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Florida Legislative Session 2012 Updates and Legislative History

• Specifies Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program award amounts per credit hour in the 2012-13 academic year. See Award Amounts page for specifics.

• Eligible Bright Futures students enrolled in the pilot program at the University of Florida may receive an award for no more than two semesters in a fiscal year.  Summer funding is available for those students.
• Students graduating from high school in 2012-13 are eligible to accept an initial Bright Futures award for two years following high school graduation and to accept a renewal award for five years following high school graduation.
• Initial and renewal Bright Futures students must submit a complete and error free Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) each year, prior to disbursement of their award.
• Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholars graduating in 2011-12 may receive an award for 100% of the number of hours required to complete only one of the following programs at a Florida public or eligible Florida private postsecondary institution:
  • Applied Technology Diploma, up to 60 credit hours or equivalent clock hours
  • Technical Degree Education Program, not to exceed 72 credit hours or equivalent clock hours
  • Career Certificate Program, not to exceed 72 credit hours or equivalent clock hours.

• Students who graduate from high school mid-year may submit a Florida Financial Aid Application no later than August 31 prior to the student’s graduation, be evaluated for Bright Futures, and, if eligible, receive funding in the spring term following the student’s high school graduation.  These students will be evaluated for renewal of their scholarships at the end of their first full year (fall through spring) of funding.

Florida Legislative Session 2011 Updates and Legislative History

• Specifies Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program award amounts per credit hour in the 2011-12 academic year. See Award Amounts page for specifics.

• Students are now required to submit a complete, error free FAFSA for Bright Futures, Florida Resident Access Grant, and Access to Better Learning and Education Grant initial and renewal eligibility any time prior to disbursement. No FAFSA = No $



• Increase in community service requirement for all three Bright Futures award levels. Bright Futures Florida Academic Scholars (FAS), Florida Medallion Scholars (FMS), and Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholars (GSV). During the 2011-12 academic year, and thereafter, the required community service hours to be completed for the following awards are:


• FAS – 100 hours (increased from 75 hours)
• FMS – 75 hours (increased from 0 hours)
• GSV – 30 hours (increased from 0 hours)


• The Florida Department of Education defines the community service hours required for home-educated students for Bright Futures initial eligibility.  Documentation of community service hours is submitted to the district office.



• Increase in Bright Futures Florida Medallion Scholars award test scores for high school students graduating in the 2013-14 academic year.
• 1170 SAT – increased from 1020 SAT
• 26 ACT – increased from 22 ACT
• 1220 SAT – increased from 1070 SAT for home-educated students
• 27 ACT – increased from 23 ACT for home-educated students

Test Score Requirements for Florida Academic Scholars
and Florida Medallion Scholars
(2011-12 high school graduates and later)

• A pilot program was created at the University of Florida to provide for a Bright Futures cohort of initial students whose program funding will be limited to spring and summer on-campus classes beginning with the 2012-13 academic year.

Florida Legislative Session 2010 Updates and Legislative History

• Specifies Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program award amounts per credit hour in the 2010-11 academic year.



• Florida Academic Scholars (FAS) and Florida Medallion Scholars (FMS) earning a baccalaureate degree in the 2010-11 academic year and thereafter in seven semesters or fewer (or the equivalent in credit hours) may receive funding for one term of graduate study, not to exceed 15 semester hours, paid at the undergraduate rate.



• 2009-10 high school graduates and thereafter eligible for Bright Futures:
  • May receive funding for up to 100% of the required hours for their program of study
  • May ONLY restore their award (during summer or a subsequent renewal period at the end of spring term) if the award is lost due to insufficient GPA in the first year of funding.
  • Are terminated from the scholarship if the award is lost due to insufficient hours in the first year of funding.


• Increases SAT/ACT test scores for the Florida Academic Scholars and Florida Medallion Scholars initial awards incrementally over the next four years.

• 2010-11 high school graduates and thereafter eligible for Bright Futures:
  • May receive funding for up to 5 years after high school graduation instead of 7 years.


• The Critical Teacher Shortage (CTS) Tuition Reimbursement and the CTS Student Loan Forgiveness programs were not funded.

• Specifies Scholarships for Children and Spouses of Deceased or Disabled Veterans are funded equal to the amount required to pay tuition and registration fees at a public postsecondary institution.

Florida Legislative Session 2009 Updates

2009 Legislative Updates

• Senate Bill 2600 - General Appropriations Act (GAA)
  • Specifies Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program award amounts per credit hour in the 2009-10 academic year.
• Senate Bill 1696 - Conforming Bill
  • Removes Bright Futures college-related expense awards for Florida Academic Scholars.
  • Requires institutions to refund the state for any Bright Futures award amount received for courses which were dropped or withdrawn after the drop and add period.
  • Amends Bright Futures Renewal Requirements:
  • Requires students to submit a refund to their institution for any award amount received for course(s) which were dropped or withdrawn after the drop and add period.
  • Allows students who lose their award due to not earning the required hours to restore the award in a subsequent academic year (available to students not meeting the hours requirement in the 2009-10 academic year and thereafter).
  • Revises credit hour requirements for full-time students to earn 24 semester hours (or the equivalent) per academic year (and prorated for part-time enrollment).
  • Prohibits the renewal of Florida Gold Seal Vocational awards to Florida Medallion awards.

Senate Bill 10C
Changes to the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program, effective January 1, 2008

• Early Admit students will no longer be eligible to apply for Bright Futures prior to their senior year in high school.  Students may apply for an award beginning December 1 of the student’s high school graduation year.

AICE (Advanced International Certificate of Education) Information

House Bill 579 adds AICE as a Bright Futures initial eligibility option.
Another way to qualify for a Florida Academic Scholars award is to:

• Receive an AICE Diploma.
• Complete the AICE Curriculum with the best composite score of 1270 SAT or 28 ACT.

Another way to qualify for a Florida Medallion Scholars award is to:

• Complete the AICE Curriculum with the best composite score of 970 SAT or 20 ACT.

SAT and ACT Subtests

The new SAT and ACT writing subtests will not be used for determining Bright Futures eligibility.  Bright Futures eligibility will still be based on:

• SAT - Math and Critical Reading (formerly Verbal) sections
• ACT - English, Reading, Math, and Science sections