Florida Senate - 2015                                     SB 960
       
       
        
       By Senator Lee
       
       
       
       
       
       24-00358A-15                                           2015960__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the Florida Bright Futures
    3         Scholarship Program; amending ss. 1009.534, 1009.535,
    4         and 1009.536, F.S.; requiring a student, as a
    5         prerequisite for the Florida Academic Scholars award,
    6         the Florida Medallion Scholars award, or the Florida
    7         Gold Seal Vocational Scholars award, to identify a
    8         social or civic issue or a professional area of
    9         interest and develop a plan for his or her personal
   10         involvement in addressing the issue or learning about
   11         the area; prohibiting the student from receiving
   12         remuneration or academic credit for the volunteer
   13         service work performed; providing examples of
   14         volunteer service work; requiring that the hours of
   15         volunteer service work performed be documented in
   16         writing and the document be signed by certain
   17         individuals; deleting obsolete provisions; providing
   18         an effective date.
   19          
   20  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   21  
   22         Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 1009.534, Florida
   23  Statutes, is amended to read:
   24         1009.534 Florida Academic Scholars award.—
   25         (1) A student is eligible for a Florida Academic Scholars
   26  award if he or she the student meets the general eligibility
   27  requirements for the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program
   28  and the student:
   29         (a) Has achieved a 3.5 weighted grade point average as
   30  calculated pursuant to s. 1009.531, or its equivalent, in high
   31  school courses that are designated by the State Board of
   32  Education as college-preparatory academic courses; and has
   33  attained at least the score required under pursuant to s.
   34  1009.531(6)(a) on the combined verbal and quantitative parts of
   35  the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the Scholastic Assessment Test, or
   36  the recentered Scholastic Assessment Test of the College
   37  Entrance Examination, or an equivalent score on the ACT
   38  Assessment Program;
   39         (b) Has attended a home education program according to s.
   40  1002.41 during grades 11 and 12, or has completed the
   41  International Baccalaureate curriculum but failed to earn the
   42  International Baccalaureate Diploma, or has completed the
   43  Advanced International Certificate of Education curriculum but
   44  failed to earn the Advanced International Certificate of
   45  Education Diploma;, and has attained at least the score required
   46  under pursuant to s. 1009.531(6)(a) on the combined verbal and
   47  quantitative parts of the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the
   48  Scholastic Assessment Test, or the recentered Scholastic
   49  Assessment Test of the College Entrance Examination, or an
   50  equivalent score on the ACT Assessment Program;
   51         (c) Has been awarded an International Baccalaureate Diploma
   52  from the International Baccalaureate Office or an Advanced
   53  International Certificate of Education Diploma from the
   54  University of Cambridge International Examinations Office;
   55         (d) Has been recognized by the merit or achievement
   56  programs of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation as a
   57  scholar or finalist; or
   58         (e) Has been recognized by the National Hispanic
   59  Recognition Program as a scholar recipient.
   60  
   61  The A student must complete a program of volunteer community
   62  service work, as approved by the district school board, the
   63  administrators of a nonpublic school, or the Department of
   64  Education for home education program students, which must shall
   65  include a minimum of 75 hours of service work for high school
   66  students graduating in the 2010-2011 academic year and 100 hours
   67  of service work for high school students graduating in the 2011
   68  2012 academic year and thereafter. The student, and must
   69  identify a social or civic issue or a professional area problem
   70  that interests him or her, develop a plan for his or her
   71  personal involvement in addressing the issue or learning about
   72  the area problem, and, through papers or other presentations,
   73  evaluate and reflect upon his or her experience. The student may
   74  not receive remuneration or academic credit for the volunteer
   75  service work performed. Such work may include, but is not
   76  limited to, a business or government internship, work for a
   77  nonprofit community service organization, or activity on behalf
   78  of a candidate for public office. The hours of volunteer service
   79  work must be documented in writing, and the document must be
   80  signed by the student, the student’s parent or guardian, and a
   81  representative of the organization for which the student
   82  performed the volunteer service work.
   83         Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 1009.535, Florida
   84  Statutes, is amended to read:
   85         1009.535 Florida Medallion Scholars award.—
   86         (1) A student is eligible for a Florida Medallion Scholars
   87  award if he or she the student meets the general eligibility
   88  requirements for the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program
   89  and the student:
   90         (a) Has achieved a weighted grade point average of 3.0 as
   91  calculated pursuant to s. 1009.531, or the equivalent, in high
   92  school courses that are designated by the State Board of
   93  Education as college-preparatory academic courses; and has
   94  attained at least the score required under pursuant to s.
   95  1009.531(6)(b) on the combined verbal and quantitative parts of
   96  the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the Scholastic Assessment Test, or
   97  the recentered Scholastic Assessment Test of the College
   98  Entrance Examination, or an equivalent score on the ACT
