Florida Senate - 2021                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 86
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì936858_Î936858                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                   Comm: OO            .                                
                  03/16/2021           .                                
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       The Committee on Education (Thurston) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete lines 183 - 543
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section
    6  1009.50, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
    7         1009.50 Florida Public Student Assistance Grant Program;
    8  eligibility for grants.—
    9         (4)(a) The funds appropriated for the Florida Public
   10  Student Assistance Grant Program shall be distributed to
   11  eligible institutions in accordance with a formula approved by
   12  the State Board of Education. The formula must consider at least
   13  the prior year’s distribution of funds and, the number of
   14  eligible applicants who did not receive awards, the
   15  standardization of the expected family contribution, and
   16  provisions for unused funds. The formula must account for
   17  changes in the number of eligible students across all student
   18  assistance grant programs established pursuant to this section
   19  and ss. 1009.505, 1009.51, and 1009.52.
   20         Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section
   21  1009.51, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   22         1009.51 Florida Private Student Assistance Grant Program;
   23  eligibility for grants.—
   24         (4)(a) The funds appropriated for the Florida Private
   25  Student Assistance Grant Program shall be distributed to
   26  eligible institutions in accordance with a formula approved by
   27  the State Board of Education. The formula must consider at least
   28  the prior year’s distribution of funds and, the number of
   29  eligible applicants who did not receive awards, the
   30  standardization of the expected family contribution, and
   31  provisions for unused funds. The formula must account for
   32  changes in the number of eligible students across all student
   33  assistance grant programs established pursuant to this section
   34  and ss. 1009.50, 1009.505, and 1009.52.
   35         Section 4. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section
   36  1009.52, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   37         1009.52 Florida Postsecondary Student Assistance Grant
   38  Program; eligibility for grants.—
   39         (4)(a) The funds appropriated for the Florida Postsecondary
   40  Student Assistance Grant Program shall be distributed to
   41  eligible institutions in accordance with a formula approved by
   42  the State Board of Education. The formula must consider at least
   43  the prior year’s distribution of funds and, the number of
   44  eligible applicants who did not receive awards, the
   45  standardization of the expected family contribution, and
   46  provisions for unused funds. The formula must account for
   47  changes in the number of eligible students across all student
   48  assistance grant programs established pursuant to this section
   49  and ss. 1009.50, 1009.505, and 1009.51.
   50         Section 5. Subsection (3) of section 1009.53, Florida
   51  Statutes, is amended to read:
   52         1009.53 Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program.—
   53         (3) The Department of Education shall administer the Bright
   54  Futures Scholarship Program according to rules and procedures
   55  established by the State Board of Education. A single
   56  application must be sufficient for a student to apply for any of
   57  the awards. The department shall advertise the availability of
   58  the scholarship program and shall notify students, teachers,
   59  parents, certified school counselors, and principals or other
   60  relevant school administrators of the criteria and application
   61  procedures. The department must begin this process of
   62  notification no later than September January 1 of each year.
   63         Section 6. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 1009.534,
   64  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   65         1009.534 Florida Academic Scholars award.—
   66         (1) A student is eligible for a Florida Academic Scholars
   67  award if he or she meets the general eligibility requirements
   68  for the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program and:
   69         (a) Has achieved a 3.5 weighted grade point average as
   70  calculated pursuant to s. 1009.531, or its equivalent, in high
   71  school courses that are designated by the State Board of
   72  Education as college-preparatory academic courses and has
   73  attained at least the score required under s. 1009.531(6)(a) on
   74  the combined verbal and quantitative parts of the Scholastic
   75  Aptitude Test, the Scholastic Assessment Test, or the recentered
   76  Scholastic Assessment Test of the College Entrance Examination,
   77  or an equivalent score on the ACT Assessment Program;
   78         (b) Has attended a home education program according to s.
   79  1002.41 during grades 11 and 12, has completed the International
   80  Baccalaureate curriculum but failed to earn the International
   81  Baccalaureate Diploma, or has completed the Advanced
   82  International Certificate of Education curriculum but failed to
   83  earn the Advanced International Certificate of Education
   84  Diploma, and has attained at least the score required under s.
   85  1009.531(6)(a) on the combined verbal and quantitative parts of
   86  the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the Scholastic Assessment Test, or
   87  the recentered Scholastic Assessment Test of the College
   88  Entrance Examination, or an equivalent score on the ACT
   89  Assessment Program;
   90         (c) Has been awarded an International Baccalaureate Diploma
   91  from the International Baccalaureate Office or an Advanced
   92  International Certificate of Education Diploma from the
   93  University of Cambridge International Examinations Office;
   94         (d) Has been recognized by the merit or achievement
   95  programs of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation as a
   96  scholar or finalist; or
   97         (e) Has been granted academic honors by one or more of the
   98  College Board National Recognition Programs for students from
   99  underrepresented communities; or recognized by the National
  100  Hispanic Recognition Program as a scholar recipient
  101         (f) For a high school student who graduated in the 2021
  102  2022 academic year and thereafter:
  103         1. Has earned an associate degree with a minimum
  104  postsecondary cumulative grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0
  105  scale before graduating from high school; or
  106         2. Has earned a College Board Advanced Placement Capstone
  107  Diploma with scores of 4 or higher on six Advanced Placement
  108  examinations.
