ACADEMICS / PUBLIC AND PRIVATE EDUCATION SYSTEM

To be eligible for kindergarten, a child must be at least five years old on or before the first day of September of the current school year. Those registering for first grade must have completed kindergarten and be at least six years old by the same cut-off date. The documents needed to register include a legal birth certificate, immunization proof signed by a physician, a record of a recent health exam by a Florida physician, and proof of residence. The following resources offer more complete details:

Florida Partnership for School Readiness
866-357-3239
www.schoolreadiness.org

Immunization Information
Florida Department of Health
850-245-4342
www.floridahealth.gov

Florida Private Schools

Florida Council of Independent Schools
www.fcis.org/

Panhandle Parochial Schools
www.ptdiocese.org/schools

School Assessment & Testing
Schools in Florida administer the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT), an achievement test designed to measure Sunshine State Standards benchmarks in reading and math. Test scores are measured on a scoring range from 100 to 500 and grouped into five achievement levels: Level 1 (the lowest) to Level 5 (the highest). For more details on the FCAT or standardized nationwide tests, contact Accountability, Research & Measurement. For more general information or answers to questions about Florida public education, contact the office that is most appropriate:

Florida Department of Education
850-245-0505
www.fldoe.org

Florida State Board of Education
850-245-9654
www.fldoe.org/policy/state-board-of-edu/index.stml

Accountability, Research & Measurement
850-245-0400
www.fldoe.org/about-us/division-of-accountability-research-me.stml

Bright Futures
888-827-2004
www.fldoe.org

K-12 Public Schools
850-245-0509
www.fldoe.org

Colleges & Universities
850-245-0466
www.fldcu.org