcii In FY 2025–26, state university funds are allocated $4.8 billion, a decrease of $118.6 million, or 2.4 percent, as compared to the $4.9 billion appropriation from FY 2024–25.xciii
Student Financial Aid
Overall, the budget includes $1.2 billion in student financial aid, which is an increase of $28.2 million, or 2.4 percent, from FY 2024–25.xciv Tuition assistance was also addressed in the back-of-the-bill section. In FY 2025–26, $7.2 million for tuition assistance in the form of Effective Access to Student Education (EASE) grants from FY 2024–25 reverted to general revenue,xcv though $135.9 million in additional funding was provided in the current year’s budget. Also, $3.7 million in additional funds were included in the back-of-the-bill,xcvi to account for a shortfall in the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship program in FY 2024–25.
Research shows that Black and Brown students from low-income households are more susceptible to facing challenges and barriers to academic success during their K-12 years—which can then cause them to miss out on merit-based scholarships, like Florida’s Bright Futures.xcvii,xcviii Undoubtedly, Black and Latino young adults are outstandingly underrepresented by Bright Futures. Through FY 2023–24, the share of Bright Futures grants going to Black students never exceeded 7 percent and scholarships going to Latino students reached only 29 percent.xcix In Fall of 2024, the proportion of Black and Latino students in the Florida College system was nearly 17 percent and 35 percent, respectively.c The continued emphasis on merit-based scholarships as they are currently awarded could be a further barrier to accessing the higher education system for low-income students, adding yet another obstacle to economic mobility and shared prosperity in Florida. This legislative session, several bills concerning Bright Futures were introduced, as well as strategies to make the scholarships more visible and accessible to the public. HB 17/SB 1368—which were never heard in any committee—would have helped underrepresented students by providing additional resources and support for SAT preparation and would have provided funding for these exams.ci,cii HB 167/SB 338 would have also established a mentorship program for students preparing to qualify for Bright Futures scholarships,ciii,civ but it was also dismissed and thereby died in committee.
Education Vetoes
During this fiscal year, the governor vetoed a total of $77 million in education allocations.cv The largest portion of vetoes were made to items in the K-12 education budget, comprising 55.6 percent of the total funding, including a reduction of 52 percent in funding for educational media and technology. This category includes public radio and television funding and was vetoed as well, at a total of $6.1 million. The other cuts to the K-12 education budget were from outside of the Florida Education Finance Program—which includes a wide range of member projects—totaling $35 million in funds. The largest single educational veto of $5 million was for middle- and high-school expansion in Brevard County.cvi
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Notes
[1] Florida Department of Education, “Funding for Florida School Districts, 2024-25,” n.d., https://www.fldoe.org/file/7507/Fefpdist.pdf
[2] 118 Stat. 2647 – Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, December 3, 2004, https://www.congress.gov/108/plaws/publ446/PLAW-108publ446.pdf
[3] U.S. Congress, H.R. 1 – 119th Congress (2025-2026), July 4, 2025, pages 144–147. https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1/text
[4] Carl Davis, “Megabill Takes Cap Off Unprecedented Private School Voucher Tax Credit, Potentially Raising Cost by Tens of Billions Relative to Earlier Version,” Institute on Tax and Economic Policy, July 2, 2025, https://itep.org/trump-megabill-expensive-private-school-vouchers/
[5] Norin Dollard and Esteban Leonardo Santis, “Federal Voucher System - Like Florida’s - Would Divert Funding to Private Schools and Home-Schoolers,” Florida Policy Institute, May 29, 2025, https://www.floridapolicy.org/posts/federal-voucher-system-would-divert-funding-to-private-schools-and-home-schoolers
