The Florida Senate

1009.532  Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program; student eligibility requirements for renewal awards.--

(1)  To be eligible to renew a scholarship from any of the three types of scholarships under the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program, a student must:

(a)  Effective for students funded in the 2009-2010 academic year and thereafter, earn at least 24 semester credit hours or the equivalent in the last academic year in which the student earned a scholarship if the student was enrolled full time, or a prorated number of credit hours as determined by the Department of Education if the student was enrolled less than full time for any part of the academic year. If a student fails to earn the minimum number of hours required to renew the scholarship, the student shall lose his or her eligibility for renewal for a period equivalent to 1 academic year. Such student is eligible to restore the award the following academic year if the student earns the hours for which he or she was enrolled at the level defined by the department and meets the grade point average for renewal. A student is eligible for such restoration one time. The department shall notify eligible recipients of the provisions of this paragraph. Each institution shall notify award recipients of the provisions of this paragraph during the registration process.

(b)  Maintain the cumulative grade point average required by the scholarship program, except that:

1.  If a recipient's grades fall beneath the average required to renew a Florida Academic Scholarship, but are sufficient to renew a Florida Medallion Scholarship or a Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholarship, the Department of Education may grant a renewal from one of those other scholarship programs, if the student meets the renewal eligibility requirements;

2.  If, at any time during the eligibility period, a student's grades are insufficient to renew the scholarship, the student may restore eligibility by improving the grade point average to the required level. A student is eligible for such a restoration one time. The Legislature encourages education institutions to assist students to calculate whether or not it is possible to raise the grade point average during the summer term. If the institution determines that it is possible, the education institution may so inform the department, which may reserve the student's award if funds are available. The renewal, however, must not be granted until the student achieves the required cumulative grade point average. If the summer term is not sufficient to raise the grade point average to the required renewal level, the student's next opportunity for renewal is the fall semester of the following academic year; or

3.  If a student is receiving a Florida Bright Futures Scholarship, is a servicemember of the Florida National Guard or United States Reserves while attending a postsecondary institution, is called to active duty or state active duty, as defined in s. 250.01, prior to completing his or her degree, and meets all other requirements for the scholarship, the student shall be eligible to continue the scholarship for 2 years after completing active duty or state active duty.

(c)  Reimburse or make satisfactory arrangements to reimburse the institution for the award amount received for courses dropped after the end of the drop and add period or courses from which the student withdraws after the end of the drop and add period unless the student has received an exception pursuant to s. 1009.53(11).

(2)  A student who is enrolled in a program that terminates in an associate degree or a baccalaureate degree may receive an award for a maximum of 110 percent of the number of credit hours required to complete the program. A student who is enrolled in a program that terminates in a career certificate may receive an award for a maximum of 110 percent of the credit hours or clock hours required to complete the program up to 90 credit hours. A student who transfers from one of these program levels to another becomes eligible for the higher of the two credit hour limits.

History.--s. 424, ch. 2002-387; s. 21, ch. 2003-72; s. 55, ch. 2004-41; s. 120, ch. 2004-357; s. 14, ch. 2009-60.