CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.



                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

    516-185X-09                        Bill No. CS/HB 543 & others

    Amendment No.     (for drafter's use only)

                            CHAMBER ACTION
              Senate                               House
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  4                                                                

  5                                           ORIGINAL STAMP BELOW

  6

  7

  8

  9

10                                                                

11  Representative(s) Miller offered the following:

12

13         Amendment (with title amendment) 

14  Remove from the bill:  Everything after the enacting clause

15

16  and insert in lieu thereof:

17         Section 1.  The Florida Bright Futures Scholarship

18  Program.--

19         (1)  It is the intent of the Legislature that a

20  lottery-funded scholarship program be established for students

21  who have demonstrated high academic achievement in high school

22  and are ready for postsecondary education. Such a scholarship

23  program shall be available to any student who meets high

24  academic standards and who subsequently enrolls in a public or

25  private Florida community college, university, college, or

26  postsecondary vocational or technical program leading to a

27  degree or skill certification.

28         (2)  The Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program is

29  established as a need-based program for students who graduate

30  from high school with at least a 2.7 grade point average in

31  courses required for graduation and who demonstrate readiness

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                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

    516-185X-09                        Bill No. CS/HB 543 & others

    Amendment No.     (for drafter's use only)





  1  for a community college, university, or postsecondary

  2  vocational or technical program.

  3         (3)  The program shall be administered by the

  4  Department of Education according to rules and procedures

  5  established by the Commissioner of Education. Advertising or

  6  notification to students, teachers, parents, guidance

  7  counselors, and principals, or other relevant school

  8  administrators, of the criteria and application procedures for

  9  the award shall be the responsibility of the department. Such

10  advertising or notification shall begin no later than January

11  of each year.

12         (4)  Funds allocated to the program shall be from the

13  Educational Enhancement Trust Fund and shall be allocated

14  prior to disbursement to public schools, community colleges,

15  and state universities.

16         (a)  If funds appropriated by the Legislature are not

17  sufficient to provide awards as authorized in law, awards

18  shall be prorated among eligible students.

19         (b)  If all funds allocated to the program are not

20  fully utilized in a fiscal year, up to 5 percent of the total

21  allocation may be carried over to fund potential shortages in

22  future years.

23         (5)  The following shall apply to recipients of awards

24  under the program:

25         (a)  Students may use awards for enrollment in any

26  Florida public university, community college, or technical

27  institute or any eligible Florida independent college,

28  university, or vocational-technical school. An independent

29  college, university, or vocational-technical school shall be

30  eligible to participate if the following criteria are met:

31         1.  It is an independent postsecondary institution that

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                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

    516-185X-09                        Bill No. CS/HB 543 & others

    Amendment No.     (for drafter's use only)





  1  offers a nursing diploma approved by the Board of Nursing or a

  2  Florida college, university, or community college which is

  3  accredited by a member of the Commission on Recognition of

  4  Postsecondary Accreditation, the credits of which are

  5  acceptable for transfer to state universities; or

  6         2.  It is a nonpublic postsecondary educational

  7  institution licensed by the State Board of Independent

  8  Postsecondary Vocational, Technical, Trade, and Business

  9  Schools that:

10         a.  Is located in and licensed to operate by the state.

11         b.  Has a program completion and placement rate at the

12  minimum rate established under the Florida Administrative Code

13  or current Florida Statutes which govern the institution or as

14  established by the department.

15         c.  Shows evidence of sound financial condition.

16         d.(I)  Is accredited at the institutional level by an

17  accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department

18  of Education and has operated in the state for 3 years under

19  the same ownership and there have been no complaints for which

20  probable cause has been found during this period; or

21         (II)  Is licensed by the state and has operated in the

22  state for 5 years under the same ownership and there have been

23  no complaints for which probable cause has been found during

24  this period.

25         (b)  An award recipient shall be a full-time or

26  part-time student enrolled in a minimum of 6 semester credit

27  hours or the equivalent. To qualify for renewal, students must

28  have completed at least 12 semester hours or the equivalent in

29  an academic year and have maintained a 2.7 cumulative grade

30  point average on a 4.0 scale or its equivalent. Students may

31  be eligible for renewal awards for up to 7 years after high

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                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

    516-185X-09                        Bill No. CS/HB 543 & others

    Amendment No.     (for drafter's use only)





  1  school graduation. Awards shall be disbursed each academic

  2  term. Students enrolled in 6 to 8 credit hours may receive up

  3  to one-half of the maximum award; students enrolled in 9 to 11

  4  credit hours may receive up to three-fourths of the maximum

  5  award; and students enrolled in 12 or more credit hours may

  6  receive up to the full award.

