Florida Senate - 2014 (PROPOSED COMMITTEE BILL) SPB 7112
FOR CONSIDERATION By the Committee on Education
581-02878A-14 20147112__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to postsecondary education; amending
3 s. 1009.55, F.S.; increasing the annual maximum number
4 of scholarships that may be awarded; increasing the
5 annual maximum award amount per student; creating s.
6 1009.893, F.S.; creating the Florida National Merit
7 Scholar Incentive Program; defining terms; providing
8 the purpose of the incentive program; requiring the
9 Department of Education to administer the incentive
10 program, advertise the availability of the incentive
11 program, and notify students, teachers, parents, and
12 school administrators about the incentive program’s
13 criteria and application procedures; providing
14 eligibility requirements for the incentive program;
15 requiring certain students who are National Merit
16 Scholars or National Achievement Scholars to receive
17 certain incentive awards; providing eligibility
18 requirements to renew an award; authorizing a student
19 to receive an incentive award for certain maximum
20 percentage amounts of the number of credit hours
21 required to complete an associate degree, a
22 baccalaureate degree, or a career certificate;
23 requiring the department to issue awards from the
24 incentive program and to transmit payment for each
25 award; authorizing the department to withhold payment
26 under certain circumstances; requiring institutions to
27 certify to the department the eligibility status of
28 each student to receive a disbursement of an award
29 during a specified time; requiring the institution to
30 certify to the department the disbursement amounts to
31 each student and remit to the department undisbursed
32 funds; providing for proration of funds; prohibiting
33 use of funds for remedial coursework or developmental
34 education; authorizing a student to use funds during
35 the summer term under certain circumstances;
36 authorizing incentive program funds appropriated by
37 the Legislature to be deposited in the State Student
38 Financial Assistance Trust Fund; providing for use of
39 any remaining balance of appropriated funds in the
40 trust fund; requiring the department to allocate funds
41 to appropriate institutions and collect and maintain
42 certain data regarding the incentive program;
43 requiring the State Board of Education to adopt rules;
44 providing an effective date.
45
46 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
47
48 Section 1. Subsection (1) and paragraph (a) of subsection
49 (2) of section 1009.55, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
50 1009.55 Rosewood Family Scholarship Program.—
51 (1) There is created a Rosewood Family Scholarship Program
52 for the direct descendants of the Rosewood families, not to
53 exceed 50 25 scholarships per year.
54 (2) The Rosewood Family Scholarship Program shall be
55 administered by the Department of Education. The State Board of
56 Education shall adopt rules for administering this program which
57 shall at a minimum provide for the following:
58 (a) The annual award to a student shall be up to $6,100
59 $4,000 but should not exceed an amount in excess of tuition and
60 registration fees.
61 Section 2. Section 1009.893, Florida Statutes, is created
62 to read:
63 1009.893 Florida National Merit Scholar Incentive Program.—
64 (1) As used in this section, the term:
65 (a) “Department” means the Department of Education.
66 (b) “Incentive program” means the Florida National Merit
67 Scholar Incentive Program.
68 (2) The Florida National Merit Scholar Incentive Program is
69 created to reward any Florida high school graduate who receives
70 recognition as a National Merit Scholar or National Achievement
71 Scholar and who initially enrolls in the 2014-2015 academic
72 year, or later, in a degree program, certificate program, or
73 applied technology program at an eligible Florida public or
74 independent postsecondary educational institution.
75 (3) The department shall administer the incentive program
76 according to rules and procedures established by the State Board
77 of Education. The department shall advertise the availability of
78 the incentive program and notify students, teachers, parents,
79 certified school counselors, and principals or other relevant
80 school administrators of the criteria and application
81 procedures.
82 (4) In order to be eligible for an award under the
83 incentive program, a student must:
84 (a) Be a state resident as defined in s. 1009.40 and rules
85 of the State Board of Education.
86 (b) Earn a standard Florida high school diploma or its
87 equivalent pursuant to s. 1003.428, s. 1003.4281, s. 1003.4282,
88 or s. 1003.435 unless:
89 1. The student completes a home education program according
90 to s. 1002.41; or
91 2. The student earns a high school diploma from a non
92 Florida school while living with a parent or guardian who is on
93 military or public service assignment away from this state.
94 (c) Be accepted by and enroll in a Florida public or
95 independent postsecondary educational institution that meets the
96 eligibility requirements specified in s. 1009.533.
97 (d) Be enrolled for at least 6 semester credit hours or the
98 equivalent in quarter hours or clock hours.
99 (5)(a) An eligible student who is a National Merit Scholar
100 or National Achievement Scholar and who attends a public
101 postsecondary educational institution must receive an incentive
102 award equal to the institutional cost of attendance minus the
103 sum of the student’s Florida Bright Futures Scholarship and
104 National Merit Scholarship or National Achievement Scholarship.
105 (b) An eligible student who is a National Merit Scholar or
106 National Achievement Scholar and who attends an independent
107 postsecondary educational institution must receive an incentive
108 award equal to the highest cost of attendance at a Florida
109 public university, as reported by the Board of Governors of the
110 State University System, minus the sum of the student’s Florida
111 Bright Futures Scholarship and National Merit Scholarship or
112 National Achievement Scholarship.
113 (6)(a) To be eligible for a renewal award, a student must
114 meet the renewal requirements for the Florida Bright Futures
115 Scholarship Program set forth in s. 1009.532(1)(a) and for the
116 Florida Academic Scholars award set forth in s. 1009.534(3).
117 (b) A student may receive the incentive award for a maximum
118 of 100 percent of the number of credit hours required to
119 complete an associate degree program or a baccalaureate degree
120 program or receive an award for a maximum of 100 percent of the
121 credit hours or clock hours required to complete up to 90 credit
122 hours of a program that terminates in a career certificate.
123 (7) The department shall annually issue awards from the
124 incentive program. Before the registration period each semester,
125 the department shall transmit payment for each award to the
126 president or director of the postsecondary educational
127 institution, or his or her representative, except that the
128 department may withhold payment if the receiving institution
129 fails to report or to make refunds to the department as required
130 in this section.
131 (a) Each institution shall certify to the department the
132 eligibility status of each student to receive a disbursement
133 within 30 days before the end of its regular registration
134 period, inclusive of a drop and add period. An institution is
135 not required to reevaluate the student eligibility after the end
136 of the drop and add period.
137 (b) An institution that receives funds from the incentive
138 program must certify to the department the amount of funds
139 disbursed to each student and remit to the department any
140 undisbursed advances within 60 days after the end of regular
141 registration.
142 (c) If funds appropriated are not adequate to provide the
143 maximum allowable award to each eligible student, awards must be
144 prorated using the same percentage reduction.
145 (8) Funds from any award within the incentive program may
146 not be used to pay for remedial coursework or developmental
147 education.
148 (9) A student may use an award for a summer term if funds
149 are available and appropriated by the Legislature.
150 (10) Funds appropriated by the Legislature for the
151 incentive program awards may be deposited into the State Student
152 Financial Assistance Trust Fund. Notwithstanding s. 216.301 and
153 pursuant to s. 216.351, any balance in the trust fund at the end
154 of any fiscal year which has been allocated to the incentive
155 program must remain in the incentive program and shall be
156 available for carrying out the purposes of this section. The
157 department shall allocate funds to the appropriate institutions
158 and collect and maintain data regarding the incentive program
159 within the student financial assistance database as specified in
160 s. 1009.94.
161 (11) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules
162 necessary to administer this section.
163 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.