Florida Senate - 2006 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SJR 1150
Barcode 630562
CHAMBER ACTION
Senate House
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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
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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.
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30 The class size requirements of this subsection do not apply to
31 extracurricular or virtual classes. Payment of the costs
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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