Education

Florida's board of education consists of the governor and the cabinet—the secretary of state, attorney general, treasurer and commissioner of insurance, comptroller, commissioner of education, and commissioner of agriculture. The board supervises the state department of education.

Missions founded by Spanish priests in the 16th century were the first schools in Florida. The public school system was established in token fashion by the state constitution of 1868. A compulsory attendance law was enacted in 1915. Attendance is compulsory for children aged 6 to 16.

The state's largest university is the University of Florida, a land-grant school established in Gainesville in 1853.