| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the First Generation Matching Grant |
| 3 | Program; amending s. 1009.701, F.S.; clarifying provisions |
| 4 | relating to eligibility for receipt of a grant; revising |
| 5 | the basis for matching funds; revising provisions relating |
| 6 | to allocation and reallocation of funds; providing for use |
| 7 | of awards and balance of funds; providing an effective |
| 8 | date. |
| 9 |
|
| 10 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 11 |
|
| 12 | Section 1. Subsections (1), (2), and (4), paragraph (b) of |
| 13 | subsection (5), and subsections (7) and (8) of section 1009.701, |
| 14 | Florida Statutes, are amended to read: |
| 15 | 1009.701 First Generation Matching Grant Program.-- |
| 16 | (1) The First Generation Matching Grant Program is created |
| 17 | to enable each state university to provide donors with a |
| 18 | matching grant incentive for contributions that will create |
| 19 | grant-based student financial aid for undergraduate students who |
| 20 | demonstrate financial need and whose parents, as defined in s. |
| 21 | 1009.21(1), have not earned a baccalaureate or higher degree. In |
| 22 | the case of any individual who regularly resided with and |
| 23 | received support from only one parent, an individual whose only |
| 24 | such parent did not complete a baccalaureate or higher degree |
| 25 | would also be eligible. |
| 26 | (2) Funds appropriated by the Legislature for the program |
| 27 | shall be allocated by the Office of Student Financial Assistance |
| 28 | to match private contributions on a $3 state match for $1 |
| 29 | private contribution dollar-for-dollar basis. Contributions made |
| 30 | to a state university and pledged for the purposes of this |
| 31 | section are eligible for state matching funds appropriated for |
| 32 | this program and are not eligible for any other state matching |
| 33 | grant program. Pledged contributions are not eligible for |
| 34 | matching prior to the actual collection of the total funds. The |
| 35 | Office of Student Financial Assistance shall reserve a |
| 36 | proportionate allocation of the total appropriated funds for |
| 37 | each state university on the basis of full-time equivalent |
| 38 | resident undergraduate enrollment. Beginning with the 2008-2009 |
| 39 | fiscal year, funds that remain unmatched as of August 1 December |
| 40 | 1 shall be reallocated to state universities that have remaining |
| 41 | unmatched private contributions for the program on the basis of |
| 42 | full-time equivalent resident undergraduate enrollment. |
| 43 | (4) Each participating state university shall establish an |
| 44 | application process, determine student eligibility for initial |
| 45 | and renewal awards in conformance with subsection (5), identify |
| 46 | the amount awarded to each recipient, and notify recipients of |
| 47 | the amount of their awards. A student may use an award for |
| 48 | summer term enrollment if funds are available. |
| 49 | (5) In order to be eligible to receive a grant pursuant to |
| 50 | this section, an applicant must: |
| 51 | (b) Be a first-generation college student. For the |
| 52 | purposes of this section, a student is considered "first |
| 53 | generation" if neither of the student's parents, as defined in |
| 54 | s. 1009.21(1), earned a college degree at the baccalaureate |
| 55 | level or higher or, in the case of any individual who regularly |
| 56 | resided with and received support from only one parent, if that |
| 57 | parent did not earn a baccalaureate or higher degree. |
| 58 | (7) Each participating institution shall report to the |
| 59 | Office of Student Financial Assistance by the date established |
| 60 | by the office the eligible students to whom grant moneys are |
| 61 | disbursed each academic term. Each institution shall certify to |
| 62 | the Office of Student Financial Assistance the amount of funds |
| 63 | disbursed to each student and shall remit to the office any |
| 64 | undisbursed advances by June 1 of each year. Any balance at the |
| 65 | end of a fiscal year that has been disbursed to a university for |
| 66 | this program shall remain at the university and shall be |
| 67 | available for carrying out the purposes of the program. |
| 68 | (8) No later than November 15 July 1, each participating |
| 69 | institution shall annually report to the Executive Office of the |
| 70 | Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House |
| 71 | of Representatives, and the Board of Governors the eligibility |
| 72 | requirements for recipients, the aggregate demographics of |
| 73 | recipients, the retention and graduation rates of recipients, |
| 74 | and a delineation of funds awarded to recipients in the prior |
| 75 | academic year. |
| 76 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007. |