Florida Senate - 2014 SB 566
By Senator Lee
24-00229D-14 2014566__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the Florida Bright Futures
3 Scholarship Program; amending ss. 1009.534, 1009.535,
4 and 1009.536, F.S.; requiring a student, as a
5 prerequisite for the Florida Academic Scholars award,
6 the Florida Medallion Scholars award, or the Florida
7 Gold Seal Vocational Scholars award, to identify a
8 social or civic issue or a professional area of
9 interest and develop a plan for his or her personal
10 involvement in addressing the issue or learning about
11 the area; prohibiting the student from receiving
12 remuneration or academic credit for the volunteer
13 service work performed; providing examples of
14 volunteer service work; requiring that the hours of
15 volunteer service work performed be documented in
16 writing and the document be signed by the student, the
17 student’s parent or guardian, and a representative of
18 the organization for which the student performed the
19 volunteer service work; deleting obsolete provisions;
20 providing an effective date.
21
22 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
23
24 Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 1009.534, Florida
25 Statutes, is amended to read:
26 1009.534 Florida Academic Scholars award.—
27 (1) A student is eligible for a Florida Academic Scholars
28 award if he or she the student meets the general eligibility
29 requirements for the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program
30 and the student:
31 (a) Has achieved a 3.5 weighted grade point average as
32 calculated pursuant to s. 1009.531, or its equivalent, in high
33 school courses that are designated by the State Board of
34 Education as college-preparatory academic courses; and has
35 attained at least the score required under pursuant to s.
36 1009.531(6)(a) on the combined verbal and quantitative parts of
37 the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the Scholastic Assessment Test, or
38 the recentered Scholastic Assessment Test of the College
39 Entrance Examination, or an equivalent score on the ACT
40 Assessment Program;
41 (b) Has attended a home education program according to s.
42 1002.41 during grades 11 and 12, or has completed the
43 International Baccalaureate curriculum but failed to earn the
44 International Baccalaureate Diploma, or has completed the
45 Advanced International Certificate of Education curriculum but
46 failed to earn the Advanced International Certificate of
47 Education Diploma, and has attained at least the score required
48 under pursuant to s. 1009.531(6)(a) on the combined verbal and
49 quantitative parts of the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the
50 Scholastic Assessment Test, or the recentered Scholastic
51 Assessment Test of the College Entrance Examination, or an
52 equivalent score on the ACT Assessment Program;
53 (c) Has been awarded an International Baccalaureate Diploma
54 from the International Baccalaureate Office or an Advanced
55 International Certificate of Education Diploma from the
56 University of Cambridge International Examinations Office;
57 (d) Has been recognized by the merit or achievement
58 programs of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation as a
59 scholar or finalist; or
60 (e) Has been recognized by the National Hispanic
61 Recognition Program as a scholar recipient.
62
63 The A student must complete a program of volunteer community
64 service work, as approved by the district school board, the
65 administrators of a nonpublic school, or the Department of
66 Education for home education program students, which must shall
67 include a minimum of 75 hours of service work for high school
68 students graduating in the 2010-2011 academic year and 100 hours
69 of service work for high school students graduating in the 2011
70 2012 academic year and thereafter. The student , and must
71 identify a social or civic issue or a professional area problem
72 that interests him or her, develop a plan for his or her
73 personal involvement in addressing the issue or learning about
74 the area problem, and, through papers or other presentations,
75 evaluate and reflect upon his or her experience. The student may
76 not receive remuneration or academic credit for the volunteer
77 service work performed. Such work may include, but is not
78 limited to, a business or government internship, work for a
79 nonprofit community service organization, or activity on behalf
80 of a candidate for public office. The hours of service work must
81 be documented in writing, and the document must be signed by the
82 student, the student’s parent or guardian, and a representative
83 of the organization for which the student performed the service
84 work.
85 Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 1009.535, Florida
86 Statutes, is amended to read:
87 1009.535 Florida Medallion Scholars award.—
88 (1) A student is eligible for a Florida Medallion Scholars
89 award if he or she the student meets the general eligibility
90 requirements for the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program
91 and the student:
92 (a) Has achieved a weighted grade point average of 3.0 as
93 calculated pursuant to s. 1009.531, or the equivalent, in high
94 school courses that are designated by the State Board of
95 Education as college-preparatory academic courses; and has
96 attained at least the score required under pursuant to s.
