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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5 ORIGINAL STAMP BELOW
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11 Representative(s) Miller offered the following:
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13 Amendment (with title amendment)
14 Remove from the bill: Everything after the enacting clause
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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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hbd0016 01:10 pm 00543-0059-502299
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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hbd0016 01:10 pm 00543-0059-502299
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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File original & 9 copies 04/22/97
hbd0016 01:10 pm 00543-0059-502299
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.
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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
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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.
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File original & 9 copies 04/22/97
hbd0016 01:10 pm 00543-0059-502299