[6] National Education Association, “U.S.Department of Education Withholds School Funding for FY25,” NEA, July 1, 2025, https://www.nea.org/resource-library/us-department-education-withholds-school-funding-fy25
[7] U.S. Government Accountability Office, “What is the Impoundment Control Act and What is theGAO’s Role?” GAO, Mary 5, 2025, https://www.gao.gov/blog/what-impoundment-control-act-and-what-gaos-role
[8] Michael A. DiNapoli Jr. and Michael Griffith, “States Face Uncertainty as an Estimated $6.2 billion in K-12 Funding Remains Unreleased: Here’s the Fiscal Impact by State,” Learning Policy Institute, July 1, 2025, https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/blog/states-face-uncertainty-k-12-funding-remains-unreleased
[9] U.S. Department of Education, “Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Summary,” n.d., https://www.ed.gov/media/document/fiscal-year-2026-budget-summary-110043.pdf
[10] Florida Department of State, Chapter 2023-016, “Education,” Laws of Florida, 2023, https://laws.flrules.org/files/Ch_2023-016.pdf
[11] Florida Department of State, Chapter 2023-350, “Family Empowerment Scholarship,” Laws of Florida, 2023, https://laws.flrules.org/2023/350
[12] Florida Department of Education, “Florida Education Finance Program 2024-25 Third Calculation,” March 3, 2025, page 7 of 43, https://www.fldoe.org/file/7507/24-25FEFP3rdCalc.pdf
[13] Florida Department of State, Chapter 2025-203, “PrekindergartenThrough Grade 12 Education,” Laws of Florida, 2025, https://laws.flrules.org/2025/203
[14] Shira Small, “Federal Cuts to Child Care and Head Start are an Attack on Families with Low Incomes,” The Center for Law and Social Policy, April 23, 2025, https://www.clasp.org/blog/federal-cuts-child-care-head-start/
[15] Center for Law and Social Policy, “Federal Cuts to Child Care and Head Start are an Attack on Families with Low Incomes”, April 23, 2025, https://www.clasp.org/blog/federal-cuts-child-care-head-start/
[16] Transform Consulting Group, “Head Start in Florida Dashboard,” The Florida Head Start Association, May 7, 2025, https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/transform.consulting.group/viz/FHSADashboard/AvailabilityAccess
[17] Stephanie Schmit and Rachel Wilensky, “Cuts to SSBG, TNF Would Eliminate Child Care for 40K Children, Disrupt Care for Millions More,” Center for Law and Social Policy, page 2, https://www.clasp.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/2025.3.5_Cuts-to-SSBG-TANF-Would-Eliminate-Child-Care.pdf.
[18] Alexis Tsoukalas and Esteban Leonardo Santis, “Ending Tuition Fairness Would be a Costly Mistake – for Families and Florida’s High Education Institutions,” January 15, 2025, https://www.floridapolicy.org/posts/ending-tuition-fairness-would-be-a-costly-mistake----for-families-and-floridas-higher-education-institutions
[19] Morra Lee Keller and Catherine Brown, “Reconciliation Bill: What You Need to Know,” National College Attainment Network, July 17, 2025, https://www.ncan.org/news/706142/Reconciliation-Bill-What-You-Need-to-Know-.htm
[20] U.S. Congress, H.R. 1 – 119th Congress (2025-2026), July 4, 2025
[21] American Council on Education, “One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1),” ACE, July 11, 2025, https://www.acenet.edu/Documents/Summary-One-Big-Beautiful-Bill-Act.pdf
[22] The Conference Board, “One Big Beautiful Bill’s Impact on Higher Education,” CED, July 10, 2025, https://www.conference-board.org/research/CED-Newsletters-Alerts/one-big-beautiful-bill-impact-on-education
[23] Greta Bedekovics and Will Ragland, “Mapping Federal Funding Cuts to U.S. Colleges and Universities,” Center for American Progress, July 23, 2025, https://www.americanprogress.org/article/mapping-federal-funding-cuts-to-us-colleges-and-universities/
[24] Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, “Five Years After COVID-19 Began, A Struggling Child Care Workforce Faces New Threats, ”CSCCE, March 12, 2025, https://cscce.berkeley.edu/publications/press-release/five-years-after-covid-19-a-struggling-child-care-workforce-faces-new-threats/
