Orange County school leaders, students warn Florida bill would cut funding for AP courses, dual enrollment

Students and leaders within Orange County’s public school system are sounding the alarm over proposed budget cuts in the Florida House’s state budget this year that could cut in half the funding high schools have available for advanced placement classes.

The proposal (HB 5101), advanced by the House Budget committee this week, would halve funding for certain “add-on” weights used to reward schools “that offer courses that are academically rigorous or supportive of career development or address a specific small school district need,” according to a House staff analysis.

Orange County Public Schools, the state’s fourth-largest school district serving more than 200,000 students, warns their district alone could stand to lose nearly $17 million in funding for AP courses, dual enrollment programs, International Baccalaureat (IB) programs and career and professional education (CAPE) in local high schools.

“Without funding, families may have to pay more if we don’t cut expenses in other areas for exam fees, lab materials, and specialized course tools, creating inequities for low-income students and reducing opportunities to be competitive in college admissions,” said Orange County school board member Maria Salamanca in a statement.

Florida Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka, who’s sponsoring the bill, argues the funding cuts aren’t meant to decimate advanced placement options, but rather to address alleged mismanagement of funds.

“This bill does not defund and it does not not cut money for these important programs,” said Persons-Mulicka, during the House Budget Committee this week. “These are bonus weights, these are incentives. These do not fund the entire program,” she added. “The districts fund the program with the FEFP [Florida Education Finance Program] funds that we provide.”

More than a half-dozen high school students showed up to the committee meeting in Tallahassee to speak against her proposal, nonetheless, in addition to a Monroe County School Board member (speaking in a personal capacity) and a magnet program coordinator from Ocala.

The state budget hasn’t yet been approved, so there’s still time for lawmakers to make changes if they wish — or if they are successfully challenged to do so.

But if it does pass, opponents say it could dramatically cut funding for advanced placement courses that help students get into competitive colleges, with kids from disadvantaged backgrounds likely to suffer the most.

“If public schools lose access, while private schools retain it by accessing the funding needed in additional tuition, Florida ends up with two separate education systems: one for the privileged and one for the under resourced,” argued Eshani Banugu, an IB student at Rickards High in Tallahassee, speaking in front of state lawmakers Wednesday.

Sehar Sarang, another IB student, also worries about the reduced opportunities for students that funding cuts could impose. Sarang told lawmakers she comes from a low-income background.

Still, due in part to the “rigorous” AP opportunities she was able to access, she said she recently secured a full-ride scholarship to the prestigious Dartmouth College, an Ivy League university.

“My story is just one of the many students whose success has been shaped by the IB program,” she said. “By defunding this transformative program, Florida will be stripping thousands of students from their full potential.”

Orange County Public Schools, for its part, sent an email to parents in the district, warning them of the proposed cuts. According to the Orlando Sentinel, about 3,000 public school students in Orange County took AP courses in the 2023-24 school year.

“By defunding this transformative program, Florida will be stripping thousands of students from their full potential”

Salamanca, and her colleague Stephanie Vanos on the school board, went to Tallahassee this week to advocate against the proposal. Critics have also expressed concern about potential impacts on teachers. OCPS warns that proposed cuts could result in “[f]ewer qualified teachers instructing students” and “[f]ewer professional learning opportunities for teachers.”

Andrew Spar, president of the Florida Education Association (the statewide teachers union), blasted the proposal in a statement, pointing out that Florida already ranks near dead-last in average teacher pay, and is seeing “plummeting” SAT scores.

“Years of underfunding and bad policy have left Florida’s public schools in crisis, and now, with this latest proposal to cut even more funding, it would not only strip away opportunities for students but also drain millions from our public schools,” Spar, a former music teacher, told Orlando Weekly in a statement. “Our kids deserve better,” he said, adding that the union is calling on lawmakers to “protect this critical funding and ensure students have access to the advanced courses and career pathways they need to graduate college- and career-ready.”

Proponents, like Persons-Mulicka, maintain that there’s a lack of transparency in how schools’ “add-on” funds for these AP programs are being spent. To help address her concerns, OCPS has offered alternatives to the current proposal, including a policy that requires more specific breakdowns of expenditures from school districts annually. The district also proposed creating a timeline for when unspent funds must be either returned or reallocated.

Dr. Sue Woltanksi, a Monroe County school board member from the Florida Keys, speaking to lawmakers in a personal capacity, said she worries the proposed cuts would “halt” or even “reverse” the progress her district has made in college readiness.

“We currently rank in the top seven-and-a-half percent of high schools in the United States on U.S. News and World Reports,” she said. “That doesn’t happen by accident. It’s an investment.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for his part has similarly touted the state’s high education ranking, at least according to some, while simultaneously criticizing (and outlawing) programs and services in schools that promote diversity, equity and inclusion.

Florida Republicans have over recent years highlighted the importance of promoting job training for young people in the trades — industries that expect to see labor shortages due to an aging workforce — that don’t require post-secondary education. That goal, for instance, was notably highlighted amid efforts to roll back Florida’s child labor laws last year.

“What we’re trying to do is encourage young people that have an interest in those trades to get the work experience needed so that they can go further in their career,” argued Sen. Corey Simon, R-Tallahassee, defending a bill (SB 460) that rolled back certain protections for minors aged 16 and older on residential construction sites.

John Crawford, an AP teacher and magnet coordinator for Forest High School in Marion County, warned this year’s proposed cuts in HB 5101 could have a “devastating” effect on the very programs that Simon himself last year sought to promote: schools’ career and technical education programs.

“The proposed cuts to House Bill 5101, would drastically reduce opportunities for students in our district, especially those who are already at a disadvantage,” said Crawford, speaking to lawmakers Wednesday. “Our rural, low-income communities depend on these funds to provide students with a quality education that prepares them for both college and the workforce.”

The proposal cleared the budget committee in a 22 to 6 vote, mostly along party lines, with Democrats largely opposed, and Republicans in support.

“I will be up on the bill, but we heard you,” said Rep. Susan Valdes, a former Democrat from Tampa who switched parties last December, after winning re-election as a Democrat. “This is just in the committee process,” she explained. “This is not the end product. So your voices have been heard.”

But Rep. Felicia Robinson, D-Miami Gardens, and several of her colleagues weren’t having it. “I know we’re trying to be cautious on how we spend money, and I understand about the deficit and all those things. However, in education, when it comes to our children, this is not it.”

“Let’s not play trial and error when it comes to our children. Let’s get it right,” she added.

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This article appears in Apr 2-8, 2025.