Sue Legg, former education director of the Florida League of Women Voters and a newly elected member of the board of the Network for Public Education, writes here about a decision rendered by the Florida Supreme Court on January 4. This decision bodes ill for the children and public schools of Florida.
Sue Legg writes:
Article IX of Florida’s constitution, ratified by the state’s voters in 1998, called for the state to make adequate provision for the education of all children to have a uniform, efficient, safe, secure, and high quality system of free public schools…. In 2009, the Citizens for Strong Schools lawsuit began its arduous journey to the Florida Supreme Court. The plaintiffs had argued that Florida’s choice system failed its constitutional mandate. In one example, the plaintiffs cited data showing “one million Florida minority students (1/2 of all students), moreover, do not read at grade level”.
The defense defined educational quality as ‘continuous progress’. Thus, in the state’s view, if test scores go up, the system is working. NAEP was the standard used to show improvement. There has been improvement in Florida’s NAEP scores over the past twenty years. The state claimed that the improvement in achievement was attributed to the quality of teachers and administrators and the pressure from school choice. The plaintiffs argued that improvement is fine, but the achievement is still low. Moreover, a high quality system gives access to all children, not just some.
At its core, the lawsuit was about adequate funding to meet children’s needs. If the plaintiffs had won the lawsuit, they would have asked for a cost study so that requirements would be aligned with resources. In the current choice system, funding to support charter and private schools drains needed resources from public schools. Florida’s per student funding is one of the lowest in the nation.
In January 2019, the Court in a contentious 4/3 split decision, rejected the claims of the plaintiff. The majority opinion of the court was that the terms ‘high quality’ and ‘efficient’ are ambiguous and do not create judiciable standards. Education policy and funding are in the domain of the legislature, not the judicial system. Chief Justice Canady said: the plaintiffs “failed to provide any manageable standard by which to avoid judicial intrusion into other branches of government”. The minority opinions stated that the majority opinion “eviscerates the 1998 opinion…only time will truly reveal the depth of the injury inflicted upon Florida’s children”.
What is the correct basis for the legal argument? is it a rational basis or must the state comply with specific requirements to provide a high quality education? A Wikipedia explanation stated that it is easier to define a rational basis by what it is not. It is not a genuine effort…to inquire whether a statute does in fact further a legitimate end of government. I found a quote attributed to Thurgood Marshall…the constitution does not prohibit legislatures from enacting stupid laws. The case may may have hinged on the interpretation of the legal basis of the case. It reminds me of a saying I have heard often: Is it close enough for government work or do we have to get it right?
Where do Florida citizenss go next to garner support for the education of its children?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Florida obviously is under a “spell.”
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So, when one side of an argument becomes convinced that their opponents have rigged the system, violence becomes the discussion, and the fringes of thought become accepted avenues for assertion of power. Revolutions begin. Associated ideas without basis are legitimized in the minds of those who feel dominated. The gun. The guilotine.
Thus the path of a society which forgets its own.
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Great line: “…Associated ideas without basis are legitimized in the minds of those who feel dominated.”
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Many state statutes contain terms that are open to interpretation. Many states include the thorough and efficient clause or in Florida’s case “uniform, efficient, safe, secure, and high quality system of free public schools.” When these terms are litigated, it depends a great deal on the judge that is doing the interpreting. A liberal judge may define these terms one way, but a conservative is looking at the terms through a different value system. Florida has been under the thumb of conservatives for many years. That is why #45’s legacy will haunt us for decades. He has appointed many federal judges and two very conservative members of the Supreme Court.https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/11/19/donald-trumps-judges-making-courts-more-conservative-slowly/2005281002/
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retired teacher
You are correct about the unusual proliferation of terms in Florida’s legal language: “uniform, efficient, safe, secure, and high-quality system of free public schools.” The Parkland massacre produced legislation framed as if was about safety and security: Teachers are now allowed to have guns in school.
“High-quality” is tossed around as if the meaning of that term was clear and never contradicted by demands for a “uniform and efficient” system of free public schools. What does “free” mean in this context? What is a “uniform and efficient” system? It sounds to me like a mandate for “one size fits all” along with a method of telling which efficiencies get the most bang for the buck.
I have lstudies federal and state legislation long enough to pay attention to “definitions.” Many definitions are forged by lobbyists, but with no real expectation that the definitions will be litigated. Here are two examples of legal language from ESSA.
ESSA SEC. 6151. ø20 U.S.C. 7491 DEFINITIONS. FREE PUBLIC EDUCATION.
—The term ‘‘free public education’’ means education that is— (A) provided at public expense, under public supervision and direction, and without tuition charge; and (B) provided as elementary or secondary education in the applicable State or to preschool children.
Compare that minimalist definition with the following one, also from ESSA, with a thick semantic structure set forth in a dozen major criteria, each of these with even more qualifiers. Where did these criteria come from? Does this legislative language matter if there are no legal obligations to the act in accordance with this (jargon-filled) language?
