Florida SB 1004: Sunshine Scholarship Program

Bill Text

1004 
Sunshine Scholarship Program 
2019-11-20T03:36:34Z 
Establishing the Sunshine Scholarship Program; requiring the Department of Education to administer the program; requiring certain financial aid to be credited to a student’s tuition and fees before the award of a Sunshine Scholarship; requiring a student to repay the scholarship amount under certain circumstances, etc. 
Original Filed Version 
2020 
S 
2020-07-01T00:00:00Z 
GB 
General Bill 
__ 

 Florida Senate - 2020 SB 1004 

 By Senator Rodriguez 

 37-00396-20 20201004__ 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act relating to the Sunshine Scholarship Program; 
 3 creating s. 1009.895, F.S.; establishing the Sunshine 
 4 Scholarship Program; requiring the Department of 
 5 Education to administer the program; providing the 
 6 purpose of the program; defining the term “eligible 
 7 postsecondary institution”; requiring certain 
 8 financial aid to be credited to a student’s tuition 
 9 and fees before the award of a Sunshine Scholarship; 
 10 specifying student eligibility requirements; defining 
 11 the term “full-time student”; requiring a student to 
 12 repay the scholarship amount under certain 
 13 circumstances; providing that the program applies only 
 14 to a student’s tuition and fees; providing for 
 15 funding; providing for rulemaking; providing an 
 16 effective date. 
 17 
 18 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
 19 
 20 Section 1. Section 1009.895, Florida Statutes, is created 
 21 to read: 
 22 1009.895 Sunshine Scholarship Program.— 
 23 (1) There is established the Sunshine Scholarship Program 
 24 to be administered by the Department of Education pursuant to 
 25 this section and rules of the State Board of Education. The 
 26 Sunshine Scholarship Program shall provide funding for 100 
 27 percent of tuition and fees for Florida residents pursuing an 
 28 associate degree or career certificate from an eligible 
 29 postsecondary institution. For purposes of this section, the 
 30 term “eligible postsecondary institution” means a Florida 
 31 College System institution, a career center operated by a school 
 32 district, or a charter technical career center. Financial aid 
 33 received from the Pell Grant, the Florida Public Student 
 34 Assistance Grant Program, and the Florida Bright Futures 
 35 Scholarship Program shall be credited first to the student’s 
 36 tuition and fees before the award of a scholarship under this 
 37 section. 
 38 (2) To be eligible to receive a scholarship pursuant to 
 39 this section, a student must: 
 40 (a) Be a resident for tuition purposes, as defined in s. 
 41 1009.21. 
 42 (b) Meet the general requirements for student eligibility 
 43 as provided in s. 1009.40, except as otherwise provided in this 
 44 section. 
 45 (c) Have a total annual household income of up to: 
 46 1. Two hundred fifty percent of the federal poverty 
 47 threshold to receive a 100 percent scholarship; 
 48 2. Three hundred twenty-five percent of the federal poverty 
 49 threshold to receive a 75 percent scholarship; 
 50 3. Four hundred percent of the federal poverty threshold to 
 51 receive a 50 percent scholarship; or 
 52 4. Five hundred percent of the federal poverty threshold to 
 53 receive a 25 percent scholarship. 
 54 (d) Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid 
 55 for each academic year in which the scholarship is sought. 
 56 (e) Be accepted by and enroll in an eligible postsecondary 
 57 institution. 
 58 (f) Maintain continuous enrollment as a full-time student 
 59 while receiving the scholarship. For purposes of this section, 
 60 the term “full-time student” means a student enrolled in a 
 61 minimum of 12 semester hours or the clock-hour equivalent. 
 62 (3) Upon completion of his or her program of study, or upon 
 63 disenrollment from an eligible postsecondary institution, the 
 64 student must reside and work within this state for the same 
 65 period of time he or she received funds from the Sunshine 
 66 Scholarship Program. If the student does not reside and work 
 67 within this state for the specified period, the student must 
 68 repay the total scholarship amount awarded, plus an annual 
 69 interest rate equal to the federal student loan interest rate in 
 70 effect when the student entered the scholarship program. The 
 71 requirements of this subsection do not apply: 
 72 (a) When a student enlists in the United States Armed 
 73 Forces; or 
 74 (b) While a student is continuously enrolled in a 
 75 baccalaureate degree program or higher at a Florida 
 76 postsecondary institution. Once the student graduates or 
 77 disenrolls from a Florida postsecondary institution, the 
 78 requirements of this subsection apply. 
 79 (4) To remain eligible for the program, a student must 
 80 maintain the equivalent of a cumulative grade point average of 
 81 2.5 on a 4.0 scale while enrolled at an eligible postsecondary 
 82 institution. 
 83 (5) The Sunshine Scholarsh