[25] Abbie Lieberman, “Survey Finds States Make Difficult Trade-offs When Pandemic-Era Child Care Funding Runs Out,” First Five Years Fund, September 26, 2024, https://www.ffyf.org/resources/2024/09/survey-finds-states-make-difficult-trade-offs-when-pandemic-era-child-care-funding-runs-out/#:~:text=The%20percent20end%20percent20of%20percent20pandemic%20percent2Dera%20percent20funding%20percent20also%20percent20means%20percent20more%20percent20families,or%20percent20expanding%20percent20eligibility%20percent20to%20percent20subsidies
[26] Norín Dollard, “Florida Children, Parents, and the Economy Do Better When Policy Makers Invest in Quality Child Care and Early Learning Experiences,” Florida Policy Institute, July 13, 2023, https://www.floridapolicy.org/posts/florida-children-parents-and-the-economy-do-better-when-policymakers-invest-in-quality-child-care-and-early-learning-experiences
[27] Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Daycare and Preschool in U.S. City Average, All Urban Consumers, Not Seasonally Adjusted, ”BLS, Data extracted August 27, 2025, https://data.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/CUUR0000SEEB03
[28] Florida Chamber of Commerce, “Untapped Potential inFlorida: How Childcare Impacts Florida’s Workforce Productivity and the State’s Economy,” 2023, page 5, https://www.flchamber.com/untappedpotentialfl
[29] The Florida Timeline, “2002-Voters Approve Free Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten,” n.d., https://www.floridatimeline.org/timeline/2002-voters-approve-free-voluntary-pre-kindergarten/
[30] Allison H. Friedman-Krauss, W. Steven Barnett, Katherine S. Hodges, Karin A. Garver, Jennifer K. Duer, G. G. Weisenfeld and Jessica Siegel, “The State of Preschool,” Rutgers Graduate School of Education’s National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER),2025, pages 65-66, https://nieer.org/sites/default/files/2025-04/2024NIEERStateofPreschool-1.pdf
[31] Office of Economic and Demographic Research,“Conference Report for Early Learning Programs Estimating Conference Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program Population and Enrollment (FTE),” March 6,2025, page 8, https://edr.state.fl.us/Content/conferences/vpk/VPKResults.pdf
[32] AP-NORC Center, “Few Concerned With Declining Birthrates, But Many Worry About the Costs of Child Care and Favor Paid Family Leave,” University of Chicago, July 8, 2025, https://apnorc.org/projects/few-concerned-with-declining-birthrates-but-many-worry-about-the-costs-of-child-care-and-favor-paid-family-leave/
[33] Office of Economic and Demographic Research, “Conference Report for Early Learning Programs Estimating Conference Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program, Full-time EquivalentEnrollment (FTE),” August 7, 2025, page 7, https://edr.state.fl.us/Content/conferences/vpk/VPKResults.pdf
[34] Early Childhood Policy Research Group, “Understanding the Determinants of Parent Enrollment in Florida’s Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program, Fiscal Year 2023-24,” University of Florida Anita Zucker Center for Excellence in Early Childhood Studies, 2024, https://thesunshineportal.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Sunshine-Portal-Technical-Report-FINAL.pdf
[35] Florida Department of State, Chapter 2025-198, “General Appropriation Act,” Laws of Florida, page 22, https://laws.flrules.org/2025/198
[36] Florida Department of State, Chapter 2025-198, “General Appropriation Act,” Laws of Florida, Section 19, page 507
[37] Office of Economic and Demographic Research, “Early Learning Programs Estimating Conference School Readiness Program Executive Summary”, March 6, 2025, https://edr.state.fl.us/Content/conferences/schoolreadiness/executivesummary.pdf
[38] Florida Department of Education, “Division of Early Learning Annual Report 2023-24,” n.d., page 8, https://www.fldoe.org/file/20628/2324-DEL-AnnualReport.pdf
[39] Florida Department of Education, Division of Early Learning, ‘Annual Report 2022-23’, n.d., page 8, https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/20628/urlt/2223-DEL-AnnualReport.pdf.
