| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to Bright Futures Scholarships; amending |
| 3 | s. 1009.53, F.S.; authorizing a student to use an award |
| 4 | from the Bright Futures Scholarship Program for enrollment |
| 5 | in a summer term; amending s. 1009.532, F.S.; authorizing |
| 6 | the Department of Education to reserve a student's award |
| 7 | if it is possible for the student to raise his or her |
| 8 | grade point average during the summer term; providing an |
| 9 | 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. Subsection (9) of section 1009.53, Florida |
| 14 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 15 | 1009.53 Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program.-- |
| 16 | (9) A student may use an award for enrollment in a summer |
| 17 | term enrollment if funds are available. |
| 18 | Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section |
| 19 | 1009.532, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 20 | 1009.532 Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program; |
| 21 | student eligibility requirements for renewal awards.-- |
| 22 | (1) To be eligible to renew a scholarship from any of the |
| 23 | three types of scholarships under the Florida Bright Futures |
| 24 | Scholarship Program, a student must: |
| 25 | (b) Maintain the cumulative grade point average required |
| 26 | by the scholarship program, except that: |
| 27 | 1. If a recipient's grades fall beneath the average |
| 28 | required to renew a Florida Academic Scholarship, but are |
| 29 | sufficient to renew a Florida Medallion Scholarship or a Florida |
| 30 | Gold Seal Vocational Scholarship, the Department of Education |
| 31 | may grant a renewal from one of those other scholarship |
| 32 | programs, if the student meets the renewal eligibility |
| 33 | requirements; |
| 34 | 2. If, at any time during the eligibility period, a |
| 35 | student's grades are insufficient to renew the scholarship, the |
| 36 | student may restore eligibility by improving the grade point |
| 37 | average to the required level. A student is eligible for such a |
| 38 | restoration one time. The Legislature encourages education |
| 39 | institutions to assist students to calculate whether or not it |
| 40 | is possible to raise the grade point average during the summer |
| 41 | term. If the institution determines that it is possible, the |
| 42 | education institution may so inform the department, which may |
| 43 | reserve the student's award if funds are available. The renewal, |
| 44 | however, must not be granted until the student achieves the |
| 45 | required cumulative grade point average. If the summer term is |
| 46 | not sufficient to raise the grade point average to the required |
| 47 | renewal level, the student's next opportunity for renewal is the |
| 48 | fall semester of the following academic year; or |
| 49 | 3. If a student is receiving a Florida Bright Futures |
| 50 | Scholarship, is a servicemember of the Florida National Guard or |
| 51 | United States Reserves while attending a postsecondary |
| 52 | institution, is called to active duty or state active duty, as |
| 53 | defined in s. 250.01, prior to completing his or her degree, and |
| 54 | meets all other requirements for the scholarship, the student |
| 55 | shall be eligible to continue the scholarship for 2 years after |
| 56 | completing active duty or state active duty. |
| 57 | Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007. |