| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the Florida Prepaid Tuition Scholarship |
| 3 | Program; amending s. 1009.984, F.S.; providing for the |
| 4 | aggregation into one pool per program of unused student |
| 5 | credit hours purchased by a private sector entity; |
| 6 | providing for reissuance of such credit hours as prepaid |
| 7 | tuition scholarships for eligible students; defining the |
| 8 | term "unused student credit hour"; providing an effective |
| 9 | 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 1009.984, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 14 | to read: |
| 15 | 1009.984 Florida Prepaid Tuition Scholarship Program.--The |
| 16 | Florida Prepaid Tuition Scholarship Program is established to |
| 17 | provide economically disadvantaged youth with prepaid |
| 18 | postsecondary tuition scholarships. The direct-support |
| 19 | organization established pursuant to s. 1009.983 shall |
| 20 | administer the program with the assistance and cooperation of |
| 21 | the Department of Education to: |
| 22 | (1) Provide an incentive for economically disadvantaged |
| 23 | youth to improve school attendance and academic performance in |
| 24 | order to graduate and pursue a postsecondary education. |
| 25 | (2) Obtain the commitment and involvement of private |
| 26 | sector entities by virtue of funding matches with a ratio of 50 |
| 27 | percent provided by the private sector and 50 percent provided |
| 28 | by the state. |
| 29 | (3) Purchase prepaid tuition scholarships for students |
| 30 | certified by the Department of Education to the direct-support |
| 31 | organization who meet minimum economic and school requirements |
| 32 | and remain drug free and crime free. |
| 33 | (a) For the purpose of this subsection, "drug free" means |
| 34 | not being convicted of, or adjudicated delinquent for, any |
| 35 | violation of chapter 893 after being designated a recipient of a |
| 36 | Florida prepaid tuition scholarship. |
| 37 | (b) For the purpose of this subsection, "crime free" means |
| 38 | not being convicted of, or adjudicated delinquent for, any |
| 39 | felony or first degree misdemeanor as defined in ss. 775.08 and |
| 40 | 775.081 after being designated a recipient of a Florida prepaid |
| 41 | tuition scholarship. |
| 42 | (4) Provide for the aggregation into one pool per program |
| 43 | of any unused student credit hours that have been purchased by a |
| 44 | private sector entity. The aggregated unused student credit |
| 45 | hours may be reissued as prepaid tuition scholarships for |
| 46 | students meeting the requirements of this section. For purposes |
| 47 | of this subsection, "unused student credit hour" means any |
| 48 | student credit hour remaining unused after: |
| 49 | (a) The period of time stated in a student's participation |
| 50 | agreement with the private sector entity for the student to |
| 51 | complete the program of study; |
| 52 | (b) The student has graduated from the program of study; |
| 53 | or |
| 54 | (c) The student executes a withdrawal letter to the |
| 55 | private sector entity. |
| 56 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009. |