| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to student financial assistance; creating |
| 3 | s. 1009.895, F.S.; creating the Florida Independent |
| 4 | Collegiate Assistance Grant Program; providing for program |
| 5 | administration; authorizing tuition assistance grants to |
| 6 | certain postsecondary education students enrolling in |
| 7 | undergraduate degree programs for specified occupations; |
| 8 | providing institution eligibility requirements; providing |
| 9 | an effective date. |
| 10 |
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| 11 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 12 |
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| 13 | Section 1. Section 1009.895, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 14 | to read: |
| 15 | 1009.895 Florida Independent Collegiate Assistance Grant |
| 16 | Program.-- |
| 17 | (1) The Legislature finds and declares that independent |
| 18 | institutions licensed by the Commission for Independent |
| 19 | Education are an integral part of the higher education system in |
| 20 | this state through which Florida residents seek higher |
| 21 | education. The Legislature finds that a significant number of |
| 22 | state residents choose to pursue higher education at these |
| 23 | institutions and that these institutions and the students they |
| 24 | educate and train make a substantial contribution to the |
| 25 | development of the state's economy. The Legislature intends to |
| 26 | create a tuition assistance grant program for state residents |
| 27 | that is not based upon a student's financial need or other |
| 28 | criteria upon which financial aid programs are based. |
| 29 | (2) The Florida Independent Collegiate Assistance Grant |
| 30 | Program, to be known as the FICA Grant Program, is created as a |
| 31 | student tuition assistance grant program. |
| 32 | (a) The program shall be administered by the Department of |
| 33 | Education according to rules adopted by the State Board of |
| 34 | Education. |
| 35 | (b) The department may issue a tuition assistance grant |
| 36 | under the program to any full-time student who: |
| 37 | 1. Meets student residency requirements as provided in s. |
| 38 | 1009.40(1)(a)2. |
| 39 | 2. Is enrolled as a full-time undergraduate student at an |
| 40 | eligible independent institution of higher education as defined |
| 41 | in this section and is seeking an associate degree or higher. |
| 42 | 3. Is making satisfactory academic progress as defined by |
| 43 | the independent institution of higher education in which the |
| 44 | student is enrolled. |
| 45 | 4. Enrolls in an undergraduate degree program that leads |
| 46 | to employment in an occupation that is listed on a regional |
| 47 | targeted occupations list of a Florida workforce board at the |
| 48 | time of enrollment. |
| 49 | (3) An "eligible independent institution of higher |
| 50 | education" is: |
| 51 | (a) An institution that is licensed by the Commission for |
| 52 | Independent Education under chapter 1005, is accredited by an |
| 53 | accrediting agency that is recognized by the United States |
| 54 | Secretary of Education as a reliable authority as to the quality |
| 55 | of education or training offered at its accredited institutions, |
| 56 | and has established performance requirements for student |
| 57 | achievement that include minimum objective quantitative |
| 58 | standards, including completion rates and placement rates. |
| 59 | (b) An institution whose students are not eligible to |
| 60 | participate in the Access to Better Learning and Education Grant |
| 61 | Program or the William L. Boyd, IV, Florida Resident Access |
| 62 | Grant Program. |
| 63 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2005. |