2011 Florida Statutes
SECTION 26
Fee waivers.
Fee waivers.
1009.26 Fee waivers.—
(1) School districts and Florida College System institutions may waive fees for any fee-nonexempt student. The total value of fee waivers granted by the school district or Florida College System institution may not exceed the amount established annually in the General Appropriations Act. Any student whose fees are waived in excess of the authorized amount may not be reported for state funding purposes. Any school district or Florida College System institution that waives fees and requests state funding for a student in violation of the provisions of this section shall be penalized at a rate equal to 2 times the value of the full-time student enrollment reported.
(2) A state university may waive any or all application, tuition, and related fees for persons who supervise student interns for a state university.
(3) A university board of trustees is authorized to permit full-time university employees who meet academic requirements to enroll for up to 6 credit hours of tuition-free courses per term on a space-available basis.
(4) A state university may waive any or all application, tuition, and related fees for persons 60 years of age or older who are residents of this state and who attend classes for credit. No academic credit shall be awarded for attendance in classes for which fees are waived under this subsection. This privilege may be granted only on a space-available basis, if such classes are not filled as of the close of registration. A university may limit or deny the privilege for courses which are in programs for which the Board of Governors has established selective admissions criteria. Persons paying full fees and state employees taking courses on a space-available basis shall have priority over those persons whose fees are waived in all cases where classroom spaces are limited.
(5) Any graduate student enrolled in a state-approved school psychology training program shall be entitled to a waiver of registration fees for internship credit hours applicable to an internship in the public school system under the supervision of a Department of Education certified school psychologist employed by the school system.
(6) A university board of trustees may waive the out-of-state fees for nondegree-seeking students enrolled at a state university if the earned student credit hours generated by such students are nonfundable and the direct cost for the program of study is recovered from the fees charged to all students.
(7) The spouse of a deceased state employee is entitled, when eligible for the payment of student fees by the state as employer pursuant to s. 440.16, in lieu of such payment, to a full waiver of student fees for up to 80 semester hours in any Florida College System institution.
(8) A state university or Florida College System institution shall waive undergraduate tuition for each recipient of a Purple Heart or another combat decoration superior in precedence who:
(a) Is enrolled as a full-time, part-time, or summer-school student in an undergraduate program that terminates in a degree or certificate;
(b) Is currently, and was at the time of the military action that resulted in the awarding of the Purple Heart or other combat decoration superior in precedence, a resident of this state; and
(c) Submits to the state university or the Florida College System institution the DD-214 form issued at the time of separation from service as documentation that the student has received a Purple Heart or another combat decoration superior in precedence. If the DD-214 is not available, other documentation may be acceptable if recognized by the United States Department of Defense or the United States Department of Veterans Affairs as documenting the award.
Such a waiver for a Purple Heart recipient or recipient of another combat decoration superior in precedence shall be applicable for 110 percent of the number of required credit hours of the degree or certificate program for which the student is enrolled.
(9) Each university board of trustees is authorized to waive tuition and out-of-state fees for purposes that support and enhance the mission of the university. All fees waived must be based on policies that are adopted by university boards of trustees pursuant to regulations adopted by the Board of Governors. Each university shall report the purpose, number, and value of all fee waivers granted annually in a format prescribed by the Board of Governors.
(10) A state university or Florida College System institution may waive tuition and fees for a classroom teacher, as defined in s. 1012.01(2)(a), who is employed full-time by a school district and who meets the academic requirements established by the Florida College System institution or state university for up to 6 credit hours per term on a space-available basis in undergraduate courses approved by the Department of Education. Such courses shall be limited to undergraduate courses related to special education, mathematics, or science. The waiver may not be used for courses scheduled during the school district’s regular school day. The State Board of Education shall adopt a rule that prescribes the process for the approval of courses by the department.
History.—s. 405, ch. 2002-387; s. 1, ch. 2006-233; s. 134, ch. 2007-217; s. 3, ch. 2009-123; s. 22, ch. 2010-78; s. 1, ch. 2010-219; s. 120, ch. 2011-5; s. 15, ch. 2011-63.