Art. IX, § 7, Fla. Const. · Article IX. EDUCATION
State University System.
Text — As revised in 1968 and subsequently amended (Online Sunshine, retrieved 2026-10-04)
(a) PURPOSES. In order to achieve excellence through teaching students, advancing research and providing public service for the benefit of Florida’s citizens, their communities and economies, the people hereby establish a system of governance for the state university system of Florida.
(b) STATE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM. There shall be a single state university system comprised of all public universities. A board of trustees shall administer each public university and a board of governors shall govern the state university system.
(c) LOCAL BOARDS OF TRUSTEES. Each local constituent university shall be administered by a board of trustees consisting of thirteen members dedicated to the purposes of the state university system. The board of governors shall establish the powers and duties of the boards of trustees. Each board of trustees shall consist of six citizen members appointed by the governor and five citizen members appointed by the board of governors. The appointed members shall be confirmed by the senate and serve staggered terms of five years as provided by law. The chair of the faculty senate, or the equivalent, and the president of the student body of the university shall also be members.
(d) STATEWIDE BOARD OF GOVERNORS. The board of governors shall be a body corporate consisting of seventeen members. The board shall operate, regulate, control, and be fully responsible for the management of the whole university system. These responsibilities shall include, but not be limited to, defining the distinctive mission of each constituent university and its articulation with free public schools and community colleges, ensuring the well-planned coordination and operation of the system, and avoiding wasteful duplication of facilities or programs. The board’s management shall be subject to the powers of the legislature to appropriate for the expenditure of funds, and the board shall account for such expenditures as provided by law. The governor shall appoint to the board fourteen citizens dedicated to the purposes of the state university system. The appointed members shall be confirmed by the senate and serve staggered terms of seven years as provided by law. The commissioner of education, the chair of the advisory council of faculty senates, or the equivalent, and the president of the Florida student association, or the equivalent, shall also be members of the board.
(e) FEES. Any proposal or action of a constituent university to raise, impose, or authorize any fee, as authorized by law, must be approved by at least nine affirmative votes of the members of the board of trustees of the constituent university, if approval by the board of trustees is required by general law, and at least twelve affirmative votes of the members of the board of governors, if approval by the board of governors is required by general law, in order to take effect. A fee under this subsection shall not include tuition.
Notes and commentary — not constitutional text
History
Proposed by Initiative Petition filed with the Secretary of State September 28, 2001; adopted 2002; Am. proposed by Constitution Revision Commission, Revision No. 2, 2018, filed with the Secretary of State May 9, 2018; adopted 2018.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As revised in 1968 and subsequently amended (Online Sunshine, retrieved 2026-10-04)
- Official file
- https://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?Mode=Constitution&Submenu=3&Tab=statutes
- Text hash
- sha256 4ea94721b4a55063d32f243bf5b00dad1e0e48c7abcfa9fa1a663d10f7848e68
- Composed by
- compose_v2.py 2026-10-04: the Legislature's structured HTML read in document order; verify_v2.py's independent reading agrees character for character
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Cited by 6 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Art. IX, § 7, Fla. Const.. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
The Florida Statutes
- § 20.155, Fla. Stat.Board of Governors of the State University System.Printed as s. 7, Art. IX of the State Constitution
- § 1001.70, Fla. Stat.Board of Governors of the State University System.Printed as s. 7(d), Art. IX of the State Constitution
- § 1001.705, Fla. Stat.Responsibility for the State University System under s. 7, Art. IX of the State Constitution.Printed as s. 7, Art. IX of the State Constitution
- § 1001.706, Fla. Stat.Powers and duties of the Board of Governors.Printed as s. 7, Art. IX of the State Constitution
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