Florida Senate - 2015 SB 960
By Senator Lee
24-00358A-15 2015960__
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 certain
17 individuals; deleting obsolete provisions; providing
18 an effective date.
19
20 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
21
22 Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 1009.534, Florida
23 Statutes, is amended to read:
24 1009.534 Florida Academic Scholars award.—
25 (1) A student is eligible for a Florida Academic Scholars
26 award if he or she the student meets the general eligibility
27 requirements for the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program
28 and the student:
29 (a) Has achieved a 3.5 weighted grade point average as
30 calculated pursuant to s. 1009.531, or its equivalent, in high
31 school courses that are designated by the State Board of
32 Education as college-preparatory academic courses; and has
33 attained at least the score required under pursuant to s.
34 1009.531(6)(a) on the combined verbal and quantitative parts of
35 the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the Scholastic Assessment Test, or
36 the recentered Scholastic Assessment Test of the College
37 Entrance Examination, or an equivalent score on the ACT
38 Assessment Program;
39 (b) Has attended a home education program according to s.
40 1002.41 during grades 11 and 12, or has completed the
41 International Baccalaureate curriculum but failed to earn the
42 International Baccalaureate Diploma, or has completed the
43 Advanced International Certificate of Education curriculum but
44 failed to earn the Advanced International Certificate of
45 Education Diploma;, and has attained at least the score required
46 under pursuant to s. 1009.531(6)(a) on the combined verbal and
47 quantitative parts of the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the
48 Scholastic Assessment Test, or the recentered Scholastic
49 Assessment Test of the College Entrance Examination, or an
50 equivalent score on the ACT Assessment Program;
51 (c) Has been awarded an International Baccalaureate Diploma
52 from the International Baccalaureate Office or an Advanced
53 International Certificate of Education Diploma from the
54 University of Cambridge International Examinations Office;
55 (d) Has been recognized by the merit or achievement
56 programs of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation as a
57 scholar or finalist; or
58 (e) Has been recognized by the National Hispanic
59 Recognition Program as a scholar recipient.
60
61 The A student must complete a program of volunteer community
62 service work, as approved by the district school board, the
63 administrators of a nonpublic school, or the Department of
64 Education for home education program students, which must shall
65 include a minimum of 75 hours of service work for high school
66 students graduating in the 2010-2011 academic year and 100 hours
67 of service work for high school students graduating in the 2011
68 2012 academic year and thereafter. The student, and must
69 identify a social or civic issue or a professional area problem
70 that interests him or her, develop a plan for his or her
71 personal involvement in addressing the issue or learning about
72 the area problem, and, through papers or other presentations,
73 evaluate and reflect upon his or her experience. The student may
74 not receive remuneration or academic credit for the volunteer
75 service work performed. Such work may include, but is not
76 limited to, a business or government internship, work for a
77 nonprofit community service organization, or activity on behalf
78 of a candidate for public office. The hours of volunteer service
79 work must be documented in writing, and the document must be
80 signed by the student, the student’s parent or guardian, and a
81 representative of the organization for which the student
82 performed the volunteer service work.
83 Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 1009.535, Florida
84 Statutes, is amended to read:
85 1009.535 Florida Medallion Scholars award.—
86 (1) A student is eligible for a Florida Medallion Scholars
87 award if he or she the student meets the general eligibility
88 requirements for the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program
89 and the student:
90 (a) Has achieved a weighted grade point average of 3.0 as
91 calculated pursuant to s. 1009.531, or the equivalent, in high
92 school courses that are designated by the State Board of
93 Education as college-preparatory academic courses; and has
94 attained at least the score required under pursuant to s.
95 1009.531(6)(b) on the combined verbal and quantitative parts of
96 the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the Scholastic Assessment Test, or
97 the recentered Scholastic Assessment Test of the College
98 Entrance Examination, or an equivalent score on the ACT
99 Assessment Program;
100 (b) Has completed the International Baccalaureate
101 curriculum but failed to earn the International Baccalaureate
102 Diploma or has completed the Advanced International Certificate
103 of Education curriculum but failed to earn the Advanced
104 International Certificate of Education Diploma, and has attained
105 at least the score required under pursuant to s. 1009.531(6)(b)
106 on the combined verbal and quantitative parts of the Scholastic
107 Aptitude Test, the Scholastic Assessment Test, or the recentered
108 Scholastic Assessment Test of the College Entrance Examination,
109 or an equivalent score on the ACT Assessment Program;
110 (c) Has attended a home education program according to s.
