It’s Time to Fully Fund Public Education

updated June 17, 2025

No matter where in Florida a child goes to school, they deserve the same world-class public education. Whether it is robust arts and music programs, advanced coursework that teaches them to think critically and prepares them for college and careers, or class sizes that are small enough to allow for individual attention, the elements of student success are all under attack in the state’s proposed education budget.

The budget currently:

Doesn't improve educator pay in meaningful ways

$101 million has been allotted for teacher salaries, which would work out to roughly $20 more per paycheck per teacher. The budget keeps Florida at the bottom of the nation in average teacher pay.

favors for profit charter school companies

Allows "Schools of Hope" to “co-locate with another school in a public school facility. The school district must permit any School of Hope to use all or part of underused, vacant, or surplus school district facilities, and receive facility-related services.

Doesn't provide a BSA that keeps up with inflation

The less than 1% raise fails to keep pace with inflation or increasing operating costs, putting districts under more pressure to do more with less.

Maintains current career and college prep funding

The budget proposals keep current funding for courses that prepare students for college and careers. New mechanism for allocations may reduce transparency.

Supporting educators and public education isn’t just a talking point.

Lawmakers say they support educators, communities and students. But that takes:

  • investing $1,000 more per student,
  • making sure every school is fully staffed and safe,
  • improving the conditions educators work in – because those are the same conditions our students learn in.

How did your lawmaker vote?

Supporting educators, students and communities takes real action. How did your lawmaker vote on the budget proposals in their chamber?

SB 2510- contains the charter school colocation provision:

SB 2500- the overall budget

HB 7031- the tax package

What is the impact of the budget?

Thanks to engagement from parents, community, and educators across the state, programs like Dual Enrollment, Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE), and Career & Technical Education (CTE) will maintain current funding levels.

However, these programs have been shifted out of the FEFP’s weighted formula and into a separate categorical allocation, reducing transparency and potentially restricting district flexibility in how those funds are used.

These programs allow students to take part in:

  • After-school tutoring and Saturday school sessions that help them succeed,
  • Early access to IB and AICE strategies that build critical thinking skills starting in elementary and middle school,
  • New career and technical programs aligned with student interests and local workforce needs, and
  • Access to updated technology, equipment, curriculum, and prep materials, and
  • The growth and quality of CTE programs, already strained by rising operational costs

Florida currently ranks #42 in per-student spending.

The Senate and House proposals originally called for an increase of $135 and $62 respectively. The chambers agreed to allot $5,372.60 to Base Student Allocation funding. This is a 0.78% increase, or roughly just $41.62 per student compared to last year.

This fails to keep up with inflation and means that once again, districts and educators will be forced to do more with less.

Is a $20 per paycheck raise enough for you? With more than 200,000 educators shaping the minds of our future, $101 million has been allotted for teacher salaries, which would work out to roughly $20 more per paycheck per teacher. This does nothing to move Florida from #50 in the nation for average salary to the top ten.

Is $20 enough of a raise to cover rent hikes, rising insurance premiums, student loan payments or childcare, or recognize the value of our teachers?

Florida’s 2025–26 state budget includes $1.8 billion for the Florida College System and $4.7 billion for the State University System.

Highlights include continued performance-based funding, major investments in capital outlay projects, and $110 million in student financial aid through Florida’s Student Assistance Grants. Nursing programs across colleges and universities received over $110 million in support.

Bright Futures remains fully funded, and a new $5 million EASE Plus incentive supports students pursuing high-demand careers.

Total FCS Funding $1,808,479,003 (4.31% increase from last year)

  • $20 million for performance-based incentives
  • $17 million for 2+2 Student Success Incentive Fund
  • $13 million for Work Florida Student Success Incentive Fund
  • $113.9 million for Capital Outlay projects
  • $64 million for Nursing Education funds (PIPELINE and LINE)

Total SUS funding $4,736,460,371 (3.27% decrease from last year)

  • $46 million for Nursing Education funds (PIPELINE and LINE)
  • $427.7 million for Capital Outlay Projects
  • $645,000,000 for Performance Based Incentives ($350 mil from the state and $295 mil from the institutions)
  • $18.4 million for Programs of Strategic Emphasis
  • $10 million for New College of Florida Educational Enhancements
  • Funding for Centers
    • $10 million for the Florida Institute for Child Welfare at FSU
    • $10 million for the Hamilton Center for Classical and Civic Education
    • $250,000 for the FSU Florida Center for Reaching Research
    • $15 million for the Adam Smith Center for Economic Freedom at FIU

Tell Your Story

How does living and working in a state where teachers rank #50 in the nation impact your students or your job? How will this budget impact your local community? Let us know by sending us your comments today!

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Resources and Data

Florida Policy Insitute: How much will your district lose?

School districts, because the size of their student population and participation rates, differ in the amounts that are allocated to them. The interactive map below shows how much funding each school district currently receives and what it would receive if funding were cut for programs like AP, IB, CAPE and more. Find the full data set and more at the Florida Policy Institute.

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