CRC - 2017 P 6003
By the Committee on Style and Drafting
350-00433-17 20176003__
1
2 REVISION 3
3
4 A proposal to amend Section 4 of Article IX and create
5 a new section in Article XII of the State Constitution
6 to establish a limitation on the period for which a
7 person may be elected as a member of a district school
8 board; to specify which schools are operated,
9 controlled, and supervised by a school board; and to
10 create a new section in Article IX of the State
11 Constitution to require the Legislature to provide for
12 the promotion of civic literacy in public education.
13
14 Be It Proposed by the Constitution Revision Commission of
15 Florida:
16
17 Section 4 of Article IX of the State Constitution is
18 amended, and a new section is added to that article, to read:
19 ARTICLE IX
20 EDUCATION
21 SECTION 4. School districts; school boards.—
22 (a) Each county shall constitute a school district;
23 provided, two or more contiguous counties, upon vote of the
24 electors of each county pursuant to law, may be combined into
25 one school district. In each school district there shall be a
26 school board composed of five or more members chosen by vote of
27 the electors in a nonpartisan election for appropriately
28 staggered terms of four years, as provided by law.
29 (b) A person may not appear on the ballot for re-election
30 to the office of school board if, by the end of the current term
31 of office, the person would have served, or but for resignation
32 would have served, in that office for eight consecutive years.
33 (c)(b) The school board shall operate, control, and
34 supervise all free public schools established by the district
35 school board within the school district and determine the rate
36 of school district taxes within the limits prescribed herein.
37 Two or more school districts may operate and finance joint
38 educational programs.
39 Civic literacy.—As education is essential to the
40 preservation of the rights and liberties of the people, the
41 legislature shall provide by law for the promotion of civic
42 literacy in order to ensure that students enrolled in public
43 education understand and are prepared to exercise their rights
44 and responsibilities as citizens of a constitutional republic.
45
46 A new section is added to Article XII of the State
47 Constitution to read:
48 ARTICLE XII
49 SCHEDULE
50 Limitation on terms of office for members of a district
51 school board.-This section and the amendment to Section 4 of
52 Article IX imposing term limits for the terms of office for
53 members of a district school board shall take effect on the date
54 it is approved by the electorate, but no service in a term of
55 office which commenced prior to November 6, 2018, will be
56 counted against the limitation imposed by this amendment.
57
58 BE IT FURTHER PROPOSED that the following statement be placed on
59 the ballot:
60
61 CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
62 ARTICLE IX, SECTION 4, NEW SECTION
63 ARTICLE XII, NEW SECTION
64 SCHOOL BOARD TERM LIMITS AND DUTIES; PUBLIC SCHOOLS.—
65 Creates a term limit of eight consecutive years for school board
66 members and requires the legislature to provide for the
67 promotion of civic literacy in public schools. Currently,
68 district school boards have a constitutional duty to operate,
69 control, and supervise all public schools. The amendment
70 maintains a school board’s duties to public schools it
71 establishes, but permits the state to operate, control, and
72 supervise public schools not established by the school board.