Florida Senate - 2021 PROPOSED COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
Bill No. SB 1484
Ì237494GÎ237494
576-03006-21
Proposed Committee Substitute by the Committee on Appropriations
(Appropriations Subcommittee on Education)
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the Florida Postsecondary Student
3 Assistance Grant Program; amending s. 1009.52, F.S;
4 revising eligibility for the Florida Postsecondary
5 Student Assistance Grant Program; providing an
6 effective date.
7
8 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
9
10 Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 1009.52, Florida
11 Statutes, is amended to read:
12 1009.52 Florida Postsecondary Student Assistance Grant
13 Program; eligibility for grants.—
14 (2)(a) Florida postsecondary student assistance grants may
15 be made only to full-time degree-seeking students who meet the
16 general requirements for student eligibility as provided in s.
17 1009.40, except as otherwise provided in this section. Such
18 grants shall be awarded for the amount of demonstrated unmet
19 need for tuition and fees and may not exceed the maximum annual
20 award amount specified in the General Appropriations Act. A
21 demonstrated unmet need of less than $200 shall render the
22 applicant ineligible for a Florida postsecondary student
23 assistance grant.
24 (a) Awards may be made to full-time degree-seeking students
25 who Recipients of such grants must have been accepted at a
26 postsecondary institution that is located in this state and that
27 is:
28 1. A private nursing diploma school approved by the Florida
29 Board of Nursing; or
30 2. A college or university licensed by the Commission for
31 Independent Education, excluding those institutions the students
32 of which are eligible to receive a Florida private student
33 assistance grant pursuant to s. 1009.51.
34
35 If funds are available, a student who received an award in the
36 fall or spring term may receive an award in the summer term.
37 Priority in the distribution of summer awards shall be given to
38 students who are within one semester of completing a degree or
39 certificate program. No student may receive an award for more
40 than the equivalent of 9 semesters or 14 quarters of full-time
41 enrollment, except as otherwise provided in s. 1009.40(3).
42 (b) Awards may be made to full-time degree-seeking students
43 who have been accepted at a competency-based nonprofit virtual
44 postsecondary institution that is accredited by a member of the
45 Council of Regional Accrediting Commissions and is created by
46 the governors of several states, has established and continually
47 maintains a location of operation in this state, and maintains a
48 governing body or advisory board in this state.
49 (c) A student applying for a Florida postsecondary student
50 assistance grant shall be required to apply for the Pell Grant.
51 The Pell Grant entitlement shall be considered when conducting
52 an assessment of the financial resources available to each
53 student.
54 (d)(c) Priority in the distribution of grant moneys may be
55 given to students who are within one semester of completing a
56 degree or certificate program. An institution may not make a
57 grant from this program to a student whose expected family
58 contribution exceeds one and one-half times the maximum Pell
59 Grant-eligible family contribution. An institution may not
60 impose additional criteria to determine a student’s eligibility
61 to receive a grant award.
62 (e)(d) Each participating institution shall report to the
63 department by the established date the students eligible for the
64 program for each academic term. Each institution shall also
65 report to the department necessary demographic and eligibility
66 data for such students.
67 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.