A legal analysis of the 1998 revision of Florida's constitution Article IX Section 1: Implications for future litigation challenging Florida's provision for an adequate public education

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 of the 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.