97 1009.531(6)(b) on the combined verbal and quantitative parts of
98 the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the Scholastic Assessment Test, or
99 the recentered Scholastic Assessment Test of the College
100 Entrance Examination, or an equivalent score on the ACT
101 Assessment Program;
102 (b) Has completed the International Baccalaureate
103 curriculum but failed to earn the International Baccalaureate
104 Diploma or has completed the Advanced International Certificate
105 of Education curriculum but failed to earn the Advanced
106 International Certificate of Education Diploma, and has attained
107 at least the score required under pursuant to s. 1009.531(6)(b)
108 on the combined verbal and quantitative parts of the Scholastic
109 Aptitude Test, the Scholastic Assessment Test, or the recentered
110 Scholastic Assessment Test of the College Entrance Examination,
111 or an equivalent score on the ACT Assessment Program;
112 (c) Has attended a home education program according to s.
113 1002.41 during grades 11 and 12 and has attained at least the
114 score required under pursuant to s. 1009.531(6)(b) on the
115 combined verbal and quantitative parts of the Scholastic
116 Aptitude Test, the Scholastic Assessment Test, or the recentered
117 Scholastic Assessment Test of the College Entrance Examination,
118 or an equivalent score on the ACT Assessment Program, if the
119 student’s parent cannot document a college-preparatory
120 curriculum as described in paragraph (a);
121 (d) Has been recognized by the merit or achievement program
122 of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation as a scholar or
123 finalist but has not completed the a program of volunteer
124 community service work required under as provided in s.
125 1009.534; or
126 (e) Has been recognized by the National Hispanic
127 Recognition Program as a scholar, but has not completed the a
128 program of volunteer community service work required under as
129 provided in s. 1009.534.
130
131 The A high school student graduating in the 2011-2012 academic
132 year and thereafter must complete at least 75 hours a program of
133 volunteer community service work approved by the district school
134 board, the administrators of a nonpublic school, or the
135 Department of Education for home education program students. The
136 student, which shall include a minimum of 75 hours of service
137 work, and must identify a social or civic issue or professional
138 area problem that interests him or her, develop a plan for his
139 or her personal involvement in addressing the issue or learning
140 about the area problem, and, through papers or other
141 presentations, evaluate and reflect upon his or her experience.
142 The student may not receive remuneration or academic credit for
143 the volunteer service work performed. Such work may include, but
144 is not limited to, a business or government internship, work for
145 a nonprofit community service organization, or activity on
146 behalf of a candidate for public office. The hours of service
147 work must be documented in writing, and the document must be
148 signed by the student, the student’s parent or guardian, and a
149 representative of the organization for which the student
150 performed the service work.
151 Section 3. Subsection (1) of section 1009.536, Florida
152 Statutes, is amended to read:
153 1009.536 Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholars award.—The
154 Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholars award is created within
155 the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program to recognize and
156 reward academic achievement and career preparation by high
157 school students who wish to continue their education.
158 (1) A student is eligible for a Florida Gold Seal
159 Vocational Scholars award if he or she the student meets the
160 general eligibility requirements for the Florida Bright Futures
161 Scholarship Program and the student:
162 (a) Completes the secondary school portion of a sequential
163 program of studies that requires at least three secondary school
164 career credits. On-the-job training may not be substituted for
165 any of the three required career credits.
166 (b) Demonstrates readiness for postsecondary education by
167 earning a passing score on the Florida College Entry Level
168 Placement Test or its equivalent as identified by the Department
169 of Education.
170 (c) Earns a minimum cumulative weighted grade point average
171 of 3.0, as calculated pursuant to s. 1009.531, on all subjects
172 required for a standard high school diploma, excluding elective
173 courses.
174 (d) Earns a minimum unweighted grade point average of 3.5
175 on a 4.0 scale for secondary career courses that compose
176 comprising the career program.
177 (e) Beginning with high school students graduating in the
178 2011-2012 academic year and thereafter, completes at least 30
179 hours a program of volunteer community service work approved by
180 the district school board, the administrators of a nonpublic
181 school, or the Department of Education for home education
182 program students. The student must identify, which shall include
183 a minimum of 30 hours of service work, and identifies a social
184 or civic issue or a professional area problem that interests him
185 or her, develop develops a plan for his or her personal
186 involvement in addressing the issue or learning about the area
187 problem, and, through papers or other presentations, evaluate
188 evaluates and reflect reflects upon his or her experience. The
189 student may not receive remuneration or academic credit for the
190 volunteer service work performed. Such work may include, but is
191 not limited to, a business or government internship, work for a
192 nonprofit community service organization, or activity on behalf
193 of a candidate for public office. The hours of service work must
194 be documented in writing, and the document must be signed by the
195 student, the student’s parent or guardian, and a representative
196 of the organization for which the student performed the service
197 work.
198 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.