Martina Brady / Staff Writer
Florida state legislators voted on Wednesday, Mar. 31 in favor of a bill which could decrease the number of Black and Latino students receiving Bright Futures scholarships.
If passed, S.B. 86 would dispense aid from a general state fund. The amount students receive would be relative to the state budget, rather than a percentage provided by the state.
Bright Futures currently awards scholarships covering 75 or 100 percent of tuition funded by the state lottery. To be eligible, high school students must meet certain GPA and standardized test requirements.
According to a report released by the Florida Department of Education 6,555 FIU students received Bright Futures scholarships in the 2019-2020 school year. Over 3/4 of FIU students identify as Black or Latino.
The bill, introduced by Sen. Dennis Baxley, was previously tabled for edits after intense opposition from students and advocacy groups like Save Bright Futures.
The previous version of the bill would have barred students in degree programs that “do not lead directly to employment” from receiving aid.
After this provision was removed on March 23, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted in favor. The bill will now be considered by the Senate.
With a $2 billion budget shortfall as a result of the pandemic, Florida lawmakers are faced with making brutal cuts to state-funded programs. Republican legislators figure if fewer students qualify for the scholarship, the costs will go down.
“With the type of budget shortfall that we have, there is nothing that’s off the table,” Rep. Rene Plasencia told WLRN on Mar. 30. “Bright Futures is definitely something that’s under consideration.”
Lawmakers say the revisions to Bright Futures requirements are unbiased, but numbers from previous revisions indicate that students of color are disproportionately affected in terms of eligibility for state-funded scholarships.
When the state legislature voted to increase SAT and ACT requirements in 2011, scholarship numbers dropped for all students. However, students of color were hit hardest. While half of white students no longer qualified, 2/3 of latinos and 3/4 of black students were no longer eligible to receive aid.
Black students accounted for only 6 percent of Bright Futures recipients. Black students make up 18 percent of Florida College System (FCS) enrollments, according to a recent report by the FDOE.
Hispanic students make up 26 percent of FCS students, awarded 30 percent of scholarship dollars. White students received over 60 percent of aid while constituting 45 percent of students.
If passed, the bill will become law on July 1.
In spite of possible racial disparities, the Republican-controlled legislature is likely to vote in favor of the bill.
“We don’t want to make exceptions because we feel bad,” Plasencia told WLRN.
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