  7         (c)  An award recipient shall be allowed a one-time

  8  reinstatement upon raising his or her cumulative grade point

  9  average to the required level.

10         (d)  Students shall apply for a Florida Bright Futures

11  Scholarship Program award by April 1 of the last semester

12  before high school graduation. Eligibility shall be determined

13  based on the cumulative grade point average, in courses

14  required for graduation, at the time of the application.

15  Students who apply for awards no later than April 1 and who

16  meet all other eligibility requirements to receive awards may

17  later reapply to receive awards during subsequent application

18  periods when they do not accept their initial awards.

19  Similarly, students who receive initial awards and who later

20  do not accept renewal awards may reapply to receive awards

21  during subsequent application periods. Students who apply

22  under this paragraph must submit reinstatement applications

23  within 3 years after filing their initial applications.

24         (e)  Initial and subsequent renewal awards shall be

25  limited to 132 credit hours if attending a 4-year program and

26  165 credit hours if attending an approved 5-year program.

27  Awards may be used for summer-term enrollment if the

28  Department of Education is notified by June 1 of the year

29  preceding the summer term in which the student plans to

30  enroll. No scholarship funds shall be applied to matriculation

31  and fees for postsecondary remedial courses.

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                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

    516-185X-09                        Bill No. CS/HB 543 & others

    Amendment No.     (for drafter's use only)





  1         (f)  To be eligible, a student must not have been found

  2  guilty of a felony, or pled nolo contendere to a felony

  3  charge, unless granted clemency by the Governor and the

  4  Cabinet sitting as the Executive Office of Clemency.

  5         (g)  To be eligible, a student must be a Florida

  6  resident.

  7         (h)  Recipients must have met the requirements of a

  8  standard Florida high school diploma or its equivalent as

  9  described in s. 229.814, Florida Statutes. Any student who is

10  enrolled on a full-time basis in the early admission program

11  of an eligible postsecondary institution or completes a home

12  education program according to the provisions of s. 232.02(4),

13  Florida Statutes, shall be exempt from this requirement. Also

14  exempt shall be the dependents of Florida residents who are on

15  military or public service assignments away from Florida when

16  such dependents live with such Florida residents and receive

17  high school diplomas from non-Florida schools.

18         (i)  The award may be renewed annually upon

19  documentation by the recipient that he or she meets the

20  necessary qualifications. If any recipient transfers from one

21  eligible institution to another eligible institution, the

22  award shall be transferable if the student is otherwise

23  eligible for the award.

24         (j)  Program awards shall be in an amount equal to 100

25  percent of matriculation and mandatory fees and shall be

26  awarded annually. Awards to students attending nonpublic

27  institutions shall be limited to the average matriculation and

28  mandatory fees of comparable Florida public institutions.

29  Annual awards may be for up to 45 credit hours or the

30  equivalent. Students wishing to renew an award shall notify

31  the institution on forms approved by the Department of

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                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

    516-185X-09                        Bill No. CS/HB 543 & others

    Amendment No.     (for drafter's use only)





  1  Education. The institution shall provide all required

  2  information to the department by June 1 of the academic year

  3  preceding the renewal year. Students whose grade point average

  4  is too low to qualify for a renewal shall receive a renewal

  5  if, by the end of the summer session, the cumulative grade

  6  point average meets the requirement. In such cases, the

  7  institution shall notify the department whether the grade

  8  point average may be increased sufficiently during the summer

  9  term. If not, the student shall be notified of nonrenewal for

10  the next academic year. If it is possible for the student to

11  raise the grade point average to the required level, an award

12  shall be reserved for the student. The renewal, however, shall

13  be granted only upon meeting the required grade point average.

14  The institution may release the award upon verification of the

15  acceptable grade point average.

