House Bill hb0253
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Florida House of Representatives - 2001 HB 253
By Representative Prieguez
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to student financial aid;
3 amending ss. 240.404, 240.4095, 240.4097, and
4 240.605, F.S.; authorizing state financial aid
5 for students attending private, independent,
6 nonprofit institutions that meet specified
7 licensing and accrediting requirements;
8 amending s. 240.4125, F.S.; clarifying a cross
9 reference relating to eligibility for the Mary
10 McLeod Bethune Scholarship Program; providing
11 an effective date.
12
13 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
14
15 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
16 240.404, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
17 240.404 General requirements for student eligibility
18 for state financial aid.--
19 (1)(a) The general requirements for eligibility of
20 students for state financial aid awards consist of the
21 following:
22 1. Achievement of the academic requirements of and
23 acceptance at a state university or community college; a
24 nursing diploma school approved by the Florida Board of
25 Nursing; a Florida college, university, or community college
26 which is accredited by a member of the Commission on
27 Recognition of Postsecondary Accreditation; any Florida
28 institution the credits of which are acceptable for transfer
29 to state universities; any area technical center; or any
30 private vocational-technical institution accredited by a
31 member of the Commission on Recognition of Postsecondary
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1 Accreditation; or a private, independent, nonprofit
2 institution that has been licensed by the State of Florida for
3 at least 5 years and licensed and chartered as a nonprofit
4 institution by its domestic state or the Internal Revenue
5 Service for at least 10 years and is accredited by either the
6 Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the Middle
7 States Association of Colleges and Schools, the Northwest
8 Association of Colleges and Schools, the North Central
9 Association of Colleges and Schools, the New England
10 Association of Colleges and Schools, or the Western
11 Association of Colleges and Schools.
12 2. Residency in this state for no less than 1 year
13 preceding the award of aid for a program established pursuant
14 to s. 240.409, s. 240.4095, s. 240.4097, s. 240.412, s.
15 240.4125, s. 240.413, s. 240.4987, s. 240.605, or s. 240.606.
16 Residency in this state must be for purposes other than to
17 obtain an education. Resident status for purposes of receiving
18 state financial aid awards shall be determined in the same
19 manner as resident status for tuition purposes pursuant to s.
20 240.1201 and rules of the State Board of Education.
21 3. Submission of certification attesting to the
22 accuracy, completeness, and correctness of information
23 provided to demonstrate a student's eligibility to receive
24 state financial aid awards. Falsification of such information
25 shall result in the denial of any pending application and
26 revocation of any award currently held to the extent that no
27 further payments shall be made. Additionally, students who
28 knowingly make false statements in order to receive state
29 financial aid awards shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the
30 second degree subject to the provisions of s. 837.06 and shall
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Florida House of Representatives - 2001 HB 253
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1 be required to return all state financial aid awards
2 wrongfully obtained.
3 Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
4 240.4095, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
5 240.4095 Florida Private Student Assistance Grant
6 Program; eligibility for grants.--
7 (2)(a) Florida private student assistance grants from
8 the State Student Financial Assistance Trust Fund may be made
9 only to full-time degree-seeking students who meet the general
10 requirements for student eligibility as provided in s.
11 240.404, except as otherwise provided in this section. Such
12 grants shall be awarded for the amount of demonstrated unmet
13 need for tuition and fees and may not exceed an amount equal
14 to the average matriculation and other registration fees for
15 30 credit hours at state universities plus $1,000 per academic
16 year, or as specified in the General Appropriations Act, to
17 any applicant. A demonstrated unmet need of less than $200
18 shall render the applicant ineligible for a Florida private
19 student assistance grant. Recipients of such grants must have
20 been accepted at:
21 1. A baccalaureate-degree-granting independent
22 nonprofit college or university, which is accredited by the
23 Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges
24 and Schools and which is located in and chartered as a
25 domestic corporation by the state; or
26 2. A private, independent, nonprofit institution that
27 has been licensed by the State of Florida for at least 5 years
28 and licensed and chartered as a nonprofit institution by its
29 domestic state or the Internal Revenue Service for at least 10
30 years and is accredited by either the Southern Association of
31 Colleges and Schools, the Middle States Association of
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1 Colleges and Schools, the Northwest Association of Colleges
2 and Schools, the North Central Association of Colleges and
3 Schools, the New England Association of Colleges and Schools,
4 or the Western Association of Colleges and Schools.
5
6 No student may receive an award for more than the equivalent
7 of 9 semesters or 14 quarters of full-time enrollment, except
8 as otherwise provided in s. 240.404(3).
