The full Senate is prepped and ready to take up Senate President Joe Negron’s $1 billion higher education bill this week. Under the proposal, SB 2 -- called the “Florida Excellence in Higher Education Act of 2017” -- state universities would be required to block tuition rates for in-state and out-of-state full time students by 2018.
The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, would also require all 12 state universities to offer students a flat tuition rate, regardless of how many credit hours they take.
“Our goal is to preserve access and increase affordability for Florida students, while at the same time making strategic investments that elevate the prominence of our state universities and increase their ability to compete as national destination institutions,” said Galvano.
The Senate approved a Galvano amendment to give universities extra money for enrolling low-income students. Sen. Oscar Braynon, D-Miami Gardens, co-sponsored the amendment with the historically black Florida A&M University in mind. Florida A&M enrolls over 9,000 students, many of them from low-income backgrounds.
Braynon said the amendment was important to implement so low-income students wouldn’t be penalized for taking longer to graduate, since many of them take up jobs while studying to pay for school.
Negron agreed.
“Like many students today, I worked throughout college and law school, and I understand the challenge of working and balancing difficult coursework,” Negron said. “I am confident this package of policy enhancements will help more students graduate on-time, while maintaining the flexibility some students need as they balance their studies with family and work obligations.”
Other senators teed up a series of amendments for the bill, ranging from providing need-based aid to students to attend private colleges and universities to measuring community colleges’ performance based on on-time graduation rates, but all amendments not proposed by Galvano failed.
If passed, Negron’s proposal would also greatly expand Florida’s Bright Futures Scholarship Program, which offers Florida students full rides to state colleges and universities for meeting certain academic and volunteer requirements.
Bright Futures, which began in 1997, is funded by the Florida Lottery. During the 1997-1998 school year, the program cost around $70 million to serve around 42,000 students, according to the Florida Department of Education.
As the program grew, so did its funding needs. By 2008, the program cost $429 million and served around 169,000 students, but the economic recession hit Bright Futures hard and the program was scaled back significantly.
Qualifying for a scholarship became more difficult when the state raised its standardized testing requirements to become a full ride Academic Scholar. Prior to 2011, students had to score a 28 on the ACT or a 1270 on the SAT. By 2013, the score requirement increased to 29 on the ACT and 1280 on the SAT. before 2011, a student would have needed a score of 1270 on the SAT exam or a 28 on the ACT.
Funding was also slashed for the program by nearly half. This year, the state is projected to spend around $217 million for 100,000 scholarships.
Should Negron’s bill pass, it would represent the first year Bright Futures would be boosted since it took a hit nine years ago.
“I believe Florida taxpayers will see a return worthy of their investment when our top Florida students attend our own universities, complete degree programs on-time, and then graduate with job opportunities in high-demand fields needed in our growing communities,” said Negron.
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
