Big Changes Afoot for Bright Futures Requirements as Lawmakers Shift to Paid Work Instead of Volunteer Service

But lawmakers are proposing dramatic changes in those requirements.

Volunteer hours would no longer be the only option. High school kids vying for a scholarship could compile hours for paid work — not volunteer service.

The legislation doesn’t limit the type of paid work, such as restaurants or grocery stores, though the work would need to be approved by school officials.

Also, students may choose to do the civics or social issues projects, but they wouldn’t have to, according to a legislative analysis.

Currently, Florida law says that in order to receive a Bright Futures scholarship, a student “must identify a social or civic issue or a professional area that interests him or her, develop a plan for his or her personal involvement in addressing the issue or learning about the area, and, through papers or other presentations, evaluate and reflect upon his or her experience.”

But legislation moving in the state House would simply require that a student “through papers or other presentations, evaluate and reflect upon his or her volunteer service or paid work.”

The bill doesn’t specify what that would look like. A one-page report?




In the Senate, the Bright Futures bill would specify 300 hours of paid work to qualify for the scholarship.  The House would allow 75 to 100 hours of paid work depending on the level of scholarships.

Rep. Lauren Melo is co-sponsoring HB 461 and is a Republican who represents Hendry and part of Collier County. She said that allowing students to earn Bright Futures scholarships through paid work could level the playing field for students who may face a financial barrier.

“In creating a volunteer service requirement for the scholarships, we blocked some of the hardest working students who need this program the most,”  she said at a House Education and Employment committee meeting Thursday. “The kids who go to school and report to their jobs after the bell rings. Not everyone has the privilege of volunteering in lieu of earning a paycheck.”

“This bill levels the playing field for young adults who have to work and provides them the opportunity to obtain scholarship funds for their secondary education,” Melo said.

Rep. Susan Valdés, a Democrat who represents part of Hillsborough County, is the other bill co-sponsor.

“I truly understand the need some of these students have to have in order to help put food on the table,” Valdés said.

She noted that students who do not get Bright Future scholarships often acquire a lot of student debt, and that volunteer opportunities have reduced over the course of the COVID pandemic.

Rep. Amber Mariano, a Republican who represents part of Pasco County, noted during debate on the bill that she was a Bright Futures recipient.

“I was very grateful for my scholarship, but it was a challenge for me to get my community service hours,” Mariano said, “because me and my sister, both, we worked our way through high school. We worked part time at a restaurant.”




She continued: “With that time I spent working, 20 hours a week, while I was still playing three varsity sports and I had to find time to work to be able to pay for car insurance and a car. This would have really helped me be able to do that. And there are many students that are in more dire needs than I was.”

No one on the committee discussed the civics or social issues project that would become optional should this bill pass.

The House Education and Employment committee unanimously approved the legislation Thursday, though there were two members who did not vote. The House bill was also approved unanimously in its previous committee stops.

The Senate version, SB 1060, is similar but there is a major difference: The student who opted for paid work would have to complete 300 hours to qualify for Bright Futures.

There have been previous efforts to tie Bright Futures with employment.

During the 2021 legislative session, Sen. Dennis Baxley, a Republican who represents Sumter County and parts of Lake and Marion counties, pushed a bill to limit which students would receive Bright Futures funding based on the majors they would choose in college.

The proposal launched an outcry over concerns that liberal arts majors such as sociology, English and psychology would no longer be supported by Bright Futures.

After intense backlash, Baxley amended the bill.

Currently, Bright Futures has two levels of academic achievement, one which covers 75 percent of tuition costs and one that covers 100 percent. There is also a vocational scholarship option.

The lower academic award, called Florida Medallion Scholars Award, currently requires that a student complete 75 hours of volunteer work, along with certain academic requirements. That would include a weighted 3.0 GPA, an ACT score of at least 25, or SAT 1210, and then the civics and social issues project.

For the higher award, called Florida Academic Scholars Award,  requires 100 hour of volunteer work, plus a weighted 3.5 GPA, and an ACT score of at least 29 or 1330 for the SAT, and the civic and social issues project.

–Danielle J. Brown, Florida Phoenix