| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to student financial assistance; creating |
| 3 | s. 1009.701, F.S.; creating the First Generation Matching |
| 4 | Grant Program to provide financial aid to undergraduate |
| 5 | students of a state university who have a financial need |
| 6 | and whose parents have not earned a baccalaureate degree; |
| 7 | providing for the appropriation, allocation, and |
| 8 | distribution of funds; providing student eligibility |
| 9 | requirements; providing duties of institutions |
| 10 | participating in the program; providing an appropriation; |
| 11 | creating s. 1009.892, F.S.; requiring postsecondary |
| 12 | institutions to include certain testing costs in the costs |
| 13 | of attendance; amending s. 1011.85, F.S.; specifying that |
| 14 | the matching ratio for donations for scholarships includes |
| 15 | scholarships for students who are the first generation in |
| 16 | college; providing an effective date. |
| 17 |
|
| 18 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 19 |
|
| 20 | Section 1. Section 1009.701, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 21 | to read: |
| 22 | 1009.701 First Generation Matching Grant Program.-- |
| 23 | (1) The First Generation Matching Grant Program is created |
| 24 | to enable each state university to provide donors with a |
| 25 | matching grant incentive for contributions that will create |
| 26 | grant-based student financial aid for undergraduate students who |
| 27 | demonstrate financial need and whose parents, as defined in s. |
| 28 | 1009.21(1), have not earned a baccalaureate degree. In the case |
| 29 | of any individual who regularly resided with and received |
| 30 | support from only one parent, an individual whose only such |
| 31 | parent did not complete a baccalaureate degree would also be |
| 32 | eligible. |
| 33 | (2) Funds appropriated by the Legislature for the program |
| 34 | shall be allocated by the Office of Student Financial Assistance |
| 35 | to match private contributions on a dollar-for-dollar basis. |
| 36 | Contributions made to a state university and pledged for the |
| 37 | purposes of this section are eligible for state matching funds |
| 38 | appropriated for this program and are not eligible for any other |
| 39 | state matching grant program. Pledged contributions are not |
| 40 | eligible for matching prior to the actual collection of the |
| 41 | total funds. The Office of Student Financial Assistance shall |
| 42 | reserve a proportionate allocation of the total appropriated |
| 43 | funds for each state university on the basis of full-time |
| 44 | equivalent enrollment. Funds that remain unmatched as of |
| 45 | December 1 shall be reallocated to state universities that have |
| 46 | remaining unmatched private contributions for the program on the |
| 47 | basis of full-time equivalent enrollment. |
| 48 | (3) Payment of the state matching grant shall be |
| 49 | transmitted to the president of each participating institution |
| 50 | or his or her representative in advance of the official drop-add |
| 51 | deadline as defined by the institution. |
| 52 | (4) Each participating state university shall establish an |
| 53 | application process, determine student eligibility for initial |
| 54 | and renewal awards in conformance with subsection (5), identify |
| 55 | the amount awarded to each recipient, and notify recipients of |
| 56 | the amount of their awards. |
| 57 | (5) In order to be eligible to receive a grant pursuant to |
| 58 | this section, an applicant must: |
| 59 | (a) Be a resident for tuition purposes pursuant to s. |
| 60 | 1009.21. |
| 61 | (b) Be a first-generation college student. For the |
| 62 | purposes of this section, a student is considered "first |
| 63 | generation" if neither of the student's parents, as defined in |
| 64 | s. 1009.21(1), earned a college degree at the baccalaureate |
| 65 | level or higher or, in the case of any individual who regularly |
| 66 | resided with and received support from only one parent, if that |
| 67 | parent did not earn a baccalaureate degree. |
| 68 | (c) Be accepted at a state university. |
| 69 | (d) Be enrolled for a minimum of six credit hours per term |
| 70 | as a degree-seeking undergraduate student. |
| 71 | (e) Have demonstrated financial need by completing the |
| 72 | Free Application for Federal Student Aid. |
| 73 | (f) Meet additional eligibility requirements as |
| 74 | established by the institution. |
| 75 | (6) The award amount shall be based on the student's need |
| 76 | assessment after any scholarship or grant aid, including, but |
| 77 | not limited to, a Pell Grant or a Bright Futures Scholarship, |
| 78 | has been applied. An award may not exceed the institution's |
| 79 | estimated annual cost of attendance for the student to attend |
| 80 | the institution. |
| 81 | (7) Each participating institution shall report to the |
| 82 | Office of Student Financial Assistance by the date established |
| 83 | by the office the eligible students to whom grant moneys are |
| 84 | disbursed each academic term. Each institution shall certify to |
| 85 | the Office of Student Financial Assistance the amount of funds |
| 86 | disbursed to each student and shall remit to the office any |
| 87 | undisbursed advances by June 1 of each year. |
| 88 | (8) No later than July 1, each participating institution |
| 89 | shall annually report to the Executive Office of the Governor, |
| 90 | the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of |
| 91 | Representatives, and the Board of Governors, the eligibility |
| 92 | requirements for recipients, the aggregate demographics of |
| 93 | recipients, the retention and graduation rates of recipients, |
| 94 | and a delineation of funds awarded to recipients. |
| 95 | (9) This section shall be implemented only as specifically |
| 96 | funded. |
| 97 | Section 2. For the 2006-2007 fiscal year, the recurring |
| 98 | sum of $6.5 million from the General Revenue Fund is |
| 99 | appropriated to the Department of Education for the First |
| 100 | Generation Matching Grant Program pursuant to this act. |
| 101 | Section 3. Section 1009.892, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 102 | to read: |
| 103 | 1009.892 Cost of attendance; adult norm-referenced |
| 104 | testing.-- |
| 105 | (1) A public or private postsecondary institution shall |
| 106 | include in its cost of attendance adult norm-referenced testing |
| 107 | that it requires for eligible students to qualify for |
| 108 | accommodations for disabilities. |
| 109 | (2) To be eligible, a student must be a legal resident of |
| 110 | this state, as defined in s. 1009.21; must be enrolled in at |
| 111 | least 6 semester hours, or the equivalent, per term in a degree, |
| 112 | certificate, or diploma program; and must have documented |
| 113 | learning disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities |
| 114 | Education Improvement Act of 2004 or the Americans with |
| 115 | Disabilities Act of 1990. |
| 116 | Section 4. Subsection (5) of section 1011.85, Florida |
| 117 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 118 | 1011.85 Dr. Philip Benjamin Matching Grant Program for |
| 119 | Community Colleges.-- |
| 120 | (5) The matching ratio for donations that are specifically |
| 121 | designated to support scholarships, including scholarships for |
| 122 | first-generation-in-college students, student loans, or need- |
| 123 | based grants shall be $1 of state funds to $1 of local private |
| 124 | funds. |
| 125 | Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006. |