Lawmakers and teachers clash over Florida’s upcoming constitutional amendment | Politics News

A constitutional amendment up for a vote in November that would turn Florida school board elections into partisan races is stirring controversy among Democrats and educators, some of whom see it as a power play by the state’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis.

If the ballot question passes in the November general election, school board candidates will be required to list their political parties beginning in November 2026.

Forcing candidates to run under party names would infuse “dirty” politics – and big political spending – into contests that should focus on how to better educate children, opponents of the proposal say.

On the other hand, Republican lawmakers who spearheaded Amendment 1 argue that voters need to know candidates’ political affiliations in order to be adequately informed.

“School board elections are one of the few political spaces left where our elected officials can put aside their partisan affiliations and come together for the good of our students,” said Florida public school teacher Grace Hayes as she joined educators in Tallahassee to speak out against partisan races last year.

“Forcing school board candidates to choose a partisan side in an already hostile and complicated political climate is the worst thing we can do for our students, teachers and education stakeholders,” she added.

Greater transparency

Florida House member Spencer Roach, a Republican who sponsored a bill to put the constitutional amendment on the ballot, denied that partisan elections would help the GOP gain control of schools.

“This isn’t about promoting the causes of Republicans or Democrats,” Roach said during the legislative debate. “This is simply about transparency. I think as policymakers, we have an obligation to provide voters with as much information as possible about a candidate.”

Most of the nation’s school board races are nonpartisan, in an effort to keep politics out of decisions about education and curriculum. But Florida’s conservative politics and ongoing culture wars have lately become a playbook for other red states to follow.

Florida is the third most populous state in the United States and DeSantis has made national headlines for his presidential ambitions and his tight political grip on the levers of power in Tallahassee, the state capital.

No doubt other politicians and educational leaders across the United States are paying close attention to the outcome of Amendment 1 in the Nov. 5 general election, though its chances of success may be slim since a 60 percent majority would be needed to pass.

Amendment 1 is on a packed ballot, along with a presidential race and other election issues in Florida over marijuana legalization and abortion rights. The issue of partisan school elections is easily overshadowed by them.

Florida school boards have recently engaged in sometimes heated debates over politically charged issues, including book bans, bathroom policies for transgender students, “Don’t Say Gay” legislation and so-called “critical race theory,” an academic concept around the impact of America’s history of racism. During the pandemic, COVID-19 mask mandates and school reopenings were also hot topics.

Support from political parties

Both DeSantis and the Florida Democratic Party are already involved in nonpartisan school races and have endorsed several candidates across the state in recent primary elections.

To say that school board elections are nonpartisan is ridiculous, said Florida House Rep. Randy Fine, a Republican and one of the state’s leading cultural conservatives.

“I feel like maybe people live in a world of sunshine, rainbows, unicorns and pixie dust because the idea that our school board elections are nonpartisan today is a farce,” Fine said during lawmakers’ debate last year. “I hope people vote for it.”

Fine argued that a person’s registered party affiliation is often already public information and easy to find on the Internet.

“Think about how absurd it is that we have laws that say you can’t say something about yourself that someone can investigate. It’s crazy,” Fine said.

Opponents of Amendment 1 argue that voters might be inclined to do less research if the amendment passes and instead choose to follow their partisan loyalties.

Critics say changing school boards will also disenfranchise voters. Currently, all voters — Democrats, Republicans and independents who choose not to have a party affiliation — vote in nonpartisan school board elections.

The amendment could discourage candidates

Under the amendment, independent voters would not be able to vote in primaries, and those who want to run for school board elections and are not affiliated with a party could be excluded.

Educators in heavily conservative counties said it is difficult to recruit Democrats to run for local office. That means school board races could be decided in Republican primaries if Democrats are unable to field candidates.

Historically, most Floridians have already indicated they prefer nonpartisan elections for school boards, said Aubrey Jewett, an associate professor of political science at the University of Central Florida.

In 1998, Florida voters approved a ballot measure that made school board elections nonpartisan. Now, 26 years later, the state legislature is basically asking voters if they really meant it, Jewett said.

Unlike presidential or gubernatorial elections, voters don’t receive as much information about local school board candidates, Jewett said.

“You could argue, as advocates do, that having a partisan label is a useful piece of information for voters when they’re making their decisions,” Jewett said. “But it seems like many voters would prefer to downplay partisanship. They would prefer it not be the center of attention and not fan the flames of partisan polarization that we see so often in Tallahassee and Washington.”

Educational priorities

Progressive reforms in the United States in the early 20th century created nonpartisan elections to stem corruption and weaken party control over the system, said education policy expert Jonathan Collins.

Collins cautioned against forgetting history and saying Florida should tread carefully before returning to partisan school board elections.

“Are we removing the barriers that diverse students face in the classroom? Are we thinking about ways to improve student achievement?” asked Collins, an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s Teachers College.

“These are the questions we should be asking ourselves, and it seems that the more partisan approaches have led to these questions that have more to do with the culture of the schools… than with the academic aspects themselves.”