A legislative proposal to ask voters to relax class-size limits on Friday joined a host of other proposed constitutional amendments being challenged in court.
The Florida Education Association on Friday filed suit in a Tallahassee Circuit Court against Amendment 8, arguing that the proposal is misleading and flies under false colors by failing to inform voters that it relaxes restrictions placed on class sizes by voters in 2002.
The FEA contends passage of Amendment 8 would reduce the states constitutional funding obligation to public schools by giving local districts more flexibility in determining how many students could be taught in a single classroom.
Lawmakers earlier this year approved a proposed amendment that would go on the ballot in November, asking voters to allow class-size caps to continue to be determined on a school-wide level.
Backers say the proposal would allow school administrators more flexibility in responding to the needs of particular schools without throwing out the protections envisioned by the original amendment.
Critics counter that voters were explicit in wanting smaller class sizes and relaxing the standards would inevitably lead to some classes having more students than specified in the original amendment.
The ballot title of Amendment 8 is misleading in that it purports to be a revision of the (2002) class-size requirements the lawsuit alleges. In effect, it reduces the class-size reduction funding required presently by giving the Legislature the ability to reduce the funding to public schools without advising the voter of such funding reduction.
Along with the FEA, plaintiffs in the case include FEA President Andy Ford and Lynette Estrada, a resident of Miami-Dade County who has a child in public school. Defendants include Dawn Roberts, interim secretary of the Florida Department of State, which defends ballot initiatives already approved for the ballot.
The Florida Legislature devised a classic scheme of hiding the ball from Florida voters by misrepresenting the chief purpose of Amendment 8, which is to reduce the states obligation to adequately fund public schools, FEAs attorney, Ron Meyer, said in a statement.
Rep. Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, House sponsor of Amendment 8, predicted the proposal would withstand judicial review and go before voters in November. He also disagreed with the plaintiffs argument that the change would take money away from schools, saying passage would allow principals and superintendents more flexibility to use money that had been tied up in classroom construction to purchase technology, teacher bonuses and other expenses that would improve the student experience.
This has nothing to do with money, Weatherford told the News Service on Friday. It has everything to do with giving flexibility to schools.
