Florida

AMENDMENT LANGUAGE

State Constitutional Provision

Fla. Const. art. 1, § 3: "There shall be no law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting or penalizing the free exercise thereof. Religious freedom shall not justify practices inconsistent with public morals, peace or safety. No revenue of the state or any political subdivision or agency thereof shall ever be taken from the public treasury directly or indirectly in aid of any church, sect, or religious denomination or in aid of any sectarian institution."

RELEVANT CASES

State Courts

Bush v. Holmes, 886 So. 2d 340 (Fla. App. 2004) (Florida District Court of Appeal held that the Florida school voucher program violated the Florida constitutional provision prohibiting public aid of sectarian schools because it gave an indirect benefit to sectarian schools).

Scavella v. School Board of Dade County, 363 So. 2d 1095 (Fla. 1978).

Southside Estates Baptist Church v. Board of Trustees, School Tax Dist. No. 1, In and For Duval County, 115 So. 2d 697 (Fla. 1959) (Florida Supreme Court held that permitting several churches to use various public school buildings on Sunday until the construction of their church buildings was complete did not violate the Florida constitutional provision prohibiting public aid of sectarian institutions).

Fenske v. Coddington, 57 So. 2d 452 (Fla. 1952) (Florida Supreme Court held that the existence of a chapel for religious worship in the buildings of a public school did not violate the Florida constitutional provision prohibiting public aid of sectarian institutions, when the chapel was maintained with funds from a private trust).

Taylor v. Dorsey, 155 Fla. 305 (1944).

REPEAL EFFORTS

See the Heritage Foundation website for a list of state contacts.