Proposed: Florida Constitutional Amendment 8 School Board Term Limits; Allow State to Operate Non-Board Established Schools; Civic Literacy Amendment (2018)
Posted October 2, 2018 05:30 am
Amendment 8: By order of the Florida Supreme Court, NO. 8 CONSTITUTIONAL REVISION (Ballot title: School Board Term Limits and Duties; Public Schools) is removed from the 2018 General Election Ballot. See SC18-1368. The numbering for the remaining proposed amendments will not change and will appear on the ballot as currently numbered.
Ballot summary: Florida Amendment 8, the School Board Term Limits, Allow State to Operate Non-Board Established Schools, and Civic Literacy Amendment, is not on the ballot in Florida as a commission referral on November 6, 2018.[1]
Florida voters could
face twelve different proposed amendments to
the state Constitution on Nov. 6 – one of
the longest lists ever. The amendments
include complex changes to tax policy,
banning offshore oil drilling and greyhound
racing, expanding gambling, automatically
restoring voting rights for ex-felons,
setting new rules on lobbying, and whether
Florida should ban vaping in public places.
Some of the amendments
“bundle” several different ideas into one,
meaning voters may be forced to vote for
something they don’t like in order to
approve something they want, or vice versa.
(Three of the amendments are mired
in a legal challenge that’s
before the Florida Supreme Court)
What it’s about?
A "yes" vote would have:
• Established a
term limit of eight consecutive years for
school board members.
• Allowed the state government to operate,
supervise, and control public schools not
established by the school board;
• Required the
legislature to promote civic literacy in
public education.
A "no" vote would have opposed:
• Establishment
of a term limit of eight consecutive years
for school board members
• Allowing the state government to operate,
supervise, and control public schools not
established by the school board
• Requiring the legislature to promote civic
literacy in public education
The Court Took This Mess off the
Ballot
On August 20, 2018, Amendment 8 was blocked from the ballot by a court ruling that stated the ballot title and ballot summary were misleading. The state appealed the ruling, and the Florida Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.
On September 7, 2018, the Supreme Court upheld the lower court's ruling and ordered the amendment to be kept from the ballot.
