HB 0917 2003
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to student tuition assistance; creating
3	the Access to Better Learning and Education Grant Program;
4	providing legislative findings with respect to education
5	provided by for-profit colleges and universities;
6	providing for the Department of Education to administer
7	the grant program; providing requirements for eligibility;
8	providing for the grant program to be funded under a
9	formula based on planned enrollment and the state cost of
10	funding such enrollment at public institutions; providing
11	for an annual appropriation; requiring institutions to
12	remit undisbursed funds to the department; limiting the
13	period a student may receive a grant; providing an
14	effective date.
15
16	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
17
18	Section 1. The Access to Better Learning and Education
19	Grant Program.--
20	(1) The Legislature finds and declares that independent
21	for-profit colleges and universities eligible to participate in
22	the Access to Better Learning and Education Grant Program are an
23	integral part of the higher education system in this state and
24	that a significant number of state residents choose this form of
25	higher education. The Legislature further finds that strong,
26	viable independent for-profit colleges and universities reduce
27	the tax burden on the residents of the state. Because the Access
28	to Better Learning and Education Grant Program is not related to
29	a student's financial need or other criteria upon which
30	financial aid programs are based, it is the intent of the
31	Legislature that the Access to Better Learning and Education
32	Grant Program not be considered a financial aid program but
33	rather a tuition assistance program for state residents.
34	(2) The Access to Better Learning and Education Grant
35	Program shall be administered by the Department of Education.
36	The State Board of Education shall adopt rules for administering
37	the program.
38	(3) The department shall issue an access grant to any
39	full-time student seeking a baccalaureate degree who is
40	registered at a for-profit college or university that is located
41	in and chartered by the state; that is accredited by the
42	Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges
43	and Schools; that grants baccalaureate degrees; that is not a
44	state university or state community college; and that has a
45	secular purpose, if the receipt of state aid by students at the
46	institution would not have the primary effect of advancing or
47	impeding religion or result in an excessive entanglement between
48	the state and any religious sect.
49	(4) A person is eligible to receive an access grant if:
50	(a) He or she meets the general requirements, including
51	residency, for student eligibility as provided in section
52	1009.40, Florida Statutes, except as otherwise provided in this
53	section; and
54	(b)1. He or she is enrolled as a full-time undergraduate
55	student at an eligible college or university in a program of
56	study leading to a baccalaureate degree;
57	2. He or she is not enrolled in a program of study leading
58	to a degree in theology or divinity; and
59	3. He or she is making satisfactory academic progress as
60	defined by the college or university in which he or she is
61	enrolled.
62	(5)(a) Funding for the Access to Better Learning and
63	Education Grant Program shall be based on a formula comprised of
64	planned enrollment and the state cost of funding undergraduate
65	enrollment at public institutions under section 1011.90, Florida
66	Statutes. The amount of the access grant issued to a full-time
67	student shall be an amount specified in the General
68	Appropriations Act. The access grant may be paid on a prorated
69	basis in advance of the registration period. The department
70	shall make payments to the college or university in which the
71	student is enrolled for credit to the student's account for
72	payment of tuition and fees. Institutions shall certify to the
73	department the amount of funds disbursed to each student and
74	shall remit to the department any undisbursed advances or
75	refunds within 60 days after the end of regular registration. A
76	student may not receive the award for more than 9 semesters or
77	14 quarters, except as otherwise provided in section 1009.40(3),
78	Florida Statutes.
79	(b) If the combined amount of the access grant issued
80	pursuant to this section and all other scholarships and grants
81	for tuition or fees exceeds the amount charged to the student
82	for tuition and fees, the department shall reduce the grant
83	issued under this section by an amount equal to the excess.
84	(6) If the number of eligible students exceeds the total
85	authorized in the General Appropriations Act, an institution may
86	use its own resources to assure that each eligible student
87	receives the full benefit of the grant amount authorized.
88	Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.