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Judge strikes 'misleading' Amendment 8, related to schools, from Florida's November ballot
By Leslie Postal
A judge in Tallahassee this morning struck Amendment 8 from Florida's November ballot, saying the three-pronged measure about schools was "misleading" and failed to inform voters of its purpose.
The ruling was a victory for the League of Women Voters of Florida, which last month filed a lawsuit seeking to block it from the ballot, saying voters should not be asked to change Florida's Constitution based on unclear and deceptive language.
Amendment 8 includes three proposed changes to the state constitution, unrelated except that they all deal with public schools. The most controversial deals with charter schools and the other two with term limits for school board members and the teaching of civic literacy.
The lawsuit focused on the section of Amendment 8 that would add a phrase that says local school boards could control only the public schools they established. It was proposed as a way to make it easier for charter schools — publicly funded but privately run schools — or other new educational options to flourish. Now, charter schools need local school board approval to open, but that requirement would vanish if the proposal passed.
Judge John Cooper of Leon County Circuit Court — who heard arguments in the lawsuit last week — criticized that section in his ruling because he noted it is about charter schools yet doesn't use that term. As a result, he wrote, it "fails to inform voters of the chief purpose and effect of this proposal."
The proposal doesn't make it clear to voters the role school boards play now in establishing new schools, Cooper said, nor explain how that would change, if the measure passed.
The state's Constitution Revision Commission, he added, should not have bundled the three unrelated items together or packaged them under a "misleading" summary.
The proposal, one of 13 slated to appear on the November ballot, was proposed by the commission, which was charged with suggesting changes to the state constitution .The commission included mostly appointees of Gov. Rick Scott and of legislative leaders.
Amendment 8 was one of the most controversial and promoted lots of debate — and then the lawsuit.
A spokesman for Attorney General Pam Bondi said the state was reviewing the ruling, which it can appeal.
The league called Cooper's decision "a great day for Florida voters."
The commission "knew exactly what they were doing when they drafted Amendment 8 — grouping a controversial measure with popular ideas in an effort to hoodwink voters, then using vague and misleading language to hide that fact," said Patricia Brigham, the league's president, in a statement.
"Amendment 8 would have used the feel-good language of civic education and term limits to lure voters into voting Yes, while wresting local control of schools," she said. "We were confident that the courts would see through the charade and are thrilled that they agree."
In court papers, attorneys for the state argued Amendment 8 used "clear and unambiguous language" and voters should be allowed to decide whether to make it part of the state constitution.
A group formed to promote the amendment's passage, 8isGreat.org, called the judge's decision "disappointing" and an effort to limit school choice.
The group is led by Erika Donalds, a Collier County School Board member who was on the commission and proposed the measure.
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"The group suing to remove Amendment 8 from the ballot fundamentally opposes empowering families to choose the education setting that best fits their child," Donalds said in a statement. " Despite the speculation and bunk they've spread, I hope voters will be able to make their own decision in November. It is disgusting how many misrepresentations the opposition is willing to put forth to block student-centered school choice options."
Like other proposed amendments, Amendment 8, if on the ballot, would need 60 percent of voters to give it a "yes" vote in order to pass.
postal@orlandosentinel.com 407-420-5273
Lawsuit seeks to proposed constitutional Amendment 8 from Florida's ballot »
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