William Nicholas Sheats (March 5, 1851 – July 19, 1922)[1] was an American educator and politician who was called the "Father of Florida's Public School System.

Sheats was a paternalistic racist, insisting on segregation between Black and white students in all levels of education.

The Sheats Law, passed in 1895, prohibited white teachers from instructing Black students and forbid Black and white students from learning in the same classroom, even if the schools were privately operated.

The law led to the arrest of the school's principal, several educators and patrons, and a minister in 1896.

During his tenure, he fortified Florida's compulsory school attendance law as well as standardized teacher training and textbook selection.