ORLANDO, Fla. — An Orange County school board member is voicing her concerns about Florida House Bill 5101, which, if passed, would cut funding for certain programs at high schools across the state.

What You Need To Know

  • Florida House Bill 5101 would cut funding for several high school courses, such as AP, IB, and dual enrollment

  • If approved, it would go into effect July 1

  • Orange County Public Schools officials say they received nearly $34 million last year to fund these programs

If approved, the bill would cut 50% of funding for AP, IB, Cambridge, Dual Enrollment, and Career and Professional Education courses for high school students.

“If these cuts go through, our students will suffer, our families will suffer, and our economy will suffer,” said Orange County School Board member Stephanie Vanos. “This funding ensures that we can offer those programs and we can offer the breath of those programs to our students.”

Vanos, who represents District 6, says the school district received nearly $34 million last school year for these programs. A release from Orange County Public Schools shows 56% of funds from these programs support teacher compensation, which would also be affected.

“The $17 million covers about 214 employee positions, and that’s about the size of a small high school staff," she said. "So these are huge cuts that will severely impact our district if they end up getting passed in our Legislature."

Many high school students enroll in these advanced courses to get ahead in their curriculum and apply for college. OCPS officials say all 23 of their traditional high schools offer these courses to students for free.

House Bill 5101 is sponsored by state Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka, who said during a budget committee meeting Tuesday that concerned families should talk to their school districts officials about how they use their money.

“I believe in these programs, I will continue to fight for these programs, but that fight also has to happen back home," Persons-Mulicka said. "This confirming bill makes the process of our state better and it holds everyone accountable and adds additional transparency."

If passed, House Bill 5101 would go into effect on July 1.

Spectrum News reached out to school districts across Central Florida.

Orange County Public Schools provided the following statement regarding the proposed changes:

“OCPS expresses significant concern regarding the proposed revisions to Florida Statute 1011.62 in HB 5101, which pertain to program funding through add-on Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) for Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), Cambridge (AICE), Dual Enrollment (DE), and Career and Professional Education (CAPE). 

The proposed changes reduce add-on FTE funding by 50% and would have a detrimental impact on our schools. A 50% reduction in add-on FTE would result in an estimated financial loss of $16,835,797 for OCPS, based on the most recent funding distribution of $33,671,594 for add-on FTE, of which 100% has been fully allocated for utilization. 

While the FDOE survey provides good initial insight into how these funds are expended, a deeper look is needed to capture the full picture. Many of these programs can be costly to operate with items that fall into the generic FDOE 'other' category. Being in an 'other' category does not mean they were not allocated and spent on specific program needs, such as lab materials, production props, research databases, professional editing software, and many more specialized resources critical to program success.”

Lake County Schools provided the following statement as well: