The Florida Senate

240.4095  Florida Private Student Assistance Grant Program; eligibility for grants.--

(1)  There is hereby created a Florida Private Student Assistance Grant Program to be administered by the Department of Education in accordance with rules of the state board.

(2)

(a)  Florida private student assistance grants from the State Student Financial Assistance Trust Fund may be made only to full-time degree-seeking students who meet the general requirements for student eligibility as provided in s. 240.404, except as otherwise provided in this section. Such grants shall be awarded for the amount of demonstrated unmet need for tuition and fees and may not exceed a total of $1,500 per academic year, or as specified in the General Appropriations Act, to any applicant. A demonstrated unmet need of less than $200 shall render the applicant ineligible for a Florida private student assistance grant. Recipients of such grants must have been accepted at a baccalaureate-degree-granting independent nonprofit college or university, which is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and which has a secular purpose, and which is located in and chartered as a domestic corporation by the state. No student may receive an award for more than the equivalent of 9 semesters or 14 quarters in a period of not more than 6 consecutive years, except as otherwise provided in s. 240.404(3).

(b)  A student applying for a Florida private student assistance grant shall be required to apply for the Pell Grant. The Pell Grant entitlement shall be considered by the department when conducting an assessment of the financial resources available to each student.

(c)  The criteria and procedure for establishing standards of eligibility shall be determined by the department. The department is directed to establish a rating system upon which to base the approval of grants, including the use of a nationally recognized system of need analysis. The system shall include a certification of acceptability by the independent nonprofit college or university of the applicant's choice. Priority in the distribution of grant moneys shall be given to students with the lowest total family resources, as determined pursuant to this subsection, taking into consideration the receipt of Pell Grants and student contributions to educational costs.

(3)  Based on the unmet financial need of an eligible applicant, the full amount of a Florida private student assistance grant must be between $200 and $1,500 per academic year or the amount specified in the General Appropriations Act. When funds are not sufficient to make full awards to all eligible applicants, the department shall reduce the amount of each recipient's grant award pro rata. For any year in which a pro rata grant reduction is necessary, such adjustment shall be made by reducing the second semester or the second and third quarter award disbursements to grant recipients. In each such instance, institutions shall notify students of award adjustments.

(4)  In the event that a Florida private student assistance grant recipient transfers from one institution eligible under this section, s. 240.409, or s. 240.4097 to another, his or her eligibility shall be transferable upon approval of the department. When approved by the department, the amount of the unmet need shall be recalculated for the new institution and shall be adjusted accordingly.

(5)

(a)  Payment of Florida private student assistance grants may be transmitted to the president of the college or university which the recipient is attending, or to his or her representative, in advance of the registration period. Institutions shall notify students of the amount of their awards.

(b)  Institutions shall certify to the department, within 30 days of the end of regular registration, the eligibility status of each awarded student. The eligibility status of each student to receive a disbursement shall be determined by each institution as of the end of its regular registration period, inclusive of a drop-add period. Institutions shall not be required to reevaluate a student's eligibility status after this date for purposes of amending eligibility determinations previously made. However, an institution shall be required to make refunds for students who receive award disbursements and terminate enrollment for any reason during the academic term when an institution's refund policies permit a student to receive a refund under these circumstances.

(c)  Institutions shall certify to the department the amount of funds disbursed to each student and shall remit to the department any undisbursed advances within 60 days of the end of regular registration.

(d)  Each institution that receives moneys through the Florida Private Student Assistance Grant Program shall cause to be prepared a biennial report that includes an independent external audit of the institution's administration of the program and a complete accounting of moneys in the State Student Financial Assistance Trust Fund allocated to the institution for the program. Such report shall be submitted to the department on or before March 1 every other year. The department may conduct its own annual or biennial audit of an institution's administration of the program and its allocated funds in lieu of the required biennial report and independent external audit. The department may suspend or revoke an institution's eligibility to receive future moneys from the trust fund for the program or request a refund of any moneys overpaid to the institution through the trust fund for the program if the department finds that an institution has not complied with the provisions of this section. Any refund requested pursuant to this paragraph shall be remitted within 60 days.

(6)  Funds appropriated by the Legislature for Florida private student assistance grants shall be deposited in the State Student Financial Assistance Trust Fund. Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 216.301 and pursuant to s. 216.351, any balance in the trust fund at the end of any fiscal year that has been allocated to the Florida Private Student Assistance Grant Program shall remain therein and shall be available for carrying out the purposes of this section and as otherwise provided by law.

(7)  The State Board of Education shall adopt rules necessary to implement this section.

History.--s. 16, ch. 89-207; s. 4, ch. 89-367; s. 23, ch. 91-55; s. 5, ch. 91-186; s. 15, ch. 92-321; s. 61, ch. 95-148; s. 2, ch. 95-376; s. 29, ch. 95-430.