ENROLLED
2017 CRC P 6003
20176003er
1
2 REVISION 3
3 A proposal to revise the State Constitution by the Constitution
4 Revision Commission of Florida.
5
6 A proposed revision relating to education; amending
7 Section 4 of Article IX and creating a new section in
8 Article XII of the State Constitution to establish a
9 limitation on the period for which a person may serve
10 as a member of a district school board; amending
11 Section 4 of Article IX of the State Constitution to
12 specify which schools are operated, controlled, and
13 supervised by a school board; and creating a new
14 section in Article IX of the State Constitution to
15 require the Legislature to provide for the promotion
16 of civic literacy in public education.
17
18 Be It Proposed by the Constitution Revision Commission of
19 Florida:
20
21 Section 4 of Article IX of the State Constitution is
22 amended, and a new section is added to that article, to read:
23 ARTICLE IX
24 EDUCATION
25 SECTION 4. School districts; school boards.—
26 (a) Each county shall constitute a school district;
27 provided, two or more contiguous counties, upon vote of the
28 electors of each county pursuant to law, may be combined into
29 one school district. In each school district there shall be a
30 school board composed of five or more members chosen by vote of
31 the electors in a nonpartisan election for appropriately
32 staggered terms of four years, as provided by law. A person may
33 not appear on the ballot for re-election to the office of school
34 board if, by the end of the current term of office, the person
35 would have served, or but for resignation would have served, in
36 that office for eight consecutive years.
37 (b) The school board shall operate, control, and supervise
38 all free public schools established by the district school board
39 within the school district and determine the rate of school
40 district taxes within the limits prescribed herein. Two or more
41 school districts may operate and finance joint educational
42 programs.
43 SECTION . Civic literacy.—As education is essential to the
44 preservation of the rights and liberties of the people, the
45 legislature shall provide by law for the promotion of civic
46 literacy in order to ensure that students enrolled in public
47 education understand and are prepared to exercise their rights
48 and responsibilities as citizens of a constitutional republic.
49
50 A new section is added to Article XII of the State
51 Constitution to read:
52 ARTICLE XII
53 SCHEDULE
54 Limitation on terms of office for members of a district
55 school board.-This section and the amendment to Section 4 of
56 Article IX imposing term limits for the terms of office for
57 members of a district school board shall take effect on the date
58 it is approved by the electorate, but no service in a term of
59 office which commenced prior to November 6, 2018, will be
60 counted against the limitation imposed by this amendment.
61
62 BE IT FURTHER PROPOSED that the following statement be placed on
63 the ballot:
64
65 CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
66 ARTICLE IX, SECTION 4, NEW SECTION
67 ARTICLE XII, NEW SECTION
68 SCHOOL BOARD TERM LIMITS AND DUTIES; PUBLIC SCHOOLS.—
69 Creates a term limit of eight consecutive years for school board
70 members and requires the legislature to provide for the
71 promotion of civic literacy in public schools. Currently,
72 district school boards have a constitutional duty to operate,
73 control, and supervise all public schools. The amendment
74 maintains a school board’s duties to public schools it
75 establishes, but permits the state to operate, control, and
76 supervise public schools not established by the school board.