Florida Trend Exclusive
Higher education's new hires

For eight years in a row, U.S. News & World Report has ranked Florida’s higher education No. 1 in the country for its low-cost tuition and high graduation rates. Four Florida schools made it into the publication’s top 50 public universities in 2025 — the second most among all states. At the same time, Florida’s higher education landscape has experienced considerable leadership turnover. More than a dozen presidencies have changed hands in the past three years amid retirements and politics. [Source: Florida Trend]

More Florida kids attend a school of choice rather than a neighborhood public school

In a first for the state, more than half of Florida’s K-12 students are attending a school of choice, instead of their neighborhood zoned public school. Nearly 1.8 million students, 51% of all K-12 students in the state, chose to attend a private, charter, home school, or magnet program instead of their neighborhood public school during the 2023-2024 school year, according to data from Step Up For Students, the nonprofit that administers the state’s voucher program. [Source: Central Florida Public Media]

Florida lawmakers increased education funding, but will districts really feel it?

Parents, state funding experts, policy analysts, and educators are all concerned about the overall funding for education in Florida. Increases this year were marginal and did not match the rate of inflation, they say. Funding for private school vouchers however, continue to proliferate unabated in the state. The state budget, which passed Monday after weeks of disagreements, allocated $15.8 billion in state funds toward education this year, up from $15.6 billion last year. This is a 1.73% increase over last year, less than the rate of inflation at 2.4%. [Source: Miami Herald]

See also:
» Florida budget keeps full funding for AP, IB school programs next school year

Florida lawmakers pass charter school expansion on last day of session

On the 105th day of what was supposed to be a 60-day legislative session, Florida lawmakers passed a bill to allow charter schools to “co-locate” inside traditional public schools. It’s the latest move by the Republican-controlled Legislature to expand school choice in a state that has long been a national model for conservative education policy. Lawmakers gave the bill final approval after 10 p.m. on Monday, with just a handful of members of the public present in the chamber galleries. [Source: AP]

Florida adds restrictions to school cellphone use. What do students think?

In all the talk about whether to ban student cellphone use, student voices are often the least heard. Two University of South Florida researchers aimed to get those viewpoints out as state lawmakers debated additional restrictions this spring, conducting a survey of more than 1,500 kids. They found about one third of the respondents said they were relieved when told they had to put their phones away. About the same percentage agreed that social media does more harm than good. At the same time, the researchers said their data indicates that bans aren’t a benefit for everyone. More from WLRN and the Tampa Bay Times.

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Ringling Museum to stay with FSU, not go under New College leadership [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
A grassroots campaign to stop the proposed transfer of the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art from Florida State University to New College of Florida has succeeded, critics of the idea said following confirmation that the plan was excluded from the 2025 state legislative budget. The group Citizens to Protect the Ringling announced the outcome Tuesday, calling it a major win for Sarasota’s cultural institutions and the broader community.

› FIU again earns highest rank for university performance metric, FGCU again the lowest [Florida Politics]
Florida International University was the highest performing public university in Florida in 2025 based on the state’s incentivized funding model. FIU scored a 96 out of 100 on the performance-based model, which scores on metrics like wages of its graduates, their employment, graduation, and retention rates, and degrees awarded in areas in need. The school scored a 96 in 2024 and 95 the year before. The lowest-scoring school was Florida Gulf Coast University. That school scored a 67, up from 63 a year ago.

› Gov. DeSantis gives $10 million to five state colleges for job training programs [Tallahassee Democrat]
Five state colleges in Central Florida will receive nearly $10 million after Gov. Ron DeSantis recently handed out grants allowing them to expand career and technical training programs. The money will go to Eastern Florida State College, Indian River State College, Polk State College, Valencia College and Seminole State College.

› New law lets charter schools directly petition Department of Education for workforce funds [Florida Politics]
Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed off on legislation (HB 1145) that would make it easier for charter schools to get workforce development funds via the Workforce Development Capitalization Incentive Grant Program. While they previously could go through their local school districts, now they are able to cut out the middleman and ask the Department of Education directly, as school districts and Florida College System institutions could.

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Florida budget standoff continues as state inches closer to its first-ever government shutdown