111 1002.41 during grades 11 and 12 and has attained at least the
112 score required under pursuant to s. 1009.531(6)(b) on the
113 combined verbal and quantitative parts of the Scholastic
114 Aptitude Test, the Scholastic Assessment Test, or the recentered
115 Scholastic Assessment Test of the College Entrance Examination,
116 or an equivalent score on the ACT Assessment Program, if the
117 student’s parent cannot document a college-preparatory
118 curriculum as described in paragraph (a);
119 (d) Has been recognized by the merit or achievement program
120 of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation as a scholar or
121 finalist but has not completed the a program of volunteer
122 community service work required under as provided in s.
123 1009.534; or
124 (e) Has been recognized by the National Hispanic
125 Recognition Program as a scholar, but has not completed the a
126 program of volunteer community service work required under as
127 provided in s. 1009.534.
128
129 The A high school student graduating in the 2011-2012 academic
130 year and thereafter must complete at least 75 hours a program of
131 volunteer community service work approved by the district school
132 board, the administrators of a nonpublic school, or the
133 Department of Education for home education program students. The
134 student, which shall include a minimum of 75 hours of service
135 work, and must identify a social or civic issue or a
136 professional area problem that interests him or her, develop a
137 plan for his or her personal involvement in addressing the issue
138 or learning about the area problem, and, through papers or other
139 presentations, evaluate and reflect upon his or her experience.
140 The student may not receive remuneration or academic credit for
141 the volunteer service work performed. Such work may include, but
142 is not limited to, a business or government internship, work for
143 a nonprofit community service organization, or activity on
144 behalf of a candidate for public office. The hours of volunteer
145 service work must be documented in writing, and the document
146 must be signed by the student, the student’s parent or guardian,
147 and a representative of the organization for which the student
148 performed the volunteer service work.
149 Section 3. Subsection (1) of section 1009.536, Florida
150 Statutes, is amended to read:
151 1009.536 Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholars award.—The
152 Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholars award is created within
153 the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program to recognize and
154 reward academic achievement and career preparation by high
155 school students who wish to continue their education.
156 (1) A student is eligible for a Florida Gold Seal
157 Vocational Scholars award if he or she the student meets the
158 general eligibility requirements for the Florida Bright Futures
159 Scholarship Program and the student:
160 (a) Completes the secondary school portion of a sequential
161 program of studies which that requires at least three secondary
162 school career credits. On-the-job training may not be
163 substituted for any of the three required career credits.
164 (b) Demonstrates readiness for postsecondary education by
165 earning a passing score on the Florida College Entry Level
166 Placement Test or its equivalent as identified by the Department
167 of Education.
168 (c) Earns a minimum cumulative weighted grade point average
169 of 3.0, as calculated pursuant to s. 1009.531, on all subjects
170 required for a standard high school diploma, excluding elective
171 courses.
172 (d) Earns a minimum unweighted grade point average of 3.5
173 on a 4.0 scale for secondary career courses that compose
174 comprising the career program.
175 (e) Beginning with high school students graduating in the
176 2011-2012 academic year and thereafter, completes at least 30
177 hours a program of volunteer community service work approved by
178 the district school board, the administrators of a nonpublic
179 school, or the Department of Education for home education
180 program students. The student must identify, which shall include
181 a minimum of 30 hours of service work, and identifies a social
182 or civic issue or a professional area problem that interests him
183 or her, develop develops a plan for his or her personal
184 involvement in addressing the issue or learning about the area
185 problem, and, through papers or other presentations, evaluate
186 evaluates and reflect reflects upon his or her experience. The
187 student may not receive remuneration or academic credit for the
188 volunteer service work performed. Such work may include, but is
189 not limited to, a business or government internship, work for a
190 nonprofit community service organization, or activity on behalf
191 of a candidate for public office. The hours of volunteer service
192 work must be documented in writing, and the document must be
193 signed by the student, the student’s parent or guardian, and a
194 representative of the organization for which the student
195 performed the volunteer service work.
196 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2015.