The Education Department not only funds programs for the most vulnerable children in Florida,
it also funds Pell grants (aid that helps students go to college) and manages state compliance with federal law. Florida schools receive funding from local, state and federal funds.
Florida schools receive funding from local, state and federal funds.
Those federal funds make up about 18% of the budget, according to the Florida Policy Institute (FPI), a nonprofit think tank in the state. For this year, that’s
about $10.5 billion, according to Norin Dollard, a senior policy analyst with FPI.
While the department funnels much of the federal government’s funds to the states, other agencies also directly fund state programs, like the Department of Labor, the Department of Defense and the Department of Agriculture. For example,
Leon County Schools received $19.6 million in federal funds for the National School Lunch program from the USDA.
This year,
the feds gave Florida more than $830 million for special education programs,
and more than $1 billion was earmarked for “Education for the Disadvantaged,”
according to federal data.
