HB 795

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to student financial assistance; creating
3s. 1009.701, F.S.; creating the First Generation Matching
4Grant Program to provide financial aid to undergraduate
5students with financial need whose parents have not earned
6a baccalaureate degree; providing for appropriation,
7allocation, and distribution of funds; providing student
8eligibility requirements; providing the basis for the
9amount of awards; providing duties of institutions
10participating in the program; creating s. 1009.255, F.S.;
11providing an out-of-state fee exemption; providing
12eligibility criteria; providing for distribution of the
13exemption; limiting participation in the program;
14requiring the Department of Education to administer the
15exemption program; prohibiting use of the exemption for
16certain purposes; providing an appropriation; providing an
17effective date.
18
19Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
20
21     Section 1.  Section 1009.701, Florida Statutes, is created
22to read:
23     1009.701  First Generation Matching Grant Program.--
24     (1)  The First Generation Matching Grant Program is created
25to enable each state university and community college to provide
26donors with a matching grant incentive for contributions that
27will create grant-based student financial aid for undergraduate
28students who demonstrate financial need and whose parents, as
29defined in s. 1009.21(1), have not earned a baccalaureate
30degree.
31     (2)  Funds appropriated by the Legislature for the program
32shall be allocated by the Office of Student Financial Assistance
33to match private contributions on a dollar-for-dollar basis.
34Contributions made to a state university or community college
35and pledged for the purposes of this section are eligible for
36state matching funds appropriated for this program and are not
37eligible for any other state matching grant program. Pledged
38contributions are not eligible for matching prior to the actual
39collection of the total funds. The Office of Student Financial
40Assistance shall reserve 50 percent of the total appropriated
41funds for state universities and the remaining 50 percent for
42community colleges. Within each 50-percent portion, the Office
43of Student Financial Assistance shall reserve a proportionate
44allocation for each state university and community college on
45the basis of full-time equivalent enrollments. Funds that remain
46unmatched as of December 1 shall be reallocated to state
47universities and community colleges that have remaining
48unmatched private contributions for the program on the basis of
49full-time equivalent enrollments.
50     (3)  Payment of the state matching grant shall be
51transmitted to the president of each participating institution
52or his or her representative in advance of the student
53registration period.
54     (4)  Each participating state university and community
55college shall establish an application process, determine
56student eligibility for initial and renewal awards in
57conformance with subsection (5), identify the amount awarded to
58each recipient, and notify recipients of the amount of their
59awards.
60     (5)  In order to be eligible to receive a grant pursuant to
61this section, an applicant shall:
62     (a)  Be a resident for tuition purposes pursuant to s.
631009.21.
64     (b)  Be a first generation college student. For the
65purposes of this section, a student is considered "first
66generation" if neither of the student's parents, as defined in
67s. 1009.21(1), earned a college degree at the baccalaureate
68level or higher.
69     (c)  Be accepted at a state university or community
70college.
71     (d)  Be enrolled for a minimum of 6 credit hours per term
72as a degree-seeking undergraduate student.
73     (e)  Have demonstrated financial need by completing the
74Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
75     (6)  The award amount shall be based on the student's need
76assessment after any scholarship or grant aid, including, but
77not limited to, a Pell Grant or a Florida Bright Futures
78Scholarship Program award, has been applied. No award may exceed
79the institution's estimated annual cost of attendance for
80comparable undergraduate students attending the institution.
81     (7)  Each participating institution shall report to the
82Office of Student Financial Assistance, by the date established
83by the office, the eligible students to whom grant moneys are
84disbursed each academic term. Institutions shall certify to the
85Office of Student Financial Assistance the amount of funds
86disbursed to each student and shall remit to the office any
87undisbursed advances by June 1 of each year.
88     (8)  No later than July 1 of each year, each participating
89institution shall report to the Executive Office of the
90Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the
91President of the Senate, each community college shall report to
92the State Board of Education, and each state university shall
93report to the Board of Governors regarding eligibility
94requirements for recipients, the aggregate demographics of
95recipients, retention and graduation rates of recipients, and a
96delineation of funds awarded to recipients.
97     (9)  This section shall be implemented only as specifically
98funded.
99     Section 2.  Section 1009.255, Florida Statutes, is created
100to read:
101     1009.255  Out-of-state fee exemption.--
102     (1)  A student who meets all of the following requirements
103may be eligible for an exemption from paying out-of-state fees
104assessed pursuant to s. 1009.22, s. 1009.23, or s. 1009.24:
105     (a)  The student resided in Florida with a parent for at
106least 3 consecutive years immediately preceding the date the
107student received a high school diploma, or its equivalent, and
108attended a Florida public high school for at least 3 consecutive
109school years during such time.
110     (b)  The student is accepted by and enrolls in a community
111college or state university within 12 months after receiving a
112high school diploma or its equivalent.
113     (c)  The student submits an application for the exemption
114to the Department of Education in the manner prescribed by the
115department and by the deadline established by the department.
116     (2)(a)  For the 2006-2007 academic year, the Department of
117Education shall distribute the exemptions in the following
118manner:
119     1.  To the first 1,500 students currently enrolled in a
120community college or state university who have a cumulative
121grade point average of at least 2.0 and who submit an
122application to the department and meet the criteria in
123subsection (1).
124     2.  To the top 500 students in academic performance in
125Florida public high schools who submit an application to the
126department and meet the criteria in subsection (1).
127     (b)  Beginning with the 2007-2008 academic year, the
128Department of Education shall issue no more than 500 new
129exemptions per year to the top 500 students in academic
130performance in Florida public high schools who submit an
131application to the department and meet the criteria in
132subsection (1).
133     (c)  In order to retain the exemption, a student must have
134completed at least 12 semester credit hours or the equivalent in
135the previous academic year and maintain at least a 2.0
136cumulative grade point average.
137     (3)(a)  The Department of Education shall administer the
138exemption program, develop an application form, and establish
139deadlines and guidelines for student participation.
140     (b)  The department shall issue the exemptions by August 31
141of each year and shall notify the student and the community
142college or state university in which the student is enrolled.
143     (4)  The exemption may not be used for remedial courses,
144graduate-level courses, or professional-level courses.
145     Section 3.  For the 2006-2007 fiscal year, the sum of $14
146million is appropriated from recurring general revenue to the
147Office of Student Financial Assistance for the First Generation
148Matching Grant Program. The Office of Student Financial
149Assistance shall allocate these funds pursuant to the provisions
150of s. 1009.701, Florida Statutes.
151     Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.


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