Florida Senate - 2016                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. PCS (126962) for SB 1166
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì412670ÇÎ412670                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  02/26/2016           .                                
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       The Committee on Appropriations (Negron) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment to Amendment (927682) (with title
    2  amendment)
    3  
    4         Between lines 1566 and 1567
    5  insert:
    6         Section 13. Section 1009.893, Florida Statutes, is amended
    7  to read:
    8         1009.893 Benacquisto Scholarship Florida National Merit
    9  Scholar Incentive Program.—
   10         (1) As used in this section, the term:
   11         (a) “Department” means the Department of Education.
   12         (b) “Scholarship Incentive program” means the Benacquisto
   13  Scholarship Florida National Merit Scholar Incentive Program.
   14         (2) The Benacquisto Scholarship Florida National Merit
   15  Scholar Incentive Program is created to reward any Florida high
   16  school graduate who receives recognition as a National Merit
   17  Scholar or National Achievement Scholar and who initially
   18  enrolls in the 2014-2015 academic year or, later, in a
   19  baccalaureate degree program at an eligible Florida public or
   20  independent postsecondary educational institution.
   21         (3) The department shall administer the scholarship
   22  incentive program according to rules and procedures established
   23  by the State Board of Education. The department shall advertise
   24  the availability of the scholarship incentive program and notify
   25  students, teachers, parents, certified school counselors, and
   26  principals or other relevant school administrators of the
   27  criteria.
   28         (4) In order to be eligible for an award under the
   29  scholarship incentive program, a student must:
   30         (a) Be a state resident as determined in s. 1009.40 and
   31  rules of the State Board of Education;
   32         (b) Earn a standard Florida high school diploma or its
   33  equivalent pursuant to s. 1002.3105, s. 1003.4281, s. 1003.4282,
   34  or s. 1003.435 unless:
   35         1. The student completes a home education program according
   36  to s. 1002.41; or
   37         2. The student earns a high school diploma from a non
   38  Florida school while living with a parent who is on military or
   39  public service assignment out of this state;
   40         (c) Be accepted by and enroll in a Florida public or
   41  independent postsecondary educational institution that is
   42  regionally accredited; and
   43         (d) Be enrolled full-time in a baccalaureate degree program
   44  at an eligible regionally accredited Florida public or
   45  independent postsecondary educational institution during the
   46  fall academic term following high school graduation.
   47         (5)(a) An eligible student who is a National Merit Scholar
   48  or National Achievement Scholar and who attends a Florida public
   49  postsecondary educational institution shall receive a
   50  scholarship an incentive award equal to the institutional cost
   51  of attendance minus the sum of the student’s Florida Bright
   52  Futures Scholarship and National Merit Scholarship or National
   53  Achievement Scholarship.
   54         (b) An eligible student who is a National Merit Scholar or
   55  National Achievement Scholar and who attends a Florida
   56  independent postsecondary educational institution shall receive
   57  a scholarship an incentive award equal to the highest cost of
   58  attendance at a Florida public university, as reported by the
   59  Board of Governors of the State University System, minus the sum
   60  of the student’s Florida Bright Futures Scholarship and National
   61  Merit Scholarship or National Achievement Scholarship.
   62         (6)(a) To be eligible for a renewal award, a student must
   63  earn all credits for which he or she was enrolled and maintain a
   64  3.0 or higher grade point average.
   65         (b) A student may receive the scholarship incentive award
   66  for a maximum of 100 percent of the number of credit hours
   67  required to complete a baccalaureate degree program, or until
   68  completion of a baccalaureate degree program, whichever comes
   69  first.
   70         (7) The department shall annually issue awards from the
   71  scholarship incentive program. Before the registration period
   72  each semester, the department shall transmit payment for each
   73  award to the president or director of the postsecondary
   74  educational institution, or his or her representative, except
   75  that the department may withhold payment if the receiving
   76  institution fails to report or to make refunds to the department
   77  as required in this section.
   78         (a) Each institution shall certify to the department the
   79  eligibility status of each student to receive a disbursement
   80  within 30 days before the end of its regular registration
   81  period, inclusive of a drop and add period. An institution is
   82  not required to reevaluate the student eligibility after the end
   83  of the drop and add period.
   84         (b) An institution that receives funds from the scholarship
   85  incentive program must certify to the department the amount of
   86  funds disbursed to each student and remit to the department any
   87  undisbursed advances within 60 days after the end of regular
   88  registration.
   89         (c) If funds appropriated are not adequate to provide the
   90  maximum allowable award to each eligible student, awards must be
   91  prorated using the same percentage reduction.
   92         (8) Funds from any award within the scholarship incentive
   93  program may not be used to pay for remedial coursework or
   94  developmental education.
   95         (9) A student may use an award for a summer term if funds
   96  are available and appropriated by the Legislature.
   97         (10) The department shall allocate funds to the appropriate
   98  institutions and collect and maintain data regarding the
   99  scholarship incentive program within the student financial
  100  assistance database as specified in s. 1009.94.
  101         (11) Section 1009.40(4) does not apply to awards issued
  102  under this section.
  103         (12) A student who receives an award under the scholarship
  104  program shall be known as a Benacquisto Scholar.
  105         (13) All eligible Florida public or independent
  106  postsecondary educational institutions are encouraged to become,
  107  and all eligible state universities shall become, college
  108  sponsors of the National Merit Scholarship Program.
  109         (14)(12) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules
  110  necessary to administer this section.
  111  
  112  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  113  And the title is amended as follows:
  114         Delete line 2382
  115  and insert:
  116         the evidence; amending s. 1009.893, F.S.; changing the
  117         name of the “Florida National Merit Scholar Incentive
  118         Program” to the “Benacquisto Scholarship Program”;
  119         providing that a student who receives a scholarship
  120         award under the program will be referred to as a
  121         Benacquisto Scholar; encouraging all eligible Florida
  122         public or independent postsecondary educational
  123         institutions, and requiring all eligible state
  124         universities, to become college sponsors of the
  125         National Merit Scholarship Program; amending s.
  126         1011.61, F.S.; revising the