The Implications of Florida's 1998 Constitutional Revision on Education Finance Reform : A Legal Analysis Of Florida' s 1998 Constitution Revision Concerning Its Impact To The Legitimacy Of Florida's Education Financing Plan

Children of extreme poverty, who attend schools in impoverished neighborhoods,
traditionally fall years behind their counterparts before they reach school age. While there
have been numerous studies done on the effects of poverty on student achievement, there
are few remedies for closing the gap for students in poverty. Additionally, educators in
schools that serve a majority of students of poverty find that they have limited resources
but are given more mandates than schools in economically richer areas.
With the increasing mandates of the No Child Left Behind Act, educators are
struggling to incorporate the new demands into budget that are stretched beyond capacity.
Are there strategies that advocates for better education can use to mobilize legislators to
make greater provisions for education? The members of the Florida Constitution Revision Commission felt that they
could bring change to the educational provisions by changing their state 's constitution.
They changed the terms of art of the education article of Florida's constitution to increase
the duty required of the legislature to provide for education. Further, they provided a
definition of their concept of adequate provisions for education.
This study seeks to determine if the change ofthe language of the educational
article of Florida's constitution will impact the outcome of a challenge to the adequacy of
the Florida's educational provisions.