12/13/2004

 

Pre-K bill - read it yourself

For those following this and want to read the bills --

+ Original House bill (PDF)
+ Senate bill (HTML) (So far they're identical.)
+ Staff analysis. (DOC) (House)

(And when did the Legislature stop using handy PDF files for staff reports and start using those annoying Microsoft let's-open-up-Word-program-without-asking-you DOC files? Sheesh, it just about crashes my machine at work every time I try to read one of these things in Word '97.)

Toward the end, the staff analysis reminds legislators of the uncomfortable fact that Bush v. Holmes still lurks in wait for them:

In Bush v. Holmes, an en banc panel of the First District Court of Appeal held that the Florida Opportunity Scholarship Program violated the no-aid provision of the State Constitution because the program uses state revenues to support sectarian schools. In its November 12, 2004, opinion, the district court certified this question to the Florida Supreme Court as a question of great public importance.

Also at issue in Holmes was whether the "no-aid" provision of the State Constitution violates the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the federal constitution. The district court of appeal concluded that the no-aid provision does not offend the Free Exercise Clause. The matter is pending before the Florida Supreme Court and could ultimately be reviewed by the United States Supreme Court to interpret the Free Exercise Clause's impact on Florida's no-aid provision.


Just something to keep in mind.

# posted by Lane @ 12/13/2004
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