Talking Points
- The ultimate form of term limits comes at the ballot box. If voters want their school board members to serve only twelve years they are fully capable of making that decision for themselves.
- While term limits for school board members might sound good, there could be some unintended consequences for voters. The true intent is to further weaken school boards’ power to shift local control up to the state level.
- As with most new education regulations discussed in the Legislature, this bill has no mention of charter schools or voucher schools. If legislators truly believed in the importance of limiting the service of board members, they would apply the rule to all schools receiving public funds.
Updated Information
Senate Joint Resolution 1216, filed by Joe Gruters, would place a constitutional amendment on the ballot for all Floridians to vote on. Specifically, the amendment would limit school board members to serving only two terms (eight years) in office.
SJR 1216 passed its first committee, Senate Ethics and Elections with a 4-3 vote, on Monday, February 3rd.
What’s Next
Because a joint resolution is the method the Legislature uses to propose amendments to the state constitution, they require a three-fifths vote in each chamber instead of a simple majority.
The bill has passed its first two committees and has one final stop in the Rules Committees before it can go to the full Senate for a vote.
Companion Bill
HJR 157 is the companion bill.
Vote History
2/3/2020 Ethics and Elections Committee voted 4-3 in favor
2/10/2020 Senate Education Committee voted 5-3 in favor
Our Position
We oppose this bill.
Video Updates
2/3/2020 Ethics & Elections Committee Discussion of SJR 1216 starts 29 minutes into the meeting.
2/10/2020 Education Committee Discussion of SJR 1216 starts 45 seconds into the meeting.
