Florida Senate - 2006                      COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
    Bill No. SJR 1150
                        Barcode 630562
                            CHAMBER ACTION
              Senate                               House
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 1           Comm: FAV             .                    
       04/25/2006 11:27 AM         .                    
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11  The Committee on Education Appropriations (Wise) recommended
12  the following amendment:
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14         Senate Amendment (with title amendment) 
15         Delete everything after the resolving clause
16  
17  and insert:  
18         That the following amendment to Section 1 of Article IX
19  of the State Constitution is agreed to and shall be submitted
20  to the electors of this state for approval or rejection at the
21  next general election or at an earlier special election
22  specifically authorized by law for that purpose:
23                            ARTICLE IX
24                            EDUCATION
25         Section 1.  Public education.--
26         (a)  The education of children is a fundamental value
27  of the people of the State of Florida. It is, therefore, a
28  paramount duty of the state to make adequate provision for the
29  education of all children residing within its borders.
30  Adequate provision shall be made by law for a uniform,
31  efficient, safe, secure, and high quality system of free
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Florida Senate - 2006 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT Bill No. SJR 1150 Barcode 630562 1 public schools that allows students to obtain a high quality 2 education and for the establishment, maintenance, and 3 operation of institutions of higher learning and other public 4 education programs that the needs of the people may require. 5 (b) To assure that children attending public schools 6 obtain a high quality education, the legislature shall make 7 adequate provision to ensure that, by the beginning of the 8 2009-2010 2010 school year and for each school year 9 thereafter, there are a sufficient number of classrooms so 10 that: 11 (1) The school district average maximum number of 12 students who are assigned to each teacher who is teaching in 13 public school classrooms for prekindergarten through grade 3 14 does not exceed 18 students and the number of students who are 15 assigned to one teacher in an individual class does not exceed 16 23 students; 17 (2) The school district average maximum number of 18 students who are assigned to each teacher who is teaching in 19 public school classrooms for grades 4 through 8 does not 20 exceed 22 students and the number of students who are assigned 21 to one teacher in an individual class does not exceed 27 22 students; and 23 (3) The school district average maximum number of 24 students who are assigned to each teacher who is teaching in 25 public school classrooms for grades 9 through 12 does not 26 exceed 25 students and the number of students who are assigned 27 to one teacher in an individual class does not exceed 30 28 students. 29 30 The class size requirements of this subsection do not apply to 31 extracurricular or virtual classes. Payment of the costs 2 12:03 PM 04/21/06 s1150d-ea05-t8u
Florida Senate - 2006 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT Bill No. SJR 1150 Barcode 630562 1 associated with reducing class size to meet these requirements 2 is the responsibility of the state and not of local school 3 schools districts. Beginning with the 2003-2004 fiscal year, 4 the legislature shall provide sufficient funds to reduce the 5 school district average class size number of students in each 6 classroom by at least two students per year until the school 7 district average class size for each of the grade groupings 8 maximum number of students per classroom does not exceed the 9 requirements of this subsection. 10 (c) By the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year and 11 for each school year thereafter, at least sixty-five percent 12 of total funds, as defined by law, received by school 13 districts for operational expenditures shall be expended for 14 purposes directly related to classroom instruction, as defined 15 by law. 16 (d) In exceptional circumstances a school district may 17 request from the governor a temporary waiver of the class size 18 requirements of subsection (b) or the classroom instruction 19 expenditure requirement of subsection (c), which the governor 20 may grant, partially grant, or deny. 21 (e)(1)(b) Every four-year old child in Florida shall 22 be provided by the state a high quality prekindergarten 23 pre-kindergarten learning opportunity in the form of an early 24 childhood development and education program which shall be 25 voluntary, high quality, free, and delivered according to 26 professionally accepted standards. An early childhood 27 development and education program means an organized program 28 designed to address and enhance each child's ability to make 29 age appropriate progress in an appropriate range of settings 30 in the development of language and cognitive capabilities and 31 emotional, social, regulatory, and moral capacities through 3 12:03 PM 04/21/06 s1150d-ea05-t8u
Florida Senate - 2006 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT Bill No. SJR 1150 Barcode 630562 1 education in basic skills and such other skills as the 2 legislature may determine to be appropriate. 3 (2)(c) The early childhood education and development 4 programs provided by reason of this subsection subparagraph 5 (b) shall be implemented no later than the beginning of the 6 2005 school year through funds generated in addition to those 7 used for existing education, health, and development programs. 8 Existing education, health, and development programs are those 9 funded by the state as of January 1, 2002, that provided for 10 child or adult education, health care, or development. 11 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the following statement be 12 placed on the ballot: 13 CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT 14 ARTICLE IX, SECTION 1 15 REQUIRING 65 PERCENT OF EDUCATION FUNDS FOR CLASSROOM 16 RELATED INSTRUCTION; FLEXIBLE CLASS SIZE REDUCTION 17 IMPLEMENTATION.--Proposing an amendment to the State 18 Constitution to require school districts to expend at least 65 19 percent of their operational funds for classroom related 20 instruction as defined by law; to provide flexibility for 21 school districts in meeting class size reduction requirements 22 by calculating compliance at a school district average number 23 of students who are assigned to a teacher in specified grades; 24 to specify the maximum number of students who may be assigned 25 to one teacher in an individual class; to require 26 implementation of the class size reduction requirements and 27 the classroom instruction expenditure requirement by the 28 beginning of the 2009-2010 school year and for each school 29 year thereafter; to exempt virtual classes from the class size 30 requirements; and to authorize, in exceptional circumstances, 31 a school district to request from the Governor a temporary 4 12:03 PM 04/21/06 s1150d-ea05-t8u
Florida Senate - 2006 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT Bill No. SJR 1150 Barcode 630562 1 waiver of the class size reduction requirements or the 2 65-percent classroom instruction expenditure requirement. 3 4 5 ================ T I T L E A M E N D M E N T =============== 6 And the title is amended as follows: 7 Delete everything before the resolving clause 8 9 and insert: 10 Senate Joint Resolution 11 A joint resolution proposing an amendment to 12 Section 1 of Article IX of the State 13 Constitution relating to public education. 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 5 12:03 PM 04/21/06 s1150d-ea05-t8u