Call To Action Before The upcoming Budget Session

Here’s the situation with K-12 funding in Florida’s upcoming extended legislative session:

Families are frustrated over $292 million in cuts to performance funding that supports advanced coursework in public high schools. Meanwhile, more than 70% of proposed funding increases are being absorbed by tax-funded vouchers— many of which go to students who never attended public schools.

And yet, the chairs of the Education Appropriations Committees in both the House and Senate insist that neither of these things is actually happening.

Oh, Floriduh…

“Any Florida last tax package is going to be dead on arrival. We are not going to kneecap our ability to provide you property tax relief just so we can give a little bit of a benefit to Canadian tourists – that is not going to happen so you can take that to the bank.” – Gov. Ron DeSantis

The Florida Legislature is set to reconvene next week in an extended session that is focused on passing a budget. While the leaders of the House and Senate bicker with the Governor over tax cuts, the chairs of House and the Senate education appropriations/budget committees can’t even agree on whether Florida should make “an unprecedented investment in our children’s education” (Sen. Burgess) or “we have to stop the spending” (Rep. Persons-Mulicka).

But here’s where they do agree: the proposed $292 million+ in cuts to performance funding for popular programs like Advanced Placement (AP) and Dual Enrollment (DE) aren’t actually “cuts,” they claim. Instead, they argue these programs are overfunded, and the money will be returned to districts as “flexible funding” via the Base Student Allocation (BSA) in the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP).

A quick look at the numbers and I am skeptical.

Let’s take a closer look at this “flexibility.”

The flexible funding portion of the state funding formula, the Florida Education Funding Program or FEFP, is called the “Base Student Allocation” or BSA.

During the 2023 Legislative session, lawmakers significantly revamped the FEFP formula in an effort to “modernize” it and “align it with the state’s school choice policy” – i.e. “the money follows the child”. (You can read the details here.) At that time, they repealed multiple funding categoricals, including Instructional Materials Allocation, Reading Instruction Allocation, Teacher Classroom Supply Assistance and Teacher Salary Increase Allocation, and rolled that funding into the Base Student funding. The mandates for how those funds must be spent in public schools remain — reducing the actual flexibility of the BSA.

School districts also face rising costs from mandatory increases to the Florida Retirement System (FRS) — costs that aren’t accounted for in the FEFP or education budgets. Instead, they are handled in separate budget bills (HB 5007 and SB 7022), leaving districts to absorb them using their BSA funds.

Let’s look at the numbers:

Senate Proposed FEFP (FY 2025-26)

• Public school students: 2,796,212
• TSIA increase: $248.6M (+19.8%) → $89/student
• FRS cost increase: $76.7M → $27/student
• Total new mandated costs (TSIA + FRS): $116/student
• BSA: $5,397.75 (+$66.77 or +1.25%)
• Total funding per-student:  $9,122.93 (+$135.26 or +1.5%)

House Proposed Budget

• Public school students: 2,796,212
• TSIA increase: $102.1M (+8.14%) → $36/student
• FRS cost increase: $78.8M → $28/student
• Total new mandated costs (TSIA + FRS): $64/student
• BSA: $5,381.49 (+$50.51 or +0.95%)
• Total funding per-student : $9,049.88 (+$62.21 or +0.69%)

Note: U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 2.4% over the also 12 months – neither budget keeps up with inflation.

The costs of TSIA and FRS increases in the Senate budget ($116/student) EXCEED the proposed increase in the BSA ($66.77).

The costs of TSIA and FRS increases in the House budget ($64/student) EXCEED the proposed increase in the BSA ($50.51) AND the proposed increase in Total funding per-student ($62.21).

So while appropriations chairs tout increases in “flexible funding,” districts are watching those gains evaporate under the weight of state-imposed costs — including teacher pay mandates and pension contributions — with fewer real dollars left to support programs like AP and Dual Enrollment.

For the record, IF the $292 million “saved” from overspending on advanced coursework performance funding were folded into the FEFP, it alone would equate to and increase of total funds per student of $90/student.

So let’s be clear: while lawmakers claim to be increasing flexible funding for schools, the numbers tell a different story. Districts are being saddled with rising state-imposed costs while losing targeted support for advanced academic programs.

And as more than 70% of new funding is funneled into unaccountable voucher programs — many for students who’ve never stepped foot in a public classroom — Florida’s public schools are being asked to do more with less… again.

Outraged? Contact Your Representative.

The extended legislative session begins Monday, May 12 — and now is the time to speak up.

• Email or call your state legislators. You can find their contacts here and here.
• Contact the PreK-12 Educations Appropriations Chair here and House PreK-12 Budget Chair here.
• Show them the math.
• Ask where the $292 million in “savings” from advanced coursework funding has actually gone — because it’s NOT in the Base Student Allocation.

Tell them:

• Restore performance funding for high-demand, academically rigorous programs like AP and Dual Enrollment.
• Fund K-12 education in a way that keeps pace with inflation.
• Fully cover the costs of state-mandated teacher salary increases and pension contributions (FRS).

Ask them why Tallahassee is arguing about massive tax cuts when Florida’s public schools are being defunded? Tell them our students deserve real investment.