Florida’s Dubious Class-Size Caps
Jason Richwine /
Lost amid the national election coverage Tuesday night was the defeat of an important ballot initiative in Florida. Amendment 8 would have relaxed the state’s strict caps on class size, adding three to five students per class depending on grade level. (The amendment received about 55 percent of the vote, but it needed 60 percent to become law.) The current caps have proven costly to implement. The Orlando Sentinel described some of the struggles:
To free up money for smaller classes, districts cut electives, combined classes, shifted student schedules, and packed students into elective courses. The Seminole County school district even closed some schools to students in certain grades and bused kids to nearby campuses that had room.