AMENDMENT #9
AMENDMENT #9: REQUIRING 65 PERCENT OF SCHOOL FUNDING FOR CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION; STATE’S DUTY FOR CHILDREN’S EDUCATION
Reference: Article IX, section 8; Article XII, section 28
Summary: Requires at least 65 percent of school funding received by school districts be spent on classroom instruction, rather than administration; allows for differences in administrative expenditures by district. Provides the constitutional requirement for the state to provide a “uniform, efficient, safe, secure, and high quality system of free public schools” is a minimum, nonexclusive duty. Reverses legal precedent prohibiting public funding of private school alternatives to public school programs without creating an entitlement.
Sponsor: Florida Budget and Taxation Reform Commission
Background: The Florida appellate courts held in 2004 and 2006 that religious-school vouchers paid for by tax dollars are unconstitutional under the Florida constitution. This amendment, along with Amendment 7, would nullify one of the sections of the Florida Constitution that prevented the voucher system from becoming law.
PRO:
* Some parents believe they are discriminated against by current law, which allows public economic support of public but not private schooling.
* Public money will be used to fund private schools and vouchers.
CON:
* The amendment would remove money from the public-school system by re-routing tax money earmarked for education to private schools.
* The 65% figure is arbitrary and has no basis in educational research.
* Voters may oppose one of the amendment’s goals and approve of the other, and may not know whether to vote for or against the amendment for that reason.
* The amendment “hides the ball:” it affects voucher programs but does not mention them by name
