FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
JIM HORNE
Commissioner of Education
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
F. PHILIP HANDY,
Chairman
T. WILLARD FAIR,
Vice Chairman
Members
LINDA J. EADS, ED.D.
CHARLES PATRICK GARCÍA
JULIA L. JOHNSON
WILLIAM L. PROCTOR, PH.D.
MEMORANDUM
DATE:
December 17, 2003
TO:
District School Superintendents
FROM:
Jim Horne
SUBJECT:
Implementation of Class Size Reduction Requirements/2004 Compliance Calcul
ation
and Data Integrity Issues
The Constitutional Amendment for class size reduction requires each district, beginning in the 2003-2004
fiscal year, to reduce the average number of students in each classroom by at least two students per year
until constitutionally required class size limits are reached, namely 18 students in Grades PK-3, 22
students in Grades 4-8, and 25 students in Grades 9-12.
The attached report provides district class size averages for 2003-2004 compared to 2003 baseline district
class size averages, indicating district compliance with the required class size reduction for 2003-2004.
Each district MIS Director has already received district class size averages for both years in individual
district reports.
The attached report summarizes this information. The report indicates that thirty-two
districts did not comply with the class size reduction requirements for the 2003-2004 fiscal year and are
now subject to a monetary penalty calculation. The timeline for the (1) penalty calculation, (2) process to
submit data corrections, and (3) the appeal process will be provided next week. In the meantime, I
encourage all districts to continue reviewing class size information for each school to determine if there
are data errors and/or to identify factors that may have prevented you from complying with this
requirement despite your appropriate efforts to do so.
There has been concern expressed by some districts that the process and timelines for reporting class size
information compro
mised data integrity. I recognize the difficulty in implementing the large scale data
reporting changes that were required to report individual class size information. As a result, Department
staff worked with district MIS staff throughout the year to correct and update erroneous information used
for this important calculation. The following summarizes the process that was available for all districts to
use to review and update class size information.
JEANINE BLOMBERG
ASSISTANT DEPUTY COMMISSIONER
ACCOUNTABILITY, RESEARCH, AND MEASUREMENT
325 W. GAINES STREET • SUITE 1502 • TALLAHASSEE, FL 32399-0400 • (850) 245-0437 • www.fldoe.org
MEMORANDUM
District School Superintendents
Page Two
Please note that districts were provided six different opportunities to submit corrections for the calculation
of district class size averages.
2003 Baseline District Class Size Averages
•
The original 2003 Baseline District Class Size Averages were released on May 12, 2003.
•
Districts submitted corrections. Updated district class size averages were then reported to
individual districts on June 2.
•
Districts submitted corrections. Updated district class size averages were then reported to
individual districts on September 2, 2003.
•
Districts submitted corrections. Final 2003 Baseline District Class Size Averages were then
reported to individual districts on September 19, 2003.
2003-2004 District Class Size Averages
•
Student survey period conducted during the week of October 13, 2003.
•
District class size averages were reported to individual districts on November 7, 2003.
•
Districts submitted corrections. Updated district class size averages were then reported to
individual districts on November 14, 2003.
•
Districts submitted corrections. Updated district class size averages were then reported to
individual districts on November 20, 2003.
•
Districts submitted corrections. Final District Class Size averages were then reported to
individual districts on December 1, 2003.
Throughout this process, detailed reports were available for districts to review which
term/classroom/period combinations were included in the district class size averages, what scheduling
methods were reported, and the number of unduplicated students included in the count. It was and
continues to be important that districts access and study these detailed reports to assure that their
classrooms were reported accurately and that no schools or classrooms were excluded from the averages,
if they should have been included.
If you have additional questions regarding the implementation of the class size reduction requirements,
please contact Jeanine Blomberg, Assistant Deputy Commissioner, Accountability, Research and
Measurement, at (850) 245-0437, or Jeanine.Blomberg@fldoe.org.
Attachment
cc:
School District Finance Officers
MIS
Directors
Page 2