An oft-repeated phrase among parents and community members is that politics have no place in schools.
But, this election, Florida’s Constitution could be amended to make school board races partisan, meaning candidates would have to disclose whether they are Democrats, Republicans or members of another political party.
Amendment 1 would reverse a decision made by Floridian voters in 1998, when school board elections were first made nonpartisan.
In Florida, state constitutional amendments need support of at least 60% of voters for approval.
Here’s what you should know about the amendment.
What would Amendment 1 do?
Amendment 1 is a legislatively referred constitutional amendment, meaning the Florida Legislature created the amendment.
The amendment would change Florida’s Constitution and require school board candidates to run in a partisan election, according to Brevard County’s supervisor of elections website. Rather than running as nonpartisan candidates as they do now, candidates would be required to disclose if they are Republicans, Democrats or members of another party.
If approved, the amendment would take effect in 2026.
Partisan primary elections can take place before the general election to nominate a candidate for the general election. Primary elections generally are only open to members of that party. In counties that lean heavily toward one party or the other, that party’s primaries are often the de facto general elections.
Local, state organizations’ stances on Amendment 1
Opinions throughout Florida are mixed on Amendment 1.
The League of Women Voters of the Space Coast and the State League of Women Voters oppose the amendment.
“We believe that school board elections should remain nonpartisan, allowing all voters to choose a candidate to be on the general election ballot,” said Judy DeAngelis-Small, first vice president of the Space Coast chapter.
“Identifying candidates with their party affiliation would close primaries, thereby limiting full participation in the election process.”
The Brevard Democratic Party also is against the amendment, with Chair Pamela Castellana saying that serving on the school board shouldn’t be a “step on the rung of the ladder of political success,” and accusing local Republicans of using “politics for power grabs.”
“I don’t want our already politicized and charged school board races adding those types of games to the process.” Castellana said.
The Brevard Republican Executive Committee did not respond to multiple requests for comment from FLORIDA TODAY. The voting guide on its website suggests voting “yes” on Amendment 1.
On a state level, the Florida Education Association — Florida’s largest association of professional school employees and the largest labor union in the Southeast — is advising voters to vote against Amendment 1.
Florida NAACP, Florida For All, Common Cause Florida, Mi Familia en Acción and Florida National Organization for Women are among other organizations opposing the amendment.
Brevard’s candidates for the school board’s District 4 seat — incumbent Matt Susin and newcomer Avanese “Ava” Taylor — commented on the issue at a July forum, with Taylor saying she’s not in favor of partisan races and Susin saying nonpartisan elections have helped people work together best. He did not elaborate.
Have Florida’s school board elections always been nonpartisan?
School board elections previously were partisan, though Floridians voted in 1998 to make them nonpartisan, according to Politico.
But, largely, school board elections are nonpartisan in name only, according to Andrea Messina, chief executive officer of Florida School Boards Association.
“School boards, and school board elections, are microcosms of their local communities and the country,” Messina said. “So as we have increased partisanship in our communities and in our country, we have seen increased partisanship on our local school boards.”
Messina and the Florida School Boards Association are not taking a position on Amendment 1.
Finch Walker is the education reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Walker at fwalker@floridatoday.com. X: @_finchwalker.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Florida school board races: What to know about Amendment 1
