Governor announces record progress-monitoring results and new teacher funding at Polk County event

The governor announced that, for the first time, more than 60% of Florida students are performing at or above grade level in both English language arts and mathematics, and he credited the statewide shift to periodic progress monitoring for the gains.

"For the 1st time ever, more than 60% of Florida students are performing at or above grade level in both English language arts and in mathematics," the governor said, adding later that the increase represented roughly 115,000 more students meeting grade-level expectations than in 2023. He said the results followed four years of statewide use of progress-monitoring assessments designed to identify students' needs earlier in the year so teachers can intervene.

Stasi Kamutsis, introduced earlier at the event as the incoming president of Polk State College and the state's outgoing education commissioner, said district- and subgroup-level gains reinforced the statewide numbers. "These gains are especially significant because they represent not just hundreds of thousands of students, but subgroups across the board are up," Kamutsis said, listing percentage-point improvements for English language learners, Black and Hispanic students, economically disadvantaged students and students with disabilities.

Kamutsis also noted science and civics improvements, saying about 60% of fifth-graders demonstrated proficiency in science and that civics proficiency rose, with 76% at or above grade level in civics.

The governor tied the test-policy change to budget decisions. He said the budget he plans to sign, which begins July 1, includes what he described as a $1.58 billion education package that dedicates funding to teacher pay. "I think it's $1,580,000,000, including 202,000,000 that goes exclusively to teachers with 10 years or more of experience," he said, adding that the state had increased the FEFP per-pupil amount to about $9,400 (an increase he described as $150) and that the base student allocation rose by $85.

The governor and Kamutsis emphasized the state's approach to directing money to classroom teachers rather than system overhead. "If we're gonna do this, we want it to go in their pockets," the governor said.

Local education leaders at Lakeland High School echoed the statewide message. A Polk County school official thanked state leaders and said the district had eliminated F-rated schools and reduced the number of D-rated schools over the past five years, crediting earlier assessment and intervention enabled by progress monitoring.

The governor also addressed broader fiscal claims at the event, saying the state budget he will sign will spend less than the current fiscal year and asserting the state had reduced its total debt substantially during his tenure.

The governor took a question about a recently proposed e-bike regulation and said he was concerned it could increase law-enforcement surveillance; he also warned against relying on artificial intelligence to replace teachers. The event closed with thanks to educators and local officials.

What the transcript shows and what it does not: the event transcript attributes the quoted claims about assessment results and budget figures to the governor and to Kamutsis; several numerical claims (for example, the $1.58 billion figure, the $202 million portion for experienced teachers, the FEFP per-pupil number and the "about 115,000" student increase) were stated aloud during remarks. The transcript does not include a separate, itemized budget document or spreadsheets in evidence at the event, and some totals were described approximately in spoken remarks rather than read from a published table. The press event did not record a formal vote or legislative action.

The governor and Stasi Kamutsis spoke from the podium; quotes in this article are drawn from their spoken remarks as captured in the event transcript. The school official's name was not provided in the transcript; references to Polk County school leadership and to named individuals present (for example, Superintendent Fred Hyde and Lakeland High School principal Alan Doge) came from attendees the governor named while introducing guests.