Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. District totals are aggregated directly from the schools reporting under this district in the source records. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.
Sebring, Florida - 22 schools
An equity score of 66/100 ranks Highlands #16 of 67 districts in Florida (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $11,874 per pupil, Highlands ranks #16 of 67 Florida districts by per-pupil spending (Florida districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
Highlands operates 22 public schools serving 12,362 students, placing it in the mid-size range in Florida. The school portfolio breaks down into 16 combined, 3 high, 2 middle, 1 elementary schools, giving families a clear picture of grade-band coverage before they move, rent, or enrol. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Highlands County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,874 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 67 Florida districts by per-pupil spending. See how Florida compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 30.5% local, 39.8% state, and 29.7% federal, a balanced mix across local, state, and federal sources, spreading budget risk across funding cycles rather than concentrating it in one. The district's equity score is 66/100, ranked #16 of 67 in Florida against a state average of 51, notably more even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 5 of 22 schools offering Advanced Placement (42 AP courses district-wide), a 568:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 38.5% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 39.6% Hispanic or Latino, 35.7% White, 19.6% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Sun 'N Lake Elementary School, with a diversity index of 71.3/100.
Its largest campus is Sebring High School, enrolling 1,849 students (15% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Highlands County Schools Jail Program, at 2 students, a 925x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Highlands school enrollment ranges from 2 students (lowest) to 1,849 students (highest), a spread of 1,847 students. That ratio is an extreme outlier spread — among the widest gaps observed anywhere in this dataset. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data NCES Common Core of Data
free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is the federal threshold for Title I funding allocations, established under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015). Eligibility here is approaching the 75% concentration-grant threshold; it does not yet unlock the extra funding tier but sits meaningfully above the baseline 50% majority mark. Regions with eligibility this high typically draw a substantially larger federal funding share relative to their local tax base, which can either offset or reinforce existing gaps depending on allocation policy.
Source: ESSA Title I Part A; ED EDFacts file system ESSA Title I Part A; ED EDFacts file system
student-counselor ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE counselors against total enrollment, districts that contract intervention or social-emotional staff outside the counselor classification may be under-counted Values this far above typical often signal acute resource constraints or a structurally different scale than most peers — worth reading alongside the underlying counts, not the ratio alone.
Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection NCES Civil Rights Data Collection
chronic absenteeism rate is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: a student is chronically absent if they miss ≥10% of enrolled days for any reason, illness, family obligations, or disengagement Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection 2021-22 NCES Civil Rights Data Collection 2021-22
This district has moderate funding equity. There may be room to improve funding diversity or resource allocation.
Average demographic composition across 22 schools in Highlands.
Source: NCES CCD School Membership 2024-25.
Average Simpson diversity index across Highlands's schools, above the Florida average of 52.3.
Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22.
The Florida districts closest to this one in total enrollment.
| District | Enrollment | Spending | Funding Mix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nassau | Similar size | Lower spending | More locally funded |
| Walton | Similar size | Similar spending | More locally funded |
| Flagler | Similar size | Lower spending | More locally funded |
| Hendry | Similar size | Lower spending | Less locally funded |
| Putnam | Similar size | Similar spending | Similar funding mix |
Comparisons are relative to Highlands's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
See how this district compares to others in enrollment, spending, demographics, and academic resources.
Compare vs Miami-Dade →Highlands has 22 schools, including 3 high, 2 middle, 16 combined, 1 elementary. Total enrollment is 12,362 students.
Highlands spends $11,874 per student. The district has an equity score of 66/100, ranking #16 in Florida.
Highlands students are 39.6% Hispanic or Latino, 35.7% White, 19.6% African American, 1.2% Asian, averaged across 22 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
Highlands has an equity score of 66/100, ranking #16 out of 67 districts in Florida.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.