9 Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
10 240.4097, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
11 240.4097 Florida Postsecondary Student Assistance
12 Grant Program; eligibility for grants.--
13 (2)(a) Florida postsecondary student assistance grants
14 through the State Student Financial Assistance Trust Fund may
15 be made only to full-time degree-seeking students who meet the
16 general requirements for student eligibility as provided in s.
17 240.404, except as otherwise provided in this section. Such
18 grants shall be awarded for the amount of demonstrated unmet
19 need for tuition and fees and may not exceed an amount equal
20 to the average prior academic year cost of matriculation and
21 other registration fees for 30 credit hours at state
22 universities plus $1,000 per academic year, or as specified in
23 the General Appropriations Act, to any applicant. A
24 demonstrated unmet need of less than $200 shall render the
25 applicant ineligible for a Florida postsecondary student
26 assistance grant. Recipients of such grants must have been
27 accepted at:
28 1. A postsecondary institution that is located in the
29 state and that is:
30 a.1. A private nursing diploma school approved by the
31 Florida Board of Nursing; or
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1 b.2. An institution either licensed by the State Board
2 of Independent Colleges and Universities or exempt from
3 licensure pursuant to s. 246.085(1)(a), excluding those
4 institutions the students of which are eligible to receive a
5 Florida private student assistance grant pursuant to s.
6 240.4095; or.
7 2. A private, independent, nonprofit institution that
8 has been licensed by the State of Florida for at least 5 years
9 and licensed and chartered as a nonprofit institution by its
10 domestic state or the Internal Revenue Service for at least 10
11 years and is accredited by either the Southern Association of
12 Colleges and Schools, the Middle States Association of
13 Colleges and Schools, the Northwest Association of Colleges
14 and Schools, the North Central Association of Colleges and
15 Schools, the New England Association of Colleges and Schools,
16 or the Western Association of Colleges and Schools.
17
18 No student may receive an award for more than the equivalent
19 of 9 semesters or 14 quarters of full-time enrollment, except
20 as otherwise provided in s. 240.404(3).
21 Section 4. Subsection (3) of section 240.605, Florida
22 Statutes, is amended to read:
23 240.605 The William L. Boyd, IV, Florida resident
24 access grants.--
25 (3) The department shall issue through the program a
26 William L. Boyd, IV, Florida resident access grant to any
27 full-time degree-seeking undergraduate student registered at:
28 (a) An independent nonprofit college or university
29 which is located in and chartered by the state; which is
30 accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern
31 Association of Colleges and Schools; which grants
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1 baccalaureate degrees; which is not a state university or
2 state community college; and which has a secular purpose, so
3 long as the receipt of state aid by students at the
4 institution would not have the primary effect of advancing or
5 impeding religion or result in an excessive entanglement
6 between the state and any religious sect; or.
7 (b) A private, independent, nonprofit institution that
8 has been licensed by the State of Florida for at least 5 years
9 and licensed and chartered as a nonprofit institution by its
10 domestic state or the Internal Revenue Service for at least 10
11 years and is accredited by either the Southern Association of
12 Colleges and Schools, the Middle States Association of
13 Colleges and Schools, the Northwest Association of Colleges
14 and Schools, the North Central Association of Colleges and
15 Schools, the New England Association of Colleges and Schools,
16 or the Western Association of Colleges and Schools.
17
18 Any independent college or university that was eligible to
19 receive tuition vouchers on January 1, 1989, and which
20 continues to meet the criteria under which its eligibility was
21 established, shall remain eligible to receive William L. Boyd,
22 IV, Florida resident access grant payments.
23 Section 5. Paragraph (a) of subsection (5) of section
24 240.4125, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
25 240.4125 Mary McLeod Bethune Scholarship Program.--
26 (5)(a) In order to be eligible to receive a
27 scholarship pursuant to this section, an applicant must:
28 1. Meet the general eligibility requirements set forth
29 in s. 240.404, except as otherwise provided in this section.
30 2. Be a resident for tuition purposes pursuant to s.
31 240.1201.
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1 3. Be accepted at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical
2 University, Bethune-Cookman College, Edward Waters College, or
3 Florida Memorial College.
4 4. Enroll as a full-time undergraduate student.
5 5. Earn a 3.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale, or
6 the equivalent, for high school subjects creditable toward a
7 diploma.
8 Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2001.
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11 HOUSE SUMMARY
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Authorizes state financial aid for students attending
13 private, independent, nonprofit institutions that meet
specified licensing and accrediting requirements.
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