Florida Senate - 2017 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. PCS (525260) for CS for SB 2
Ì840626+Î840626
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
02/23/2017 .
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The Committee on Appropriations (Flores and Galvano) recommended
the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Between lines 609 and 610
4 insert:
5 Section 16. Section 1009.894, Florida Statutes, is created
6 to read:
7 1009.894. Florida Farmworker Student Scholarship Program.
8 The Legislature recognizes the vital contribution of farmworkers
9 to the economy of this state. The Florida Farmworker Student
10 Scholarship Program is created to provide scholarships for
11 farmworkers, as defined in s. 420.503, and the children of such
12 farmworkers.
13 (1) The Department of Education shall administer the
14 Florida Farmworker Student Scholarship Program according to
15 rules and procedures established by the State Board of
16 Education. Up to 50 scholarships shall be awarded annually
17 according to the criteria established in subsection (2) and
18 contingent upon an appropriation in the General Appropriations
19 Act.
20 (2)(a) To be eligible for an initial scholarship, a student
21 must, at a minimum:
22 1. Have a resident status as required by s. 1009.40 and
23 rules of the State Board of Education;
24 2. Earn a minimum cumulative 3.5 weighted grade point
25 average for all high school courses creditable towards a
26 diploma;
27 3. Complete a minimum of 30 hours of community service; and
28 4. Have at least a 90 percent attendance rate and not have
29 had any disciplinary action brought against him or her, as
30 documented on the student’s high school transcript.
31 (b) The department shall rank eligible initial applicants
32 for the purposes of awarding scholarships based on need, as
33 determined by the department.
34 (c) In order to renew a scholarship awarded pursuant to
35 this section, a student must maintain at least a cumulative
36 grade point average of 2.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale for college
37 coursework.
38 (3) A scholarship recipient must enroll in a minimum of 12
39 credit hours per term, or the equivalent, at a public
40 postsecondary educational institution in this state to receive
41 funding.
42 (4) A scholarship recipient may receive an award for a
43 maximum of 100 percent of the number of credit hours required to
44 complete an associate or baccalaureate degree program or receive
45 an award for a maximum of 100 percent of the credit hours or
46 clock hours required to complete up to 90 credit hours of a
47 program that terminates in a career certificate. The scholarship
48 recipient is eligible for an award equal to the amount required
49 to pay the tuition and fees established under ss. 1009.22(3),
50 (5), (6), and (7); 1009.23(3), (4), (7), (8), (10), and (11);
51 and 1009.24(4), (7)-(13), (14)(r), and (16), as applicable, at a
52 public postsecondary educational institution in this state.
53 Renewal scholarships must take precedence over new awards in a
54 year in which funds are not sufficient to accommodate both
55 initial and renewal awards. The scholarship must be prorated for
56 any such year.
57 (5) Subject to appropriation in the General Appropriations
58 Act, the department shall annually issue awards from the
59 scholarship program. Before the registration period each
60 semester, the department shall transmit payment for each award
61 to the president or director of the postsecondary educational
62 institution, or his or her representative. However, the
63 department may withhold payment if the receiving institution
64 fails to submit the following reports or make the following
65 refunds to the department:
66 (a) Each institution shall certify to the department the
67 eligibility status of each student to receive a disbursement
68 within 30 days before the end of its regular registration
69 period, inclusive of a drop and add period. An institution is
70 not required to reevaluate the student eligibility after the end
71 of the drop and add period.
72 (b) An institution that receives funds from the scholarship
73 program must certify to the department the amount of funds
74 disbursed to each student and remit to the department any
75 undisbursed advance within 60 days after the end of the regular
76 registration period.
77 (6) The department shall allocate funds to the appropriate
78 institutions and collect and maintain data regarding the
79 scholarship program within the student financial assistance
80 database as specified in s. 1009.94.
81 (7) Funding for this program shall be as provided in the
82 General Appropriations Act.
83
84 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
85 And the title is amended as follows:
86 Delete line 51
87 and insert:
88 students; creating s. 1009.894, F.S.; creating the
89 Florida Farmworker Student Scholarship Program;
90 providing a purpose; requiring the Department of
91 Education to administer the scholarship program;
92 providing initial and renewal scholarship student
93 eligibility criteria; specifying award amounts and
94 distributions; requiring the department to issue the
95 awards annually; requiring institutions to certify
96 certain information and remit any remaining funds to
97 the department by a specified timeframe; requiring the
98 department to maintain program data; providing for
99 funding as specified in the General Appropriations
100 Act; providing a directive to the Division of Law