Emerald Coast Times

There were 3,499 Black students enrolled in Okaloosa County's only school district in the 2022-23 school year, a 1.8% decrease from the 3,563 Black students in the previous school year, according to the Florida Department of Education.

Data showed that Okaloosa County welcomed a total of 32,733 students during the 2022-23 school year. Among them, Black students comprised 10.7% of the student body to be the third most represented ethnicity in the county. The most represented ethnicity was white, accounting for 20,868 (63.8%) of the students, followed by Hispanic students who represented 4,483 (13.7%) of the student population.

In 2022, Florida had more than 2.8 million students enrolled in its 4,202 schools. There were 163,558 teachers in the public schools, or roughly one teacher for every 17 students, compared to the national average of 1:16.

Private school enrollment increased by more than 51,000 students in the 2021-22 school year, which was a notable rebound after the pandemic. In total, there were 416,084 students enrolled, marking the highest enrollment in private schools reported by the Florida Department of Education in 30 years.

According to WalletHub's analysis, Florida is ranked ninth out of 50 states in terms of its public school quality and safety.

District	% of Black Students Enrolment	Total Enrollment
Okaloosa County School District	10.7	32,733