Florida justices ask pointed questions during hearing on Amendment 8

Florida Supreme Court justices poked holes in both sides of an ongoing debate whether to place Amendment 8 back on the November ballot during a 45-minute hearing Wednesday afternoon.  They didn’t issue a ruling, but one is expected soon. Read More

Status of up to seven Nov. 6 measures uncertain as ballot-mailing deadline nears

Legal challenges to at least three and, perhaps, seven of the 13 proposed Constitutional amendments Florida voters will see Nov. 6 remain unresolved as the deadline for mailing ballots to out-of-state voters draws near.  The Florida Supreme Court has scheduled two hearings Wednesday – one day after the deadline to set ballots for mailing by Sept.…

State responds to challenge of six bundled amendment proposals, calls them proper

Hours after a Leon County judge tossed proposed constitutional Amendment 8 off the November ballot, calling it misleading, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi filed a 47-page document asking the Supreme Court to leave the measure and five others on the ballot.  Hers was a response to a separate challenge, filed a week earlier by former chief justice…

Opinion – Ferrandino: Privatization weakens public schools

We are in a hidden battle in Florida, and in Sarasota County, to save our public schools. It’s one reason this primary election is so important.  Public schools in Sarasota remain a source of pride and hope in our community. The Sarasota County School District has received an A rating for the 15th consecutive year…

Judge orders Amendment 8 be removed from Florida ballot

A Leon county judge ordered that Amendment 8, the amendment that would have created a pathway for the state to oversee charter schools and bypass local school boards, be removed from the ballot.  Judge John Cooper wrote in a summary judgement Monday morning that the amendment should be removed “because its ballot title and summary…

RECORD EDITORIAL: Amendment 8: Smoke & mirrors

It’s hard to imagine how toxic Florida’s political landscape might be today, had its legislature and governor been free to act over the past decade without the oversight of the judicial.  Certainly Democrats tested their limits back when they were in power. But the GOP has pushed legislative trickery to all new levels. Read More

Gradebook podcast: Should Amendment 8 remain on Florida’s November ballot?

The Leon County Courthouse was the scene Friday for the first of what looks to be several showdowns over the fate of Amendment 8, a Constitution Revision Commission proposal to change portions of the state constitution’s education article.  The proposal aims to do three things — set school board term limits, embed civics education in…

Former Florida chief justice challenges Amendment 8, five others as unconstitutionally bundled

Retired Florida chief justice Harry Lee Anstead has asked his former panel to require justification for why six proposed constitutional amendments including Amendment 8 should remain on the November ballot, or to toss them out.  Anstead, joined by former Florida Elections commissioner Robert Barnas, contend in their filing to the state Supreme Court that the six…