HB 0917 2003
1	CHAMBER ACTION
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6	The Committee on Education K-20 recommends the following:
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8	Committee Substitute
9	Remove the entire bill and insert:
10	A bill to be entitled
11	An act relating to student tuition assistance; creating
12	the Access to Better Learning and Education Grant Program;
13	providing legislative findings with respect to education
14	provided by for-profit colleges and universities;
15	providing for the Department of Education to administer
16	the grant program; providing requirements for eligibility;
17	providing for the amount of grants to be specified in the
18	General Appropriations Act; requiring institutions to
19	remit undisbursed funds to the department; limiting the
20	period for which a student may receive a grant; providing
21	an effective date.
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23	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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25	Section 1. Access to Better Learning and Education Grant
26	Program.--
27	(1) The Legislature finds and declares that independent
28	for-profit colleges and universities eligible to participate in
29	the Access to Better Learning and Education Grant Program are an
30	integral part of the higher education system in this state and
31	that a significant number of state residents choose this form of
32	higher education. The Legislature further finds that strong,
33	viable independent for-profit colleges and universities reduce
34	the tax burden on the residents of the state. Because the Access
35	to Better Learning and Education Grant Program is not related to
36	a student's financial need or other criteria upon which
37	financial aid programs are based, it is the intent of the
38	Legislature that the Access to Better Learning and Education
39	Grant Program not be considered a financial aid program, but
40	rather a tuition assistance program for state residents.
41	(2) The Access to Better Learning and Education Grant
42	Program shall be administered by the Department of Education.
43	The State Board of Education shall adopt rules for administering
44	the program.
45	(3) The department shall issue an access grant to any
46	full-time student seeking a baccalaureate degree who is
47	registered at a for-profit college or university that is located
48	in and chartered by the state and that is accredited by the
49	Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges
50	and Schools or who is registered at a nonprofit college or
51	university that is chartered out of the state, that has been
52	located in the state for 10 years or more, and that is
53	accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern
54	Association of Colleges and Schools, the Middle States
55	Association of Colleges and Schools, the North Central
56	Association of Colleges and Schools, or the New England
57	Association of Colleges and Schools; that grants baccalaureate
58	degrees; that is not a state university or state community
59	college; and that has a secular purpose, if the receipt of state
60	aid by students at the institution would not have the primary
61	effect of advancing or impeding religion or result in an
62	excessive entanglement between the state and any religious sect.
63	Institutions eligible for the Access to Better Learning and
64	Education Grant Program in the initial year of funding shall
65	include only those for-profit colleges or universities
66	identified in this subsection. Nonprofit colleges or
67	universities identified in this subsection shall be eligible for
68	financial support in the second year of funding.
69	(4) A person is eligible to receive an access grant if:
70	(a) He or she meets the general requirements, including
71	residency, for student eligibility as provided in s. 1009.40,
72	Florida Statutes, except as otherwise provided in this section;
73	and
74	(b)1. He or she is enrolled as a full-time undergraduate
75	student at an eligible college or university in a program of
76	study leading to a baccalaureate degree;
77	2. He or she is not enrolled in a program of study leading
78	to a degree in theology or divinity; and
79	3. He or she is making satisfactory academic progress as
80	defined by the college or university in which he or she is
81	enrolled.
82	(5)(a) The amount of the access grant issued to a full-
83	time student shall be an amount specified in the General
84	Appropriations Act. The access grant may be paid on a prorated
85	basis in advance of the registration period. The department
86	shall make payments to the college or university in which the
87	student is enrolled for credit to the student's account for
88	payment of tuition and fees. Institutions shall certify to the
89	department the amount of funds disbursed to each student and
90	shall remit to the department any undisbursed advances or
91	refunds within 60 days after the end of regular registration. A
92	student may not receive the award for more than 9 semesters or
93	14 quarters, except as otherwise provided in s. 1009.40(3),
94	Florida Statutes.
95	(b) If the combined amount of the access grant issued
96	pursuant to this section and all other scholarships and grants
97	for tuition or fees exceeds the amount charged to the student
98	for tuition and fees, the department shall reduce the grant
99	issued under this section by an amount equal to the excess.
100	(6) If the number of eligible students exceeds the total
101	authorized in the General Appropriations Act, an institution may
102	use its own resources to ensure that each eligible student
103	receives the full benefit of the grant amount authorized.
104	(7) This section shall be implemented only to the extent
105	specifically funded and authorized by law.
106	Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.