Low Income Florida Students Could Get More Aid

804
SHARE

By LLOYD DUNKELBERGER
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

©2017 The News Service of Florida. All rights reserved. Posting or forwarding this material without permission is prohibited. You can view the Terms of Use on our website.

THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, April 7, 2017……… Although state college leaders are unhappy with a Senate budget that would boost university funding but slash support for the colleges, they are pleased with a Senate effort to expand aid for students who come from lower-income families.

The budget plan (SB 2500), which the Senate will take up Wednesday, would increase the state’s largest need-based aid program, known as Florida student assistance grants, by 81 percent, or $121 million, in the academic year that begins July 1. Senators also want to double the state’s matching grants for “first generation” college and university students to a total of $10.6 million.

The increase in need-based aid, which would also help the university system, is important to the 28 state colleges because their students will not benefit much from the Senate’s plan to expand the Bright Futures merit-scholarship program. The Senate budget would cover full tuition and fees for the top Bright Futures students, known as “academic scholars,” as well as provide $300 for textbooks for two semesters and cover summer tuition.