Students may have to repay Bright Futures scholarship

If enacted, Florida House Bill 699 will require that recipients of the 2011-12 Bright Futures Scholarship work in-state for a full year following college graduation. Students who do not fulfill this obligation “shall repay the total amount awarded plus annual interest rate of 8 percent,” as stated in lines 41-4 of HB699.

What audacity has the Florida legislature to oblige students? Scholarships are awarded on the basis of one’s academic merit, not their loyalty to the state. Recipients of the Bright Futures award should not be denied the right to work out of state just because funds are granted by the state.

Nor should recipients have to bear the cost of expenses created by what is essentially a legislative problem. Although lines 27-9 of the bill state that this robbery “serves as an incentive for students receiving an initial award to remain and work in the state,” HB699 is actually a guise to cope with state budget cuts in the midst of financial difficulty.

According to FloridaStudentFinancialAid.org and Candace Braun of napelsnews.com, “when Bright Futures was launched in 1997, it provided 42,319 scholarships for just under $70 million. Eleven years later, the cost…has ballooned to more than $436.1 million, with 169,895 students benefiting from it.”

As a result, the Florida Legislature struggles to award this growing number of students and intends to gain its foothold by cheating others out of their awards. Lines 50-2 state that “monies repaid shall be deposited in the Educational Trust Fund and used for awards in the following year.”

“The problem from a system-wide approach is that when you have tuition set by the Legislature and they also award Bright Futures, every time they raise tuition they have to dig into their Bright Futures pocket as well,” said Richard Laviolette, a Florida Gulf Coast University director of admissions, interviewed by Candace Braun.

Awards should come from the state’s pocket, not that of recipients. HB699 is a conniving bill purposed to benefit legislators and correct their financial problems. Recipients of the Bright Futures Scholarship ought not to be penalized should their careers propel them outside the state of Florida.

-Tillman