[40] Florida Department of State, Chapter 2024-231, “General Appropriation Act,” Laws of Florida, line item 81, https://laws.flrules.org/files/Ch_2024-231.pdf
[41] Florida Department of State, Chapter 2025-198, “General Appropriation Act,” Laws of Florida, line 81
[42] Florida Department of State, Chapter 2024-240, Laws of Florida, “Economic Self-sufficiency,” Laws of Florida, page 9, https://laws.flrules.org/files/Ch_2024-240.pdf
[43] House of Representatives, “Final Bill Analysis: CS/CS/HB1267,” June24, 2024, https://www.flhouse.gov/Sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx?FileName=h1267z1.CFS.DOCX&DocumentType=Analysis&BillNumber=1267&Session=2024
[44] FPI analysis of Administration for Children and Families, Office of Community Services, Division of Energy Assistance, “State Median Income (SMI) by Household Size for Optional Use in FY 25 and Mandatory Use in LIHEAP for FY25-Households of Size 1 through 61,” https://acf.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ocs/COMM_LIHEAP_IM2025-02_SMIStateTable_Att4.pdf
[45] Florida Department of State, Chapter 2025-198, “General Appropriation Act,” Laws of Florida, page 507, section 20
[46] Norín Dollard, “Florida Children, Parents, and the Economy Do Better When Policy Makers Invest in Quality Child Care and Early Learning Experiences,” Florida Policy Institute, July 13, 2023
[47] U.S. Congress, U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, “Supporting Working Families: The Need for Ongoing Support for the Nation’s Child Care Sector,” May 2023, page 1, https://www.help.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/the_need_for_ongoing_support_for_the_nations_child_care_sector_report.pdf
[48] American Public Human Services Association, “Navigating the Post-Pandemic Landscape: Insights from Child Care Administrators,” August 2024, https://files.constantcontact.com/391325ca001/b05b6bd3-8953-4f46-8301-d8d672943959.pdf
[49] Bipartisan Policy Center, “Florida’s Response to CO VID-19 Child Care Actions”, January 2021, https://bipartisanpolicy.org/download/?file=/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Florida.pdf
[50] Florida Department of State, Chapter 2025-110, “Education, ”Laws of Florida, https://laws.flrules.org/2025/110
[51] Florida Senate, “SB 70: Instructional Hours for the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program,” last action June 16,2025, https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2025/70
[52] Florida House of Representatives, “HB 191: Instructional Hours for the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program,” last action June 16, 2025, https://www.flhouse.gov/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=80736&SessionId=105
[53] Florida House of Representatives, Final Bill Analysis, CS/CS/HB 1255, June 2,2025, page 5, https://www.flhouse.gov/Sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx?FileName=h1255z1.SAS.DOCX&DocumentType=Analysis&BillNumber=1255&Session=2025
[54] Florida House of Representatives, Final Bill Analysis, CS/CS/HB 1255, page 5
[55] Esteban Leonardo Santis, “Funding Florida’s Future: Revenue Options for Board Early Learning Investments,” Florida Policy Institute, February 8, 2024, https://www.floridapolicy.org/posts/funding-floridas-future-revenue-options-for-bold-early-learning-investments
[56] Education Law Center, “$600 Billion Lost,” n.d., https://edlawcenter.org/research/600-billion-lost/
[57] Education Law Center, “$600 Billion Lost,” n.d.
[58] National Education Association, “Educator Pay and Student Spending: How Does Your State Rank,” April 2025, https://www.nea.org/resource-library/educator-pay-and-student-spending-how-does-your-state-rank
[59] Florida Department of Education, “2024-25 Funding for Florida School Districts,” n.d., page 2
[60] Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability, “Florida Education Finance Program System: Report95-50,” OPPAGA, April 8, 1996, https://oppaga.fl.gov/Products/ReportDetail?rn=95-50
[61] Florida Senate “Public School Funding, the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) Fiscal Year 2025-26, SB2500 ConferenceReport,” June 13, 2025, page 7, https://www.flsenate.gov/PublishedContent/Session/2025/Conference/9/RelatedDocument/Florida%20Education%20Finance%20Program%20(FEFP)%206-13-25_1582.pdf
[62] Governor’s Press Office, “ICYMI: Governor Ron DeSantis Announces School Choice Success,” Florida Department of Education, January 10,2025, https://www.fldoe.org/newsroom/latest-news/icymi-governor-ron-desantis-announces-school-choice-success.stml
