Florida Senate - 2023 SB 1582
By Senator Perry
9-01201-23 20231582__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to student fee discounts; creating s.
3 1009.264, F.S.; defining the terms “grandparent” and
4 “parent”; requiring a state university to waive the
5 tuition and fees for certain online courses in which
6 certain students are enrolled; requiring a state
7 university to provide a specified annual report to the
8 Board of Governors; requiring state universities to
9 prioritize enrollment of certain students; requiring
10 the Board of Governors to adopt regulations; providing
11 an effective date.
12
13 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
14
15 Section 1. Section 1009.264, Florida Statutes, is created
16 to read:
17 1009.264 Online fee discount.—
18 (1) For purposes of this subsection, the term:
19 (a) “Grandparent” means a person who has a legal
20 relationship to a student’s parent as the natural or adoptive
21 parent or legal guardian of the student’s parent.
22 (b) “Parent” means a person who has a legal relationship to
23 a student as the natural or adoptive parent or legal guardian of
24 the student.
25 (2) Beginning with the 2023-2024 academic year, a state
26 university shall waive the out-of-state fee for a student who
27 meets all of the following:
28 (a) Has a grandparent who is a legal resident as defined in
29 s. 1009.21(1), or has a parent who is an employee of a
30 corporation or not-for-profit corporation incorporated in this
31 state pursuant to chapters 607 and 617.
32 (b) Earns a high school diploma comparable to a Florida
33 standard high school diploma, or its equivalent, or completes a
34 home education program.
35 (c) Beginning with students who initially enroll in the
36 2023 fall academic term and thereafter, enrolls in online
37 courses as an undergraduate student at the University of
38 Florida, Florida State University, or the University of Central
39 Florida.
40 (3) The waiver under this subsection is applicable for up
41 to 110 percent of the number of required credit hours of the
42 degree program for which the student is enrolled.
43 (4) Before waiving the out-of-state fee, the state
44 university shall require the student or the student’s parent, if
45 the student is a dependent child, to provide a written
46 declaration as specified in s. 92.525(2) attesting to the
47 student’s familial relationship to a grandparent who is a legal
48 resident or attesting to the student’s or his or her parent’s
49 employment status with a corporation as specified in paragraph
50 (2)(a) and any other corroborating documentation required by
51 regulation of the Board of Governors. A state university is not
52 required to independently verify the statements contained in a
53 declaration if the signatory declares it to be true under the
54 penalties of perjury as provided in s. 92.525(3). However, the
55 state university may provide any signed declaration suspected of
56 containing fraudulent representations to a law enforcement
57 agency.
58 (5) Each state university shall report annually to the
59 Board of Governors the number and value of all fee waivers
60 granted under this section during the previous 12-month period.
61 (6) Beginning with students who initially enroll for the
62 2023-2024 academic year or thereafter, a state university shall,
63 within the nonresident student enrollment, prioritize the
64 enrollment of a student who is granted a fee waiver under this
65 subsection over an out-of-state student who is not eligible for
66 an out-of-state fee waiver, if the students have substantially
67 similar academic and other credentials used in determining
68 admission to the state university.
69 (7) The Board of Governors shall adopt regulations to
70 administer this subsection.
71 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.