Senate Bill sb1342c1

    Florida Senate - 2001                           CS for SB 1342

    By the Committee on Education and Senators Klein, Sanderson,
    Sullivan and Dawson




    304-1870-01

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to postsecondary education;

  3         creating s. 240.401, F.S.; creating the Florida

  4         Public Student Assistance Grant program for

  5         part-time students; providing for rulemaking by

  6         the State Board of Education; providing

  7         purpose; providing eligibility criteria;

  8         requiring participating institutions to report

  9         certain information to the Department of

10         Education; requiring the department to allocate

11         to public postsecondary institutions funds to

12         be distributed under this program; providing an

13         effective date.

14

15  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

16

17         Section 1.  Section 240.401, Florida Statutes, is

18  created to read:

19         240.401  Florida Public Part-time Student Assistance

20  Grant program; creation; purpose; funding.--

21         (1)  There is created the Florida Public Part-time

22  Student Assistance Grant program for part-time students. The

23  program shall be administered in accordance with rules of the

24  state board. For purposes of this section, a part-time student

25  is a student who is enrolled in at least 6 semester hours or

26  the equivalent.

27         (2)  The purpose of the program is to provide financial

28  assistance to part-time students who need such assistance.

29  State student-assistance grants may be awarded under the

30  program to part-time degree-seeking students who meet the

31  general requirements for student eligibility in s. 240.404.

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






    Florida Senate - 2001                           CS for SB 1342
    304-1870-01




  1  Grants are to be awarded annually in the amount of

  2  demonstrated unmet need for the cost of education. Recipients

  3  of such grants must have been accepted at a state university

  4  or community college.

  5         (a)  Priority in the distribution of grant moneys must

  6  be given to students who have the lowest total family

  7  resources, in accordance with a nationally recognized system

  8  of need analysis.

  9         (b)  Each participating institution shall report to the

10  department, by a date established by rule of the state board,

11  the number of eligible students to whom grant moneys will be

12  disbursed during each academic term. Each institution shall

13  report demographic and eligibility data for such students.

14         (3)  The Department of Education shall allocate to

15  public postsecondary institutions funds for disbursement to

16  part-time students. The funds appropriated for the program

17  must be allocated to eligible institutions.

18         Section 2.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

19  law.

20

21          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
22                             SB 1342

23

24  The Committee Substitute adds the word "Part-time" to the name
    of the new grant program, provides a definition of "part-time
25  student," and clarifies that unmet need will be determined by
    the same methodology that is required for other need-based
26  programs.

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