[63] Florida Department of Education, “Florida Education Finance Program 2022-23 Fourth Calculation,” April 14, 2023, page7, https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/7507/urlt/22-23FEFPFourthCalc.pdf
[64] Florida Department of Education, “Florida Education Finance Program 2023-24 Fourth Calculation,” October 25, 2024, page 7, https://www.fldoe.org/file/7507/23-24FEFPFinalCalc.pdf
[65] Florida Department of Education, “Florida Education Finance Program 2024-25 Third Calculation,” March 3, 2025, page 7, https://www.fldoe.org/file/7507/24-25FEFP3rdCalc.pdf
[66] Florida Department of State, Chapter 2025-198, “General Appropriation Act,” Laws of Florida, line item 112
[67] Florida Department of State, Chapter 2025-198, “General Appropriation Act,” Laws of Florida, line item 139
[68] Florida Department of Revenue, “Tax Information Publication 23ADM-05,” December 12, 2023, https://floridarevenue.com/taxes/tips/Documents/TIP_23ADM-05.pdf
[69] Norín Dollard and Mary McKillip, “Florida Continues to Drain Much-Needed Funds Away from Public Schools to Private and Home-School Students,” Florida Policy Institute and Education Law Center, January 14, 2025, https://www.floridapolicy.org/posts/florida-continues-to-drain-much-needed-funds-away-from-public-schools-to-private-and-home-school-students
[70] Florida Department of State, Chapter 2025-198, “General Appropriation Act,” Laws of Florida, line items 5, 6, 88, 89
[71] Florida Department of Education, “Florida Education Finance Program Fiscal Year 2025-26,” June 13, 2025, page 1, https://www.flsenate.gov/PublishedContent/Session/2025/Conference/9/RelatedDocument/Florida%20Education%20Finance%20Program%20(FEFP)%206-13-25_1582.pdf
[72] National Education Association, “Rankings of the States 2024 and Estimates of the School Statistics 2025,” April 2025, page 28, https://www.nea.org/sites/default/files/2025-04/2025_rankings_and_estimates_report.pdf
[73] Florida Policy Institute analysis of Base Student Allocations, derived from Florida Department of Education, “Florida Education Finance Program Calculations” for 2007-08 and 2024-25. BSA is adjusted for inflation to first-half of 2025.
[74] Florida Department of State, Chapter 2025-198, “General Appropriation Act,” Laws of Florida, line item 88
[75] National Education Association, “Educator Pay and Student Spending: How Does Your State Rank,” April 2025, page 37, https://www.nea.org/resource-library/educator-pay-and-student-spending-how-does-your-state-rank
[76] FPI analysis based on new teacher pay allocation divided by the number of teachers as reported by the National Center for Education Statistics in “Digest State Dashboard,” May 2024, https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest-dashboard/state/florida
[77] Norín Dollard, “Florida Urgently Needs Bolder Investments in Average Teacher Pay,” Florida Policy Institute, November 19, 2021, https://www.floridapolicy.org/posts/florida-urgently-needs-bolder-investments-in-average-teacher-pay
[78] Norín Dollard, “Florida Lawmakers Should Preserve Funding for Students in Advanced Academics and Career and Technical Education Classes,” Florida Policy Institute, November 19, 2021, https://www.floridapolicy.org/posts/florida-lawmakers-should-preserve-funding-for-students-in-advanced-academics-and-career-and-technical-education-classes
[79] Florida Department of State, Chapter 2025-203,“Prekindergarten Through Grade 12 Education,” 2025, pages 43-47, https://laws.flrules.org/files/Ch_2025-203.pdf
[80] Florida Department of State, Chapter 2025-198, “General Appropriation Act,” Laws of Florida, line item 88
[81] U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Adolescent and School Health, “Mental Health – Poor Mental Health Effects AdolescentWell-being,” November 29, 2024, https://www.cdc.gov/healthy-youth/mental-health/index.html
[82] National Association of School Psychologists, State Shortages Dashboard, n.d., https://www.nasponline.org/about-school-psychology/state-shortages-data-dashboard
[83] Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Learn More, Earn More: Education Leads to Higher Wages, Lower Unemployment,” May, 2020, https://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2020/data-on-display/education-pays.htm
