Class Size Penalties To Be Revisited

January 12, 2011

Senate President Mike Haridopolos said this week that lawmakers would likely revisit the issue of class size penalties this spring when the Legislature convenes.

Escambia was among 32 of Florida’s 67 school districts that met the mandate that dictates how many students can be in certain classes at each grade level, while Santa Rosa County was not. But officials in both counties have expressed opposition to the amendment.

Schools that don’t meet class size caps set out in the Constitution are penalized financially, potentially adding up to millions of dollars for individual districts. According to the Department of Education, about 5 percent of Florida classrooms are not in compliance.

However, many schools have said that with declining state appropriations, they cannot meet the class size requirements.

“We’re not going to penalize schools that are just trying to do their best to make ends meet,” Haridopolos said. The Florida School Boards Association has said it would file a lawsuit against the state if the penalties are enforced.

“We have not filed suit though we have the complaint ready,” said association attorney Ron Meyer. “We will not file unless and until the fines are actually imposed and money withheld. If the Legislature fixes the problem, the litigation will not be necessary.”

In 2002, voters passed a constitutional amendment that capped individual classrooms at 18 students in kindergarten through third grade, 22 in fourth through eighth grade, and 25 in high school. The limits have been phased in since the amendment was passed, with the hard numerical caps going into effect this year. The state has struggled to pay for the constitutional mandate, making it, in turn, difficult for schools to meet the requirement.

In November, voters rejected a constitutional amendment that would have repealed those hard class size caps, allowing class size caps to be calculated at a school-wide average, rather than on a per-classroom basis.

The News Service Florida contributed to this report.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News