Emerald Coast Times

The majority of students in Okaloosa County district were white in the 2022-23 school year, according to the Florida Department of Education.

Of the 32,733 students attending Okaloosa County district schools, 63.8% were white. Hispanic students were the second largest ethnicity in Okaloosa County district (13.7%).

In the previous school year, white students were also the most common group in Okaloosa County district, representing 64.5% of the student body.

In the 2022-23 school year, the total number of students enrolled in the county increased by 1.2% when compared to the previous year.

Florida's choice to stick with in-person classes during the pandemic may have shielded students from significant learning setbacks. A recent Harvard study highlighted that districts heavily reliant on remote learning saw the most significant declines in student achievement amid the COVID-19 crisis.

“Interestingly, gaps in math achievement by race and school poverty did not widen in school districts in states such as Texas and Florida and elsewhere that remained largely in-person,” said Thomas Kane, professor at Harvard Graduate School of Education.

District	Most prevalent ethnicity	Percent of Total Student Body	Total Enrollment
Okaloosa County School District	White	63.8%	32,733