[84] Jennifer Ma, Matea Pender and Meredith Welch,“College Board, Trends in Higher Education Series - Education Pays 2016, The Benefits of High Education for Individuals and Society,” College Board,December 2016, https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED572548.pdf
[85] Bureau of Labor Statistics, ‘Occupations that Need More Education for Entry are Projected to Grow Faster Than Average, April 18, 2025, Table 5.2, https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables/education-summary.htm
[86] Noah Berger and Peter Fisher, Economic PolicyInstitute, “A Well-Educated Workforce Is Key to State Prosperity”, August 22,2013, https://www.epi.org/publication/states-education-productivity-growth-foundations/
[87] Kristen Cummings, Sophia Laderman, Jason Lee, David Tandberg, and Dustin Weeden, “Investigating the Impacts of Higher Education Appropriations and Financial Aid,” State Higher Education Executive OfficersAssociation, 2021, https://sheeo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/SHEEO_ImpactAppropationsFinancialAid_ExecutiveSummary.pdf
[88] Kristen Cummings, Sophia Laderman, Jason Lee, David Tandberg, and Dustin Weeden, “Investigating the Impacts of Higher Education Appropriations and Financial Aid,” State Higher Education Executive Officers Association, 2021
[89] Florida Department of Education, Florida College System, “About Us,” n.d., https://www.fldoe.org/schools/higher-ed/fl-college-system/about-us/#:~:text=The%20percent20division%20percent20serves%20percent20and%20percent20provides,%20percentE2%20percent80%20percent9Cdistrict%20percentE2%20percent80%20percent9D%20percent20or%20percent20service%20percent20area
[90] Office of Economic and Demographic Research, Education Estimating Conference, “Florida College System Enrollment, Executive Summary,March 7, 2025”, https://edr.state.fl.us/content/conferences/communitycolleges/ExecutiveSummary.pdf
[91] Florida Department of State, Chapter 2025-198, “General Appropriation Act,” Laws of Florida, line items 8; 128-133A
[92] State University System of Florida, “About Us,” n.d., https://www.flbog.edu/about-us-2/
[93] Florida Department of State, Chapter 2025-198, “General Appropriation Act,” Laws of Florida, line items 9-13 and 145-162A
[94] Florida Department of State, Chapter2024-231, General Appropriations Act, Laws of Florida, line items 3, 4, 60, 62-76, https://laws.flrules.org/2024/231; and Florida Department of State, Chapter 2025-198, “General Appropriation Act,” Laws of Florida, line items 3, 4, 58, 58B-74
[95] Florida Department of State, Chapter 2025-198, “General Appropriation Act,” Laws of Florida, Section 46
[96] Florida Department of State, Chapter 2025-198, “General Appropriation Act,” Laws of Florida, Section 47
[97] Susan M. Dynarski, “The New Merit Aid” in C.M. Hoxby (Ed.), College Choices: The Economics of Where to Go, When to Go, and How to Pay For It (Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2004), pp. 63-97
[98] Holly Bullard, “Lawmakers Must Reshape the Bright Futures Program to Build a More Equitable Florida,” Florida Policy Institute, January 28, 2021, https://www.floridapolicy.org/posts/to-build-a-more-equitable-florida-lawmakers-must-reshape-bright-futures-program
[99] Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program,“Florida Bright Futures Disbursement History by Race / Ethnicity, Report C, ”September 2024, https://www.floridastudentfinancialaidsg.org/PDF/PSI/BFReportsC.pdf
[100] Florida Department ofEducation, 2025 Factbook, Table 1.2, https://www.fldoe.org/accountability/data-sys/CCTCMIS/reports.stml
[101] Florida House of Representatives, HB 17, ‘Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program’, https://www.flhouse.gov/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=80560
[102] Florida Senate, SB 1368, “Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program”, https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2025/1368
[103] Florida House of Representatives, HB 167 ‘Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program, https://www.flhouse.gov/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=80714
[104] Florida Senate, SB 338, “Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program”, https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2025/338
[105] Florida Executive Office of the Governor, “2025 VetoList”, 2025, https://www.flgov.com/eog/sites/default/files/shared/2025/06/2025%20Final%20Veto%20List.pdf
[106] Florida Department of State, Chapter 2025-198, “General Appropriation Act,” Laws of Florida, line 113B
