Amendment 8 off ballot: A Leon County judge rules that proposed constitutional Amendment 8 should be removed from the November ballot because it "fails to inform voters of the chief purpose and effect." The amendment would allow the Legislature to create an entity to authorize charter schools. It would also set term limits for school board members and require civics education in schools. Judge John Cooper agreed with the plaintiffs, the League of Women Voters, that the ballot language was misleading and that the Citizens Review Commission bunched the three separate proposals to boost its chance of passage. The state is expected to appeal the decision. News Service of Florida. Associated Press. Tampa Bay Times. Orlando Sentinel. Florida Phoenix. WFSU. Southern Poverty Law Center. Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi files a response to the Supreme Court to a separate challenge from former chief justice Harry Lee Anstead, who contends six amendments are unconstitutionally bundled and should be removed from the ballot. Bondi argues that only the ballot proposals put forward by the public through petitions need to adhere to the state's single-subject rule because they don't have the oversight that the Constitution Revision Commission and Legislature have when creating and adopting proposals. Gradebook. Florida Politics.

Education lawsuit: Each side in a nine-year-old lawsuit over the way the state funds education will get 20 minutes Nov. 8 to make their cases before the Florida Supreme Court. The group that filed the suit, Citizens for Strong Schools, claims the state is failing in its constitutional duty to provide a "high quality" public education system. The state argues that the constitutional language is aspirational and can't be measured. Two courts have already sided with the state. Gradebook. WFSU. News Service of Florida.

Videos won't be shown: After parents questioned plans to show elementary and middle school students videos of what to do during a school shooting, Pinellas County school officials change course and say the videos won't be shown to elementary students. Instead, the district will put the videos on its website so parents can decide whether to show them to their children. WTVT. Tampa Bay Times. WFLA. Parents in St. Johns County also object to videos the school district plans to show students about what they should and should not do during a school shooting. The district plans for all students to watch the videos by Sept. 15. WJXT.  (more…)