Florida Senate - 2018                                     SB 646
       
       
        
       By Senator Rodriguez
       
       
       
       
       
       37-00633-18                                            2018646__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the Sunshine Scholarship Program;
    3         creating s. 1009.894, F.S.; establishing the Sunshine
    4         Scholarship Program for specified purposes; requiring
    5         the Department of Education to administer the program;
    6         providing student eligibility requirements; requiring
    7         a student to repay the scholarship amount under
    8         certain circumstances; providing that the program
    9         applies only to a student’s tuition; providing for
   10         funding; providing for rulemaking; providing an
   11         effective date.
   12          
   13  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   14  
   15         Section 1. Section 1009.894, Florida Statutes, is created
   16  to read:
   17         1009.894 Sunshine Scholarship Program.—
   18         (1) There is established the Sunshine Scholarship Program
   19  to be administered by the Department of Education. The Sunshine
   20  Scholarship Program shall provide funding for 100 percent of an
   21  eligible student’s tuition at a Florida College System
   22  institution for up to 72 credit hours for an associate degree
   23  program and 120 credit hours for a baccalaureate degree program
   24  after all other available federal and state financial aid awards
   25  and grants have been applied.
   26         (2) To be eligible to receive a scholarship pursuant to
   27  this section, a student must:
   28         (a) Be a resident for tuition purposes, as defined in s.
   29  1009.21.
   30         (b) Have a total annual household income equal to or less
   31  than $125,000.
   32         (c) Be accepted by and enroll in a Florida College System
   33  institution.
   34         (d) Enroll in at least 30 credit hours per academic year.
   35         (e) Have submitted a Free Application for Federal Student
   36  Aid (FASFA).
   37         (3) Upon completion of his or her program of study or upon
   38  disenrollment from the Florida College System institution, the
   39  student must reside and work within the state for the same
   40  period of time he or she received funds from the program. If the
   41  student does not reside and work within the state for the
   42  specified period, the student must repay the total amount
   43  awarded, plus an annual interest rate equal to the student’s
   44  federal student loan interest rate in effect when the student
   45  entered the program. This subsection does not apply to a student
   46  who enlists in the United States Armed Forces.
   47         (4) To remain eligible for the program, a student must
   48  maintain the equivalent of a cumulative grade point average of
   49  2.5 on a 4.0 scale while enrolled at the Florida College System
   50  institution and must submit an annual FASFA.
   51         (5) The Sunshine Scholarship Program applies only to
   52  tuition. Each student is responsible for additional student
   53  fees, textbooks, and other college-related expenses.
   54         (6) Funding for the program shall be as provided in the
   55  General Appropriations Act.
   56         (7) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules to
   57  administer this section.
   58         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2018.