Warning: Constant ABSPATH already defined in /home/flanews/public_html/wp-config.php on line 34
Capitol News Service » Blog Archive » Permanent Bright Futures Expansion Includes Expansions for an Additional 43,000 Students

Welcome to

Capitol News Service

Florida's Best Political Coverage on Television

 


 


 


Recent Posts

RSS Quote of the Day

  • Charles Baudelaire
    "Everything that is beautiful and noble is the product of reason and calculation."
  • Wilson Mizner
    "The best way to keep your friends is not to give them away."
  • Benjamin Disraeli
    "Silence is the mother of truth."
  • H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
    "Never forget the three powerful resources you always have available to you: love, prayer, and forgiveness."

Permanent Bright Futures Expansion Includes Expansions for an Additional 43,000 Students

October 9th, 2017 by Jake Stofan
Governor Rick Scott voted a permanent increase in Bright Futures funding, but top lawmakers are back with bright futures increases they are hoping the Governor will accept.
Florida’s top Bright Futures recipients are getting a taste of what might become a permanent boost to their scholarships this year.
The payout for the Florida Academic Scholarship is covering 100% of tuition and an additional $300 stipend for books.
“It was a crazy difference for me. It allowed me to pay for dorm and my meal plan without having to break my wallet,” said FSU Student and Academic Scholarship Recipient, Kayleigh Wingard.
To ensure the estimated 50,080 Academic Scholars don’t loose their financial safeguard, Legislative leaders have vowed to make the changes permanent this year.
“We want to make sure that every student that has an opportunity to further their career through education at our great universities and colleges, that they have that opportunity,” said the bill’s cosponsor State Senator Rob Bradley.
The bill will also expand the second highest scholarship payout, the Medallion Scholarship, which currently covers about 50% of tuition.
If the change is approved, it will cover 75%.
“The money that I get back from the Bright Futures just helps me with my rent, it helps me get the food and helps my mom and them sometimes down south so getting a full 75% would absolutely make a difference for me,” said FSU student and Medallion Scholarship Recipient James Milton.
Last session, the Governor vetoed the scholarship increases because other provisions in the bill cut funding for state and community colleges.
Higher Education Advocates say this year, the increases stand alone, hopefully making them attractive to the Governor.
“I see it as a positive thing for universities and for faculty and for colleges as well because they don’t have as many Bright Futures students, but they do have some,” said United Faculty of Florida Executive Director, Marshall Ogletree.
If approved, more than 93,000 college students in the state will be able to breathe a little easier.
The bill also allows Bright Futures to be permanently used for summer classes and includes expansions to the Benacquisto Scholarship Program, the  First Generation Matching Grant Program and the Florida Farmworker Student Scholarship Program.

Posted in State News | No Comments »

Comments are closed.

copyright © 2016 by Capitol News Service | Powered by Wordpress | Hosted by LyonsHost.com