ESSA TITLE II Subpart 2—Literacy Education For All) p. 228-229
(b) DEFINITIONS.--In this subpart: `(1) COMPREHENSIVE LITERACY INSTRUCTION.--The term `comprehensive literacy instruction' means instruction that--`(A) includes developmentally appropriate, contextually explicit, and systematic instruction, and frequent practice, in reading and writing across content areas;(B) includes age-appropriate, explicit, systematic, and intentional instruction in phonological awareness, phonic decoding, vocabulary, language structure, reading fluency, and reading comprehension; C) includes age-appropriate, explicit instruction in writing, including opportunities for children to write with clear purposes, with critical reasoning appropriate to the topic and purpose, and with specific instruction and feedback from instructional staff;(D) makes available and uses diverse, high-quality print materials that reflect the reading and development levels, and interests, of children;(E) uses differentiated instructional approaches, including individual and small group instruction and discussion;(F) provides opportunities for children to use language with peers and adults in order to develop language skills, including developing vocabulary; ``(G) includes frequent practice of reading and writing strategies;(H) uses age-appropriate, valid, and reliable screening assessments, diagnostic assessments, formative assessment processes, and summative assessments to identify a child’s learning needs, to inform instruction, and to monitor the child’s progress and the effects of instruction;(I) uses strategies to enhance children's motivation to read and write and children's engagement in self-directed learning; ``(J) incorporates the principles of universal design for learning;``(K) depends on teachers' collaboration in planning, instruction, and assessing a child's progress and on continuous professional learning; and(L) links literacy instruction to the challenging State academic standards, including the ability to navigate, understand, and write about, complex print and digital subject matter.”I am not a lawyer or an expert in literacy instruction. The Florida legislation seems to throw the question of education back to the legislature.
The judges in Florida seem to think that the legislature is responsible for articulating a “manageable standard by which to avoid judicial intrusion into other branches of government.” This is Florida’s version of a “separation of powers doctrine.”
I wonder whether the language in ESSA “Comprehensive Literacy Instruction” comports with the Florida judge who is seeks a “manageable standard by which to avoid judicial intrusion into other branches of government.”
Or, do Florida’s “choice” plans mean that both the judicial and legislative branches of government are free of obligations–anything that can be sold to parents as a choice is fine, even when the school or provider of educational services chooses the student in order to maximize profits.
And that seems to be what the judges and legislature want–delagate authority to the parents, step aside and let the markets determine what counts as education and for whom.
Click to access Elementary%20And%20Secondary%20Education%20Act%20Of%201965.pdf
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“Where do Florida citizenss go next to garner support for the education of its children?”
Thomas Jefferson offered advice when there is no other nonviolent method to stop the corruption of power.
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Lloyd I would like to know more about Thomas Jefferson , I know a little bit about Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. Civil and his peaceful movements, people in Florida don’t know much about leaders , and the education is getting worse . Lloyd Lloyd a famous Cuban writer said this phrase. ” Ignorance kills the people. ” To be honest I would like more than to resolve everything in a peaceful way, violence has been part of history and has not been good, in wars there are no winners. Everyone loses, God will bring a world where these corrupt ones that are destroying us all have to face the final judgment and just for God, May God bless people with a heart like you, I know you are a fierce justice’s defender and I really have a great respect for you. I think that Florida is getting like Cuba, Sounds pretty bad Lloyd but I do not want to go, Cuba is not the right place for me and Florida does not seem to be the place where I have to keep looking at the moral deterioration of society and teaching people good things or at least try because when you are not a welcome people everything it’s very difficult to handle and understand , I know you understand because you know how many I went through because Choice leaders are ruining this State .
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I suggest you start with this site:
“Thomas Jefferson, a Brief Biography”
https://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/thomas-jefferson-brief-biography
Jefferson was human like all the rest of us. He wasn’t perfect. Today, I’m sure the Alt-Right media would be attacking him, if he were alive today, more than they have ever attacked Bill and Hillary Clinton.
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Thanks Lloyd , Thomas Jefferson enciclopedia its pretty interesting. By the way Lloyd , I was recommend to right a book depends on topics. I worked like to right a decent history but many individuals won’t like my idea . It’s interesting but stressed, everything getting worse , like a year ago you told me the future is bleak and today I’m going to replay the present is bleak and the future ? Take care ,
“Book sales are dependent on any number of factors including the quality of the book, the author’s ability and motivation to reach audiences, and reader interest in a particular topic. While we provide information and services to give authors the opportunity to build a platform, we do not guarantee book sales.”
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By the way you are right Clinton Family has been very criticized because the last election bring to much stress to the country , Bill Clinton did a great Job , I think was the best president running the economy on top that Reagan , I don’t know why people that did good things are target of criticized and others evil doing a lot of evils things and people call them the way to make America greater again , people are Blain or don’t want to hear the truth Sadly .
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Inside their biased bubbles, their wealth buys power and that power is a corrupting influence. And they think they have the right to do it even if it is illegal and/or unconstitutional.
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I read a little bit about Thomas Jefferson and I found that Abraham Lincoln like Jefferson’s ways of do things rights .
included in the Declaration had not been fully realized and would remain a challenge across time, but his poetic vision continues to have a profound influence in the United States and around the world. Abraham Lincoln made just this point when he declared:
All honor to Jefferson – to the man who, in the concrete pressure of a struggle for national independence by a single people, had the coolness, forecast, and capacity to introduce into a merely revolutionary document, an abstract truth, and so to embalm it there, that to-day and in all coming days, it shall be a rebuke and a stumbling-block to the very harbingers of reappearing tyranny and oppression.
Lloyd could BORN or borne all ready at least one person as Thomas Jefferson or Abraham Lincoln ? If yes what they will do after find out that the constitution is a mess ?
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