House Bill hb1275c2
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Florida House of Representatives - 2002 CS/CS/HB 1275
By the Committees on Education Appropriations, Colleges &
Universities and Representatives Rubio and Arza
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the Florida Bright Futures
3 Scholarship Program; amending s. 240.4015,
4 F.S., relating to the Florida Bright Futures
5 Scholarship Testing Program; revising
6 provisions relating to the use of specified
7 examinations for purposes of awarding college
8 credit; clarifying provisions relating to the
9 award of credit; deleting obsolete provisions;
10 revising provisions relating to payment for
11 examinations; requiring the Department of
12 Education to provide a financial incentive to
13 students for passing examinations; authorizing
14 Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholars to take
15 up to five approved examinations; requiring the
16 department to contract for centralized
17 administrative services; providing a limitation
18 to the cost associated with contracting for
19 centralized administrative services; providing
20 for funding; amending s. 240.40203, F.S.;
21 revising provisions relating to the maximum
22 number of credit hours for which a student may
23 receive a Florida Bright Futures Scholarship;
24 requiring Florida Academic Scholars and Florida
25 Merit Scholars award recipients to meet certain
26 requirements in order to renew scholarships;
27 amending s. 240.40207, F.S.; conforming
28 provisions; providing an effective date.
29
30 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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Florida House of Representatives - 2002 CS/CS/HB 1275
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1 Section 1. Section 240.4015, Florida Statutes, is
2 amended to read:
3 240.4015 Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Testing
4 Program.--
5 (1) By January 1, 2002, The Articulation Coordinating
6 Committee shall identify the minimum scores, maximum credit,
7 and course or courses for which credit is to be awarded for
8 each College Level Examination Program (CLEP) general
9 examination, CLEP subject examination, College Board Advanced
10 Placement Program examination, and International Baccalaureate
11 examination, or other nationally recognized examination
12 approved by the Florida Board of Education. In addition, the
13 Articulation Coordinating Committee shall identify such
14 courses in the general education core curriculum of each state
15 university and community college.
16 (2) Each community college and state university must
17 award credit for specific courses for which competency has
18 been demonstrated by successful passage of one of these
19 examinations unless the award of credit duplicates credit
20 already awarded. Community colleges and universities may not
21 exempt students from courses without the award of credit if
22 competencies have been so demonstrated. If a student achieves
23 a passing score as identified by the Articulation Coordinating
24 Committee on an examination required by this section, the
25 student shall receive credit equivalent to successfully
26 completing the equivalent course as identified by the
27 Articulation Coordinating Committee in a state university or
28 community college, provided that such credit is not
29 duplicative of credit already earned by the student.
30 (3) Beginning with initial award recipients for the
31 2002-2003 academic year and continuing thereafter, students
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Florida House of Representatives - 2002 CS/CS/HB 1275
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1 eligible for a Florida Academic Scholars award or a Florida
2 Merit Scholars award who are admitted to and enroll in a
3 community college or state university shall, prior to
4 registering for courses that may be earned through a CLEP
5 examination or an approved examination and no later than
6 registration for the their second term, complete at least five
7 examinations from those specified in subsection (1) in any of
8 the following areas: English; humanities; mathematics; natural
9 sciences; and social sciences. Successful completion of dual
10 enrollment courses, Advanced Placement examinations, and
11 International Baccalaureate examinations in these areas may be
12 used to taken prior to high school graduation satisfy this
13 requirement. The Articulation Coordinating Committee shall
14 identify the examinations that satisfy each component of this
15 requirement.
16 (4) Initial award recipients for the 2001-2002
17 academic year who are eligible for a Florida Academic Scholars
18 award or a Florida Merit Scholars award and who are admitted
19 to and enroll in a community college or state university may
20 choose, prior to registering for courses that may be earned
21 through CLEP examination, to complete up to five CLEP
22 examinations, one in each of the following areas: English;
23 humanities; mathematics; natural sciences; and social
24 sciences.
25 (5) Each community college and state university shall
26 pay for the CLEP examinations required pursuant to this
27 section from the funds appropriated from the Educational
28 Enhancement Trust Fund. Institutions shall pay no more than
29 $46 per examination for the program, which shall include
30 access to a student guide to prepare for the test. The
31 Department of Education shall negotiate with the College Board
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Florida House of Representatives - 2002 CS/CS/HB 1275
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1 for a reduced rate for the examinations. The institution shall
2 not charge the student for preparation and administration of
3 the test, access to a student guide to prepare for the test,
4 or recordkeeping and reporting of each student's test results
5 to the department.
