Florida Senate - 2025 CS for SB 270
By the Committee on Education Postsecondary; and Senator Burgess
589-01988-25 2025270c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the Florida Bright Futures
3 Scholarship Program; amending s. 1009.531, F.S.;
4 revising eligibility requirements for a student who
5 earns a high school diploma from a non-Florida school
6 under certain circumstances; amending s. 1009.534,
7 F.S.; revising student eligibility requirements for
8 the Florida Academic Scholars award to include earning
9 an Advanced Placement Capstone designation from the
10 College Board; providing requirements for the
11 designation; amending s. 1009.26, F.S.; conforming a
12 cross-reference; providing an effective date.
13
14 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
15
16 Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section
17 1009.531, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
18 1009.531 Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program;
19 student eligibility requirements for initial awards.—
20 (1) In order to be eligible for an initial award from any
21 of the scholarships under the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship
22 Program, a student must:
23 (b) Earn a standard Florida high school diploma pursuant to
24 s. 1002.3105(5), s. 1003.4281, or s. 1003.4282 or a high school
25 equivalency diploma pursuant to s. 1003.435 unless:
26 1. The student completes a home education program according
27 to s. 1002.41;
28 2. The student earns a high school diploma from a non
29 Florida school while living with a parent or guardian who is on,
30 or, within 12 months before the student’s high school
31 graduation, has retired from, military or public service
32 assignment away from Florida; or
33 3. The student earns a high school diploma from a Florida
34 private school operating pursuant to s. 1002.42.
35 Section 2. Present subsections (2), (3), and (4) of section
36 1009.534, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (3),
37 (4), and (5), respectively, a new subsection (2) is added to
38 that section, and subsection (1) of that section is amended, to
39 read:
40 1009.534 Florida Academic Scholars award.—
41 (1) A student is eligible for a Florida Academic Scholars
42 award if he or she meets the general eligibility requirements
43 for the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program and:
44 (a) Has achieved a 3.5 weighted grade point average as
45 calculated pursuant to s. 1009.531, or its equivalent, in high
46 school courses that are designated by the State Board of
47 Education as college-preparatory academic courses and has
48 attained at least the score required under s. 1009.531(6)(a) on
49 the combined verbal and quantitative parts of the Scholastic
50 Aptitude Test, the Scholastic Assessment Test, or the recentered
51 Scholastic Assessment Test of the College Entrance Examination,
52 or an equivalent score on the ACT Assessment Program;
53 (b) Has attended a home education program according to s.
54 1002.41 during grades 11 and 12, has completed the International
55 Baccalaureate curriculum but failed to earn the International
56 Baccalaureate Diploma, or has completed the Advanced
57 International Certificate of Education curriculum but failed to
58 earn the Advanced International Certificate of Education
59 Diploma, and has attained at least the score required under s.
60 1009.531(6)(a) on the combined verbal and quantitative parts of
61 the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the Scholastic Assessment Test, or
62 the recentered Scholastic Assessment Test of the College
63 Entrance Examination, or an equivalent score on the ACT
64 Assessment Program;
65 (c) Has been awarded an International Baccalaureate Diploma
66 from the International Baccalaureate Office, or an Advanced
67 International Certificate of Education Diploma from the
68 University of Cambridge International Examinations Office, or an
69 Advanced Placement Capstone designation from the College Board;
70 (d) Has been recognized by the merit or achievement
71 programs of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation as a
72 scholar or finalist; or
73 (e) Has been recognized by the National Hispanic
74 Recognition Program as a scholar recipient.
75
76 The student must complete a program of volunteer service or,
77 beginning with a high school student graduating in the 2022-2023
78 academic year and thereafter, paid work, as approved by the
79 district school board, the administrators of a nonpublic school,
80 or the Department of Education for home education program
81 students, which must include 100 hours of volunteer service,
82 paid work, or a combination of both. Eligible paid work
83 completed on or after June 27, 2022, shall be included in the
84 student’s total of paid work hours. The student may identify a
85 social or civic issue or a professional area that interests him
86 or her and develop a plan for his or her personal involvement in
87 addressing the issue or learning about the area. The student
88 must, through papers or other presentations, evaluate and
89 reflect upon his or her volunteer service or paid work
90 experience. Such volunteer service or paid work may include, but
91 is not limited to, a business or governmental internship, work
92 for a nonprofit community service organization, or activities on
93 behalf of a candidate for public office. The hours of volunteer
94 service or paid work must be documented in writing, and the
95 document must be signed by the student, the student’s parent or
96 guardian, and a representative of the organization for which the
97 student performed the volunteer service or paid work.
98 (2) For purposes of this section, the Advanced Placement
99 Capstone designation shall consist of six Advanced Placement
100 courses, including Advanced Placement Seminar; Advanced
101 Placement Research; one Advanced Placement course in mathematics
102 or science; one Advanced Placement course in English; one
103 Advanced Placement course in art, history, or social sciences;
104 and one Advanced Placement course in a subject of the student’s
105 choice. Receipt of the Advanced Placement Capstone designation
106 does not satisfy the requirements for a standard high school
107 diploma under s. 1003.4282.
108 Section 3. Paragraph (c) of subsection (18) of section
109 1009.26, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
110 1009.26 Fee waivers.—
111 (18)
112 (c) Upon enrollment in a Program of Strategic Emphasis or a
113 state-approved teacher preparation program, the tuition and fees
114 waived under this subsection must be reported for state funding
115 purposes under ss. 1009.534 and 1009.535 and must be disbursed
116 to the student. The amount disbursed to the student must be
117 equal to the award amount the student has received under s.
118 1009.534(3) s. 1009.534(2) or s. 1009.535(2).
119 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.