  109  
  110  The student must complete a program of volunteer service work,
  111  as approved by the district school board, the administrators of
  112  a nonpublic school, or the Department of Education for home
  113  education program students, which must include a minimum of 75
  114  hours of service work for high school students graduating in the
  115  2010-2011 academic year and 100 hours of service work for high
  116  school students graduating in the 2011-2012 academic year and
  117  thereafter. The student must identify a social or civic issue or
  118  a professional area that interests him or her, develop a plan
  119  for his or her personal involvement in addressing the issue or
  120  learning about the area, and, through papers or other
  121  presentations, evaluate and reflect upon his or her experience.
  122  Except for credit earned through service-learning courses
  123  adopted pursuant to s. 1003.497, the student may not receive
  124  remuneration or academic credit for the volunteer service work
  125  performed. Such work may include, but is not limited to, a
  126  business or governmental internship, work for a nonprofit
  127  community service organization, or activities on behalf of a
  128  candidate for public office. The hours of volunteer service must
  129  be documented in writing, and the document must be signed by the
  130  student, the student’s parent or guardian, and a representative
  131  of the organization for which the student performed the
  132  volunteer service work.
  133         (2) A Florida Academic Scholar who is enrolled in a
  134  certificate, diploma, associate, or baccalaureate degree program
  135  at a public or nonpublic postsecondary education institution is
  136  eligible for an award equal to the amount specified necessary to
  137  pay 100 percent of tuition and fees established under ss.
  138  1009.22(3), (5), (6), and (7); 1009.23(3), (4), (7), (8), (10),
  139  and (11); and 1009.24(4), (7)-(13), (14)(r), and (16), as
  140  applicable, and is eligible for an additional stipend for
  141  textbooks, to assist with the payment of educational expenses as
  142  funds are specifically appropriated in the General
  143  Appropriations Act to assist with the payment of educational
  144  expenses.
  145         Section 7. Section 1009.5341, Florida Statutes, is amended
  146  to read:
  147         1009.5341 Florida Bright Futures Scholarship awards for
  148  graduate study.—For the 2021-2022 academic year, Florida Bright
  149  Futures Scholarship recipients who graduate in the 2010-2011
  150  academic year and thereafter with a baccalaureate degree in 7
  151  semesters, or the equivalent or fewer hours, and wish to pursue
  152  graduate study may apply the unused portion of their Florida
  153  Academic Scholars award or Florida Medallion Scholars award
  154  toward 1 semester of graduate study, not to exceed 15 semester
  155  hours paid at the undergraduate rate. A baccalaureate degree may
  156  include, but is not limited to, college credits earned through
  157  articulated acceleration mechanisms pursuant to s. 1007.27.
  158  
  159  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  160  And the title is amended as follows:
  161         Delete lines 3 - 89
  162  and insert:
  163         1009.25, F.S.; making technical changes; amending s.
  164         1009.50, F.S.; revising the formula for calculating
  165         how Florida Public Student Assistance Grant Program
  166         funds are distributed; amending s. 1009.51, F.S.;
  167         revising the formula for calculating how Florida
  168         Private Student Assistance Grant Program funds are
  169         distributed; amending s. 1009.52, F.S.; revising the
  170         formula for how Florida Postsecondary Student
  171         Assistance Grant Program funds are distributed;
  172         amending s. 1009.53, F.S.; revising the date by which
  173         the Department of Education is annually required to
  174         advertise the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship
  175         Program to specified persons; amending s. 1009.534,
  176         F.S.; revising and expanding eligibility requirements
  177         of the Florida Academic Scholars award; providing that
  178         a Florida Academic Scholar is eligible for an award
  179         equal to the amount specified in the General
  180         Appropriations Act; amending s. 1009.5341, F.S.;
  181         authorizing a Bright Futures Scholarship recipient to
  182         apply the unused portion of a Florida Academic
  183         Scholars award or Florida Medallion Scholars award
  184         toward graduate study for a specified academic year;