Legal news for Florida governmental attorneys. Florida parents claim the state is violating educational constitutional rights.
Florida government lawyers alerts- Parents and advocacy groups file a lawsuit against the state of Florida over quality of schooling.
Orlando, FL—Several Orange County parents along with two advocacy groups are suing Florida’s state legislature and the Department of Education. The plaintiffs claimed Florida’s lawmakers and regulators are in violation with the states constitutional provision, which says Florida’s children have the right to “high quality” education, as reported by WFTV.
This lawsuit is the second one within weeks, which alleges the state is spending a small sum of money on education. The lawsuit was filed on Wednesday, November 17, 2009, by angry parents, Citizens for Strong Schools and Fund Education Now. Florida is reported to spend the least per student in the nation on education, with the exception of Utah. In the past year the amount of money spent per student has dropped from $7,309 to $5,634. Parents fear when the federal stimulus money ultimately runs out, more schools in Orange County could become closed. Since the state legislature changed how it spends money, it has put a large burden on local governments. With the dissipating tax collections, it has caused large amounts of strain on the local governmental bodies.
Recently, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) http:///www.aclu.org/ filed a similar lawsuit on November 5, 2009, which claims the state of Florida also violated the constitutional provision in Palm Beach County. The ACLU suit claimed Palm Beach County is plagued with low graduation rates.
Legal News Reporter: Nicole Howley-Legal news for Florida government lawyers.
