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Department overview | |
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Formed | 1870 |
Jurisdiction | Florida |
Headquarters | Tallahassee, Florida, U.S. |
Employees | 2,500+ (2006-7) |
Annual budget | $23 billion |
Department executive |
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Website | www |
This article is part of a series on |
Education in the United States |
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The Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) is the state education agency of Florida. It governs public education and manages funding and testing for local educational agencies (school boards). It is headquartered in the Turlington Building (named for former education commissioner Ralph Turlington) in Tallahassee.[1]
The Florida commissioner of education manages the day-to-day operation of the department. The office of education commissioner was originally a Cabinet-level position filled by direct election and directly responsible for education in Florida. The 2002 Florida Constitution Revision Commission submitted a revision to the Florida Constitution, amending Article IV, Section IV to reduce the Cabinet from six elected officials to three. The voters approved the changes and it became effective January 7, 2003; after this time, the commissioner of education became an appointed position and the FLDOE became the overall responsibility of the governor. The revised constitution also created a new Florida Board of Education with seven members (one of whom is the commissioner of education), appointed by the governor to oversee the Department of Education. Division of Vocational Rehabilitation - 930 positions Division of Blind Services - 300 positions Annual operating budget for all entities in 2012-13 - approximately $18.6 billion Oversee 28 locally governed public state colleges and 47 school district technical centers
The department supports 2.6 million students, 3,800 public schools and 318,000 full-time staff and more than 180,000 teachers.
The department manages the Florida Information Resource Network (FIRN), which provides Internet access to public schools.[2]