Well, seconds after I post this, things change. The bill is scheduled for an Education committee hearing on 3/9.
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Would it be possible for those of us who feel strongly about this bill to write to the committee members and, if feasible, attend the hearing?
I encourage everyone to contact the appropriate senators or speak in person if they can. I would but am much too far from Tallahassee. Here is the link to the form for those who would like to speak at the meeting in person: https://flsenate.gov/UserContent/Committees/CommitteeAppearanceForm.pdf.
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It looks like Senator Polsky is on it. According to her, only one Republican senator needs to be peeled away to kill the bill. Please read her post.
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considering that DeSantis already proposed 2mil more for benacquisto funding, i highly doubt this bill will pass. or, maybe thatās just my wishful thinking 
. these next few months r gonna stressful asf. i got 160k on the line here!!!
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Hi Vistajay The SB 86 does not appear to guarantee the funds even for our 2018 students currently Benacquisto. I emailed Luke at UCF to see if UCF would return to their basically Full COA. Otherwise we are looking at UA and UTD as the go to schools in the future.
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@FSUdad93 , agree that if 86 passes looks like still get OOS Benacquisto for 2021-22 school year but may not be COA depending on what they allocate for it in the education budget.
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According to this professorās opinion, SB86 will affect Florida in-state students quite a bit: Bright Futures bill would punish aspiring young engineers, scientists taking AP courses | Commentary ā Orlando Sentinel
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I hadnāt thought of that impactā¦ 
Brilliant resource! Glad we have some allies in the chamber. I just sent emails to all those Senators on that list as well as the Democrats not listed. I quickly heard back from Senator Passidomo, they are listening. Our advocacy does have an impact. I urge everyone to immediately write all these Senators. Our best bet is to work on this bill early and in committee.
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Yet another example of how uninformed the author of this bill is about issues relating to education.
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I sent an email to all the senators listed as well. I didnāt realize there were some senators missing.
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You may be interested in two additional bills up for considerationāone in the House that is already advancing through committees and one in the Senate that has not gone to committee yet. Both grant in-state tuition to out-of-state students who have a grandparent residing in FL. 'Grandparent Tuition Waiver' Moves In The Florida Legislature - CBS Miami
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Here is a link to a great website dedicated to stopping this bill:
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This one would actually be nice for me. My parents have lived, worked, and paid taxes in FL since 1990. Iām a former resident and sis is still near FSU 20+ years post grad. It would be great to have this option being in Montana now.
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i read this thread as i have a D23 and weāve been eyeing FSU and floridaās generous scholarship policies.
read through that article . . . we have a very similar policy in our midwest flyover state. while not a set program, kids with high ACTs and hard classes and good grades get tuition free scholarships to our state schools.
Any dual credit classes earned are taken away from the value of the scholarship. (not AP classes at this point - just Dual Credits). anyway - it sounded slightly similar. 
It also appears that SB 86 might allow for the 5th year, (based on āAppropriationsā) for those Scholars who had initially started in 2018-2021. I can also see a scenario where Appropriations only finds the funding for IS Scholars on 07012021.
I have an OOS Benacquisto at UF. (HS Class of 2018) I expect to have an NMF HS 2023. (currently 1510 PSAT and 34 ACT at age 15) Although the plan had been for her to go to UF CS/Engineering, I see that we are now looking at this through a different lens. A guarantee seems more valuable now than it did in the past. If UCF returns to their Full COA scholarship as before 2018, then that is our favorite. U of Alabama and UT Dallas have to round out the top three group as in the past.
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FuriousGreenTNT If I were a Senior I would seriously consider asking FSU and UCF if they will Honor your NMF scholarship if Benacquisto doesnāt. Both schools agreed to in the past.
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I have, but have yet to get a definitive yes. Iāll wait until closer to decision day before I request a definitive answer. There might be some red tape involved in approving such a promise. I have been in constant contact with FSU about this but thanks for the advice. There is a Benacquisto FSU info session tomorrow so Iāll hopefully learn some more then.
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