6 (4)(6) The credit awarded pursuant to this section to
7 students who are enrolled in associate or baccalaureate degree
8 level programs shall apply toward the 120 hours of college
9 credit required pursuant to s. 240.115(6).
10 (5) The Department of Education shall negotiate with
11 examination providers to provide for examinations and test
12 administration services on a cost-effective, lowest cost per
13 test available basis.
14 (6) The Department of Education shall provide a $50
15 incentive to each student for each CLEP examination or
16 approved examination passed that is required in this section.
17 (7) Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholars award
18 recipients may choose, prior to registering for courses in
19 which credit may be earned through an approved examination, to
20 complete up to five approved examinations in any of the
21 following areas: English; humanities; mathematics; natural
22 sciences; and social sciences. Such students who achieve a
23 passing score on a CLEP examination or an approved examination
24 shall receive credit equivalent to successfully completing the
25 equivalent course as provided in subsection (2). Florida Gold
26 Seal Vocational Scholars who achieve a passing score on an
27 approved examination shall also receive the $50 per test
28 incentive provided in subsection (6).
29 (7) The maximum number of credit hours for which a
30 student is eligible to receive a Florida Bright Futures
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1 Scholarship Program award shall be reduced by the number of
2 hours for which credit is awarded pursuant to this section.
3 (8) Beginning with the 2002-2003 award recipients, The
4 Department of Education shall administer this testing program
5 for all students in the state in order to track and annually
6 report on the effectiveness of the program., and These reports
7 shall include information on the number of students
8 participating in the program; the number of CLEP examinations
9 taken and the passage rate of Florida Academic Scholars, and
10 Florida Merit Scholars, and Florida Gold Seal Vocational
11 Scholars award recipients; the use of Advanced Placement and
12 International Baccalaureate examinations and dual enrollment
13 courses to satisfy the requirements of the program; and the
14 course credit provided.
15 (9) The Department of Education shall contract for
16 centralized administrative services for this program, to
17 include a website with appropriate links for student
18 registration; delivery of online test preparation, study
19 guides, and practice tests; recordkeeping; and technical
20 support. The cost per student associated with contracting for
21 centralized administrative services shall not exceed the cost
22 incurred to administer the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship
23 Testing Program in the 2001-2002 fiscal year.
24 (10) Funding for the Florida Bright Futures
25 Scholarship Testing Program as set forth in this section must
26 be allocated from the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund and
27 must be provided for after allocations to the Classrooms First
28 Program and the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program but
29 prior to the calculation of allocations for disbursement to
30 other educational entities. Such funding shall include, but
31 is not limited to, payment for the required examinations,
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1 payment for the optional examinations, payment of the
2 incentives, and payment for the contracted administrative
3 services.
4 Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 240.40203,
5 Florida Statutes, is amended, and subsection (3) is added to
6 said section, to read:
7 240.40203 Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program;
8 student eligibility requirements for renewal awards.--
9 (2) A student who is enrolled in an associate or
10 baccalaureate degree level a program that terminates in an
11 associate degree or a baccalaureate degree may receive an
12 award for not more than the a maximum of 110 percent of the
13 number of credit hours required to complete the program. A
14 student who is enrolled in a program that terminates in a
15 technical certificate may receive an award for a maximum of
16 110 percent of the credit hours or clock hours required to
17 complete the program up to 90 credit hours. A student who
18 transfers from one of these program levels to another becomes
19 eligible for the higher of the two credit hour limits.
20 (3) Beginning with the initial award recipients for
21 the 2002-2003 academic year and continuing thereafter, Florida
22 Academic Scholars and Florida Merit Scholars award recipients
23 must also have met the required test requirements in s.
24 240.4015(3) in order to renew the scholarship.
25 Section 3. Subsection (4) of section 240.40207,
26 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
27 240.40207 Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholars
28 award.--The Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholars award is
29 created within the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program
30 to recognize and reward academic achievement and vocational
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Florida House of Representatives - 2002 CS/CS/HB 1275
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1 preparation by high school students who wish to continue their
2 education.
3 (4) A student may earn a Florida Gold Seal Vocational
4 Scholarship for 110 percent of the number of credit hours
5 required to complete the program, up to 90 credit hours or the
6 equivalent. A Florida Gold Seal Scholar who has a cumulative
7 grade point average of 2.75 in all postsecondary education
8 work attempted may apply for a Florida Merit Scholars award at
9 any renewal period. All other provisions of that program
10 apply, and the credit-hour limitation must be calculated by
11 subtracting from the student's total eligibility the number of
12 credit hours the student attempted while earning the Gold Seal
13 Vocational Scholarship.
14 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2002.
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