SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 1538
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 393616
CHAMBER ACTION
Senate House
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11 Senator Aronberg moved the following amendment:
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13 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
14 On page 3, lines 1-3, delete those lines
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16 and insert:
17 Section 3. Section 1009.892, Florida Statutes, is
18 created to read:
19 1009.892 Innovation Florida Scholarships for
20 Developing High-Tech Jobs Program.--
21 (1) This section may be cited as the "Innovation
22 Florida Scholarships for Developing High-Tech Jobs Act."
23 (2) The Innovation Florida Scholarships for Developing
24 High-Tech Jobs Program is created to provide need-based
25 financial assistance to any Florida high school graduate who
26 merits recognition of high academic achievement and who
27 enrolls in a certified degree program at an eligible Florida
28 postsecondary educational institution within 3 years after
29 graduation from high school.
30 (3) As used in this section, the term:
31 (a) "Certified degree program" means a degree program
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 1538
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 393616
1 that:
2 1. Is certified by the Department of Education.
3 2. Addresses the need for support of degree programs
4 in targeted employment areas.
5 3. Includes an internship component as described in
6 this section.
7 (b) "Targeted employment" means employment in any of
8 the following business areas:
9 1. Advanced manufacturing, including the following:
10 a. Automotive and electronics.
11 b. Aerospace technology.
12 c. Robotics.
13 d. Engineering design technology.
14 2. Life sciences, including the following:
15 a. Orthopedics or medical devices.
16 b. Biomedical research or development.
17 c. Pharmaceutical manufacturing.
18 d. Agribusiness.
19 e. Nanotechnology or molecular manufacturing.
20 3. Information technology, including the following:
21 a. Informatics.
22 b. Certified network administration.
23 c. Software development.
24 d. Fiber optics.
25 4. High-technology logistics, including the following:
26 a. High-technology distribution.
27 b. Efficient and effective flow and storage of goods,
28 services, or information.
29 c. Intermodal ports.
30 (4) The Department of Education shall administer the
31 Innovation Florida Scholarships for Developing High-Tech Jobs
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Bill No. SB 1538
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1 Program according to rules and procedures established by the
2 State Board of Education. The department must advertise the
3 availability of the scholarship program and must notify
4 students, teachers, parents, guidance counselors, and
5 principals or other relevant school administrators of the
6 criteria and application procedures. The department must begin
7 this process of notification no later than January 1 of each
8 year.
9 (5) Funds for the Innovation Florida Scholarships for
10 Developing High-Tech Jobs Program shall be appropriated
11 annually in the General Appropriations Act.
12 (a) If funds appropriated are not adequate to provide
13 the maximum allowable award to each eligible applicant, awards
14 must be prorated to each eligible applicant using the same
15 percentage reduction.
16 (b) Notwithstanding s. 216.301, if all funds allocated
17 to the Innovative Florida Scholarships for Developing
18 High-Tech Jobs Program are not used in any fiscal year, up to
19 20 percent of the total allocation may be carried forward and
20 used for awards in the following year.
21 (6) The department shall issue awards from the
22 scholarship program annually. Annual awards may be for up to
23 45 semester credit hours or the equivalent for the amount of
24 demonstrated unmet need for the cost of education, not to
25 exceed an amount equal to the average prior academic year cost
26 of tuition, fees, and assigned books and supplies at state
27 universities or such other amount as specified in the General
28 Appropriations Act. A demonstrated unmet need of less than
29 $100 shall render the applicant ineligible for a scholarship.
30 Before the registration period each semester, the department
31 shall transmit payment for each award to the president or
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 1538
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1 director of the postsecondary educational institution, or his
2 or her representative, except that the department may withhold
3 payment if the receiving institution fails to report or to
4 make refunds to the department as required in this section.
5 (a) Within 30 days after the end of regular
6 registration each semester, the educational institution shall
7 certify to the department the eligibility status of each
8 student who receives an award. After the end of the drop and
9 add period, an institution is not required to reevaluate or
10 revise a student's eligibility status, but must make a refund
11 to the department if a student who receives an award
12 disbursement terminates enrollment for any reason during an
13 academic term and a refund is permitted by the institution's
14 refund policy.
15 (b) An institution that receives funds from the
16 program shall certify to the department the amount of funds
17 disbursed to each student and shall remit to the department
18 any undisbursed advances within 60 days after the end of
19 regular registration.
