A $600 yearly stipend for textbooks that some Bright Futures scholarship recipients get each year has been eliminated by the Florida Legislature.
The move, which will save the state an estimated $37 million, came as legislators adopted several higher education changes before adjourning Friday.
At one point, the Legislature seemed poised to reduce some students’ Bright Futures scholarships based on their academic majors. If a student chose a major that was on a state list of majors that don’t lead directly to employment, the amount of their scholarship would have been reduced.
That proposal drew a firestorm of opposition and was eventually abandoned. But the textbook stipend, which is awarded to students who hold top-level Bright Futures scholarships, was eliminated.
According to the Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times, legislators approved several other measures affecting students at Florida’s universities:
** High performing out-of-state students whose grandparents are legal residents of Florida will be eligible for in-state tuition rates.
** Students who enroll in upper-level courses that meet the state’s workforce needs will be eligible for a “buy one, get one free” program that waives tuition and fees for the second course.
** Some students, including veterans and active-duty members of the military, would be eligible for tuition and fee waivers for one online course.
The Legislature also approved a measure that would shield public and private universities from lawsuits by students seeking reimbursement for tuition and fees they had to pay amid the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Two dozen such suits have been filed in Florida, according to the Herald.
The Legislature also ordered the state to develop an online dashboard offering students information about salaries and average student loan debt for a range of potential academic majors and careers.
Each state university will be required to offer career planning and coaching to first-year students, who will be required to consult the dashboard and undergo career readiness training.
Wonderful. Thank you Florida politicians. You have been working so hard to take this money from kids who have worked for years to earn it. My daughter was wondering why she hadn’t gotten the book stipend. Now, she will need to come up with hundreds of dollars midway through her semester. Excellent work taking money away from scholarship winners so you can spend it on pork bills.