   99  Assessment Program;
  100         (b) Has completed the International Baccalaureate
  101  curriculum but failed to earn the International Baccalaureate
  102  Diploma or has completed the Advanced International Certificate
  103  of Education curriculum but failed to earn the Advanced
  104  International Certificate of Education Diploma, and has attained
  105  at least the score required under pursuant to s. 1009.531(6)(b)
  106  on the combined verbal and quantitative parts of the Scholastic
  107  Aptitude Test, the Scholastic Assessment Test, or the recentered
  108  Scholastic Assessment Test of the College Entrance Examination,
  109  or an equivalent score on the ACT Assessment Program;
  110         (c) Has attended a home education program according to s.
  111  1002.41 during grades 11 and 12 and has attained at least the
  112  score required under pursuant to s. 1009.531(6)(b) on the
  113  combined verbal and quantitative parts of the Scholastic
  114  Aptitude Test, the Scholastic Assessment Test, or the recentered
  115  Scholastic Assessment Test of the College Entrance Examination,
  116  or an equivalent score on the ACT Assessment Program, if the
  117  student’s parent cannot document a college-preparatory
  118  curriculum as described in paragraph (a);
  119         (d) Has been recognized by the merit or achievement program
  120  of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation as a scholar or
  121  finalist but has not completed the a program of volunteer
  122  community service work required under as provided in s.
  123  1009.534; or
  124         (e) Has been recognized by the National Hispanic
  125  Recognition Program as a scholar, but has not completed the a
  126  program of volunteer community service work required under as
  127  provided in s. 1009.534.
  128  
  129  The A high school student graduating in the 2011-2012 academic
  130  year and thereafter must complete at least 75 hours a program of
  131  volunteer community service work approved by the district school
  132  board, the administrators of a nonpublic school, or the
  133  Department of Education for home education program students. The
  134  student, which shall include a minimum of 75 hours of service
  135  work, and must identify a social or civic issue or a
  136  professional area problem that interests him or her, develop a
  137  plan for his or her personal involvement in addressing the issue
  138  or learning about the area problem, and, through papers or other
  139  presentations, evaluate and reflect upon his or her experience.
  140  The student may not receive remuneration or academic credit for
  141  the volunteer service work performed. Such work may include, but
  142  is not limited to, a business or government internship, work for
  143  a nonprofit community service organization, or activity on
  144  behalf of a candidate for public office. The hours of volunteer
  145  service work must be documented in writing, and the document
  146  must be signed by the student, the student’s parent or guardian,
  147  and a representative of the organization for which the student
  148  performed the volunteer service work.
  149         Section 3. Subsection (1) of section 1009.536, Florida
  150  Statutes, is amended to read:
  151         1009.536 Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholars award.—The
  152  Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholars award is created within
  153  the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program to recognize and
  154  reward academic achievement and career preparation by high
  155  school students who wish to continue their education.
  156         (1) A student is eligible for a Florida Gold Seal
  157  Vocational Scholars award if he or she the student meets the
  158  general eligibility requirements for the Florida Bright Futures
  159  Scholarship Program and the student:
  160         (a) Completes the secondary school portion of a sequential
  161  program of studies which that requires at least three secondary
  162  school career credits. On-the-job training may not be
  163  substituted for any of the three required career credits.
  164         (b) Demonstrates readiness for postsecondary education by
  165  earning a passing score on the Florida College Entry Level
  166  Placement Test or its equivalent as identified by the Department
  167  of Education.
  168         (c) Earns a minimum cumulative weighted grade point average
  169  of 3.0, as calculated pursuant to s. 1009.531, on all subjects
  170  required for a standard high school diploma, excluding elective
  171  courses.
  172         (d) Earns a minimum unweighted grade point average of 3.5
  173  on a 4.0 scale for secondary career courses that compose
  174  comprising the career program.
  175         (e) Beginning with high school students graduating in the
  176  2011-2012 academic year and thereafter, completes at least 30
  177  hours a program of volunteer community service work approved by
  178  the district school board, the administrators of a nonpublic
  179  school, or the Department of Education for home education
  180  program students. The student must identify, which shall include
  181  a minimum of 30 hours of service work, and identifies a social
  182  or civic issue or a professional area problem that interests him
  183  or her, develop develops a plan for his or her personal
  184  involvement in addressing the issue or learning about the area
  185  problem, and, through papers or other presentations, evaluate
  186  evaluates and reflect reflects upon his or her experience. The
  187  student may not receive remuneration or academic credit for the
  188  volunteer service work performed. Such work may include, but is
  189  not limited to, a business or government internship, work for a
  190  nonprofit community service organization, or activity on behalf
  191  of a candidate for public office. The hours of volunteer service
  192  work must be documented in writing, and the document must be
  193  signed by the student, the student’s parent or guardian, and a
  194  representative of the organization for which the student
  195  performed the volunteer service work.
  196         Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2015.