20 (c) Each institution that receives moneys through this
21 program shall prepare an annual report that includes an annual
22 financial audit conducted by an independent certified public
23 accountant or the Auditor General. The report shall include an
24 audit of the institution's administration of the program and a
25 complete accounting of the moneys for the program. This report
26 must be submitted to the department annually by March 1. The
27 department may conduct its own annual audit of an
28 institution's administration of the program. The department
29 may request a refund of any moneys overpaid to the institution
30 for the program. The department may suspend or revoke an
31 institution's eligibility to receive future moneys for the
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1 program if the department finds that an institution has not
2 complied with this section. The institution must remit within
3 60 days any refund requested in accordance with this
4 subsection.
5 (7)(a) A student enrolled in 6 to 8 semester credit
6 hours may receive up to one-half of the maximum award; a
7 student enrolled in 9 to 11 credit hours may receive up to
8 three-fourths of the maximum award; and a student enrolled in
9 12 or more credit hours may receive up to the full award.
10 (b) If a recipient transfers from one eligible
11 institution to another and continues to meet eligibility
12 requirements, the award must be transferred with the student.
13 (c) A student may use an award for summer term
14 enrollment if funds are available.
15 (d) Funds from a scholarship may not be used to pay
16 for remedial or college-preparatory coursework.
17 (8) To be eligible for an initial award, a student
18 must:
19 (a) Be a Florida resident as defined in s. 1009.40 and
20 rules of the State Board of Education.
21 (b) Earn a standard Florida high school diploma or its
22 equivalent as described in s. 1003.43 or s. 1003.45 unless:
23 1. The student is enrolled full-time in the early
24 admission program of an eligible postsecondary educational
25 institution or completes a home education program according to
26 s. 1002.41; or
27 2. The student earns a high school diploma from a
28 non-Florida school while living with a parent who is on
29 military or public service assignment away from Florida.
30 (c) Have achieved a cumulative grade point average of
31 at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale or its equivalent in high school
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1 courses designated by the Department of Education, unless the
2 student has attended a home education program according to s.
3 1002.41 during grades 11 and 12, in which case the student
4 must have attained at least the score identified by rules of
5 the Department of Education on the combined verbal and
6 quantitative parts of the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the
7 Scholastic Assessment Test, or the recentered Scholastic
8 Assessment Test of the College Entrance Examination, or an
9 equivalent score on the ACT Assessment Program.
10 (d) Be accepted by and enroll in a Florida public or
11 independent postsecondary educational institution identified
12 by the Department of Education.
13 (e) Be enrolled for at least 6 semester credit hours
14 or the equivalent in quarter hours or clock hours.
15 (f) Have not been convicted of a felony offense,
16 unless the student's civil rights have been restored by the
17 Governor and Cabinet sitting as the Board of Executive
18 Clemency. This paragraph does not apply to an offense for
19 which adjudication of guilt is withheld.
20 (g) Apply for a scholarship from the program by high
21 school graduation.
22 (9) A student is eligible to accept an initial award
23 for 3 years following high school graduation and to accept a
24 renewal award for 7 years following high school graduation. A
25 student who applies for an award by high school graduation and
26 who meets all other eligibility requirements, but who does not
27 accept his or her award, may reapply during subsequent
28 application periods up to 3 years after high school
29 graduation.
30 (10) Eligibility for renewal awards shall be based on
31 continued academic achievement of a cumulative grade point
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 1538
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 393616
1 average of at least 2.75 on a 4.0 scale or its equivalent by
2 the student at the eligible institution, continued eligibility
3 for financial assistance pursuant to this section, and
4 participation of the student for at least one summer during
5 the course of the student's postsecondary education in an
6 internship program that is relevant to at least one of the
7 targeted employment areas as defined in this section. A
8 student must work a minimum of 160 hours during the summer
9 internship.
10 (11) A postsecondary educational institution with a
11 certified degree program may provide a grant to an employer in
12 targeted employment that hires a student in the certified
13 degree program as part of a summer internship program approved
14 by the institution for wages paid to the student, not to
15 exceed $500 per student per summer. An employer that receives
16 a grant under this subsection must pay each student in the
17 internship program wages at a rate that is at least 120
18 percent of the federal minimum wage.
19 (12) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules
20 under ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to administer this section.
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22 (Redesignate subsequent sections.)
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25 ================ T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ===============
26 And the title is amended as follows:
27 On page 1, line 7, delete that line
28
29 and insert:
30 creating s. 1009.892, F.S.; creating the
31 Innovation Florida Scholarships for Developing
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 1538
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 393616
1 High-Tech Jobs Program; authorizing need-based
2 scholarships for students enrolled in certified
3 degree programs in targeted employment areas at
4 Florida postsecondary educational institutions;
5 providing for administration and funding of the
6 program; providing student eligibility
7 requirements for initial and renewal awards;
8 providing for the adoption of rules; providing
9 an
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