Under pressure that has included a student-led opposition campaign, lawmakers are expected to overhaul a controversial Senate proposal that would tie Bright Futures scholarships to a list of job-creating degrees.
The measure (SB 86) was tabled last week before it was set to be considered by the Senate Education Committee. Sponsor Sen. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, told reporters at the time that he was receiving “a lot of different inputs” on the proposal, which he said left him wanting to “hit the brakes.”
Under the bill as it was filed initially, state college and university students would not be eligible for Bright Futures scholarships if they enrolled in degree programs not on lists of “approved” programs. Students who had not chosen degree programs would be eligible to have 60 hours of coursework covered by the popular scholarship program.
But the Senate Education Committee on Tuesday is expected to consider an amendment that would make significant changes to the bill. Under the amendment filed by Baxley, Bright Futures scholarships would be “reduced,” not nixed, for students who don’t choose an academic discipline deemed promising for job prospects.
Baxley sent a letter to members of the committee Monday outlining some of the changes.
“Rather than creating a list of degrees that lead to jobs, the bill creates a list of degrees that DO NOT lead to jobs. Students who select a degree or program of study that the BOG has determined will not lead to a job will receive a reduced (not eliminated) scholarship amount,” Baxley wrote, referring to the state university system’s Board of Governors.
The amended plan would require the Board of Governors, the State Board of Education and the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida to maintain such lists. The change tying Bright Futures eligibility to the lists would go into effect during the 2023-2024 academic year, which is one year later than the original plan proposed. It would also apply to the state’s Benacquisto Scholarship program, which is for National Merit scholars.
The amendment would also require the Board of Governors to develop an online dashboard featuring data on graduates of various fields of study. The dashboard would have to include information such as median salary after graduation, average student loan debt and debt-to-income ratio.
“My hope is that the research will show that all, or most degrees our institutions of higher learning are offering DO lead to jobs. But if there are degrees out there that don’t, I believe we have a moral obligation to let the student know,” Baxley wrote to the committee.
If adopted, Baxley’s amendment would keep some features of the original proposal. One such provision would change the current tiered structure of providing Bright Futures aid at either 75 percent or 100 percent of tuition and fees to tying scholarship levels to the amount appropriated in the state budget.
That part of the bill drew ire from students behind the group Save Bright Futures, which created a website and started a petition in opposition to the Senate measure.
“There’s so much up in the air about how much students are receiving per scholarship. So, even if you are approved, even if you work hard to get the scholarship … they don’t guarantee a certain percentage of your tuition,” Kaylee Duong, an Orlando high school student who is part of the group, told The News Service of Florida in an interview last week.
The amendment modifies part of the original bill that would reduce the amount of credit hours Bright Futures recipients would be eligible for if they earned college credits through an “acceleration mechanism,” like AP or International Baccalaureate classes in high school.
Baxley wrote in his letter to the Senate Education Committee that the provision would remain, but “the amendment further specifies the deduction only if the credit is accepted by the institution and applies to a career program requirements, or to general education courses.”
Senate President Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, has endorsed the bill and told reporters last week that the “theme” of the measure would remain even with changes.
“Our concern is, are there degrees that do not lead to jobs. And so, we’re still going to be looking to scale back the Bright Futures portion of that opportunity if it does not lead to a job,” Simpson said.
Meanwhile, a House version of Baxley’s bill has not been filed.
House Minority Co-Leader Evan Jenne, D-Dania Beach, criticized the proposal as “an awful idea,” but told reporters during a media availability Monday “you always have to be prepared for any bill to get traction in the House.”
“I think it’s one that may have a little bit more of a difficult time over here than in the Senate,” Jenne said.
–Ryan Dailey, News Service of Florida
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Michael Hair says
Please put the names of the people that are these “Lawmakers” this is generalizing politicians and lawyers.
FlaglerLive says
Reading the story helps.
Pogo says
@baxley (the NRA’s undertaker) wants to make a law about the “value” of college majors?!
https://justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate/biography/54010/dennis-baxley
baxley’s own education:
AS, Funeral Service Program, Miami-Dade Community College, 1975
BA, Sociology/Psychology, Florida State University, 1974
AA, Central Florida Community College, 1972
https://justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate/biography/54010/dennis-baxley
floriduh Republicans’ real Bright Futures
https://www.google.com/search?d&q=cost+of+fl+funeral+2021
You may not be able to change the world, but at least you can embarrass the guilty.
— Jessica Mitford
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20160721-how-jessica-mitford-changed-our-ideas-about-death
rdk says
Curious to see who decides which degrees are deemed “good enough” to qualify for this proposed change. What an absolute joke, sounds like a way to get students even further into debt by punishing them for choosing to follow their personal interests.
Dennis says
Great ide. Many graduate with a degree in basket making, only to find out the jobs don’t exist or they pay $10 and you can’t pay back college loans.
CB from PC says
Good idea.
If “Bright” students want to major in a subject which
does not give a skill set in demand by employers, which produces quantifiable goods or services to benefit Society while generating a paycheck, do it on your own money.
Ever notice how Republican Politicians have a valid logical reason as stated by
Senate President Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby:
“Our concern is, are there degrees that do not lead to jobs. And so, we’re still going to be looking to scale back the Bright Futures portion of that opportunity if it does not lead to a job,”
In short, taxpayer money needs to be used for education providing a return on investment.
The Democrats make an emotional statement based on “feelings”, as in
House Minority Co-Leader Evan Jenne, D-Dania Beach, who criticized the proposal as “an awful idea,” .
Any reason?
No, it just conflicts with our anything goes ideology as
People will do what they do, and everyone needs to pay for it.
And speaking of paying, get ready for gropey Joe’s fingers going into your cash stash with the biggest tax increase since 1993.
It will hit hard the small businesses still recovering from Covid.
All those Corporate tax rate increases on earnings will be added to the price of everything, on top of the added cost due to the increased price of petroleum.
Less money in working families pockets.
Look at the bright side,
Democrats who voted for Biden will be getting the same shaft as Republicans who did not.
Talk about Equal justice.
And this post will also probably be deleted by Flaglerlive because it does not follow the “approved” liberal mantra.
Ray W. says
Biggest tax increase since 1993! Does CB from PC want readers to infer that President Clinton is responsible for President Bush’s tax increase? President Bush famously campaigned on his “read my lips, no new taxes” theme. He then signed into law one of the bigger tax increases in history. President Bush was no longer in office after mid-January 1993. I suppose CB from PC simply misremembered who signed to bill to raise taxes. As for high petroleum prices, once the Texas refineries are able to make up their several week long loss of production due to Republican failures in office, gas prices will likely head back down. Liberals are not responsible for this rise in gas prices; this one is on Texas.
joe says
“Our concern is, are there degrees that do not lead to jobs. And so, we’re still going to be looking to scale back the Bright Futures portion of that opportunity if it does not lead to a job,” Simpson said.
Translation: “You are a tool to be used by the corporate system. Any education that does not benefit a future employer is not approved.”
Republicans finding it increasingly hard to hide their anti-intellectualism. An educated and well-informed citizenry was seen as essential by our founders. To today’s “patriots” not so much.
Wow says
Don’t spend a million bucks re-inventing the wheel. That data is freely available in many places. The EmployFlorida website. The Occupational Outlook Handbook. Many places. Use the resources available and spare us another questionable “dashboard”.