Florida Senate - 2025 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 270
Ì159858dÎ159858
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
02/18/2025 .
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The Committee on Education Postsecondary (Fine) recommended the
following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Between lines 29 and 30
4 insert:
5 Section 2. Present subsections (2), (3), and (4) of section
6 1009.534, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (3),
7 (4), and (5), respectively, a new subsection (2) is added to
8 that section, and subsection (1) of that section is amended, to
9 read:
10 1009.534 Florida Academic Scholars award.—
11 (1) A student is eligible for a Florida Academic Scholars
12 award if he or she meets the general eligibility requirements
13 for the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program and:
14 (a) Has achieved a 3.5 weighted grade point average as
15 calculated pursuant to s. 1009.531, or its equivalent, in high
16 school courses that are designated by the State Board of
17 Education as college-preparatory academic courses and has
18 attained at least the score required under s. 1009.531(6)(a) on
19 the combined verbal and quantitative parts of the Scholastic
20 Aptitude Test, the Scholastic Assessment Test, or the recentered
21 Scholastic Assessment Test of the College Entrance Examination,
22 or an equivalent score on the ACT Assessment Program;
23 (b) Has attended a home education program according to s.
24 1002.41 during grades 11 and 12, has completed the International
25 Baccalaureate curriculum but failed to earn the International
26 Baccalaureate Diploma, or has completed the Advanced
27 International Certificate of Education curriculum but failed to
28 earn the Advanced International Certificate of Education
29 Diploma, and has attained at least the score required under s.
30 1009.531(6)(a) on the combined verbal and quantitative parts of
31 the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the Scholastic Assessment Test, or
32 the recentered Scholastic Assessment Test of the College
33 Entrance Examination, or an equivalent score on the ACT
34 Assessment Program;
35 (c) Has been awarded an International Baccalaureate Diploma
36 from the International Baccalaureate Office, or an Advanced
37 International Certificate of Education Diploma from the
38 University of Cambridge International Examinations Office, or an
39 Advanced Placement Capstone designation from the College Board;
40 (d) Has been recognized by the merit or achievement
41 programs of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation as a
42 scholar or finalist; or
43 (e) Has been recognized by the National Hispanic
44 Recognition Program as a scholar recipient.
45
46 The student must complete a program of volunteer service or,
47 beginning with a high school student graduating in the 2022-2023
48 academic year and thereafter, paid work, as approved by the
49 district school board, the administrators of a nonpublic school,
50 or the Department of Education for home education program
51 students, which must include 100 hours of volunteer service,
52 paid work, or a combination of both. Eligible paid work
53 completed on or after June 27, 2022, shall be included in the
54 student’s total of paid work hours. The student may identify a
55 social or civic issue or a professional area that interests him
56 or her and develop a plan for his or her personal involvement in
57 addressing the issue or learning about the area. The student
58 must, through papers or other presentations, evaluate and
59 reflect upon his or her volunteer service or paid work
60 experience. Such volunteer service or paid work may include, but
61 is not limited to, a business or governmental internship, work
62 for a nonprofit community service organization, or activities on
63 behalf of a candidate for public office. The hours of volunteer
64 service or paid work must be documented in writing, and the
65 document must be signed by the student, the student’s parent or
66 guardian, and a representative of the organization for which the
67 student performed the volunteer service or paid work.
68 (2) For purposes of this section, the Advanced Placement
69 Capstone designation shall consist of six Advanced Placement
70 courses, including Advanced Placement Seminar; Advanced
71 Placement Research; one Advanced Placement course in mathematics
72 or science; one Advanced Placement course in English; one
73 Advanced Placement course in art, history, or social sciences;
74 and one Advanced Placement course in a subject of the student’s
75 choice. Receipt of the Advanced Placement Capstone designation
76 does not satisfy the requirements for a standard high school
77 diploma under s. 1003.4282.
78 Section 3. Paragraph (c) of subsection (18) of section
79 1009.26, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
80 1009.26 Fee waivers.—
81 (18)
82 (c) Upon enrollment in a Program of Strategic Emphasis or a
83 state-approved teacher preparation program, the tuition and fees
84 waived under this subsection must be reported for state funding
85 purposes under ss. 1009.534 and 1009.535 and must be disbursed
86 to the student. The amount disbursed to the student must be
87 equal to the award amount the student has received under s.
88 1009.534(3) s. 1009.534(2) or s. 1009.535(2).
89
90 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
91 And the title is amended as follows:
92 Delete line 6
93 and insert:
94 under certain circumstances; amending s. 1009.534,
95 F.S.; revising student eligibility requirements for
96 the Florida Academic Scholars award to include earning
97 an Advanced Placement Capstone designation from the
98 College Board; providing requirements for the
99 designation; amending s. 1009.26, F.S.; conforming a
100 cross-reference; providing an effective