16         (k)  If a student does not meet the requirements of

17  this subsection as a result of inaccurate or incomplete

18  information provided by a high school guidance counselor,

19  teacher, or school district personnel, the student may,

20  nevertheless, be eligible for the award if the principal of

21  the school or the district superintendent verifies that such

22  inaccuracies or misinformation caused the deficiencies. The

23  school district must provide a means for the student to

24  correct deficiencies resulting from such misinformation. The

25  student must correct the deficiencies no later than December

26  31 immediately following high school graduation, either by

27  completing comparable work at the postsecondary institution or

28  by completing a directed individualized study program that is

29  developed and administered by the school district. If the

30  student does not complete the requirements necessary to

31  correct the deficiencies by December 31 immediately following

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                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

    516-185X-09                        Bill No. CS/HB 543 & others

    Amendment No.     (for drafter's use only)





  1  high school graduation, the student is ineligible to

  2  participate in the program.

  3         (6)  Payment of an award shall be transmitted in

  4  advance of the registration period each semester on behalf of

  5  the student to the president of the university or community

  6  college, or the director of the area vocational-technical

  7  school, or his or her representative, except that the

  8  department may withhold payment if the receiving institution

  9  fails to report or to make refunds to the department as

10  required in this subsection.

11         (a)  Within 30 days after the end of regular

12  registration each semester, institutions shall certify to the

13  department the eligibility status of each student who receives

14  an award. The eligibility status of each student to receive a

15  disbursement shall be determined by each institution as of

16  this date. Institutions are not required to reevaluate a

17  student's eligibility status after this date for the purpose

18  of revising an eligibility determination previously made.

19  However, an institution must make refunds to the department

20  for students who receive award disbursements and terminate

21  enrollment for any reason during the academic term when the

22  institution's refund policy permits a student to receive a

23  refund.

24         (b)  An institution that receives funds from the

25  program shall certify to the department the amount of funds

26  disbursed to each student and shall remit to the department

27  any undisbursed advances within 60 days after the end of

28  regular registration.

29         (7)  A program award shall be awarded prior to the

30  certification or award of a federal family education loan or

31  federal direct loan and shall be considered in the

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                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

    516-185X-09                        Bill No. CS/HB 543 & others

    Amendment No.     (for drafter's use only)





  1  certification or calculation of the student's loan

  2  eligibility.

  3         (8)  Each institution that receives moneys through this

  4  program shall cause to be prepared an annual report that

  5  includes an independent external audit or an audit prepared by

  6  the Office of the Auditor General. The report shall include an

  7  audit of the institution's administration of the program and a

  8  complete accounting of the moneys for the program. This report

  9  must be submitted to the Department of Education annually on

10  or before March 1. The department may conduct its own annual

11  audit of an institution's administration of the program. The

12  department may request a refund of any moneys overpaid to the

13  institution for the program. The department may suspend or

14  revoke an institution's eligibility to receive future moneys

15  for the program if the department finds that an institution

16  has not complied with this section. The institution must remit

17  within 60 days any refund requested in accordance with this

18  subsection.

19         Section 2.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (5) of section

20  24.121, Florida Statutes, 1996 Supplement, is amended,

21  paragraph (e) is redesignated as paragraph (f), and a new

22  paragraph (e) is added to said subsection, to read:

23         24.121  Allocation of revenues and expenditure of funds

24  for public education.--

25         (5)

26         (b)  Except as provided in paragraphs (c), and (d), and

27  (e), the Legislature shall equitably apportion moneys in the

28  trust fund among public schools, community colleges, and

29  universities.

30         (e)  The Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program

31  shall be funded annually from the Educational Enhancement

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                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

    516-185X-09                        Bill No. CS/HB 543 & others

    Amendment No.     (for drafter's use only)





  1  Trust Fund. Funds shall be allocated to this program prior to

  2  application of the formula for equitable distribution to

  3  public schools, community colleges, and state universities. If

  4  shortages require reductions in estimated distributions from

  5  the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund, funds for the Florida

  6  Bright Futures Scholarship Program shall be reduced only after

  7  reductions in all other distributions are made.

  8         Section 3.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

  9  law.

10

11

12  ================ T I T L E   A M E N D M E N T ===============

13  And the title is amended as follows:

14  remove from the title of the bill:  the entire title

15

16  and insert in lieu thereof:

17                  A bill to be entitled

18         An act relating to education; establishing the

19         Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program;

20         providing for administration and funding;

21         providing student eligibility and program

22         requirements; providing for awards; amending s.

23         24.121, F.S.; providing for funding of the

24         Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program from

25         the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund;

26         providing an effective date.

27

28

29

30

31

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