Exactly, the funding issue should be one of the key points in this debate. Sadly, it seems that Senator Thurston favors this bill more than Senator Bradley despite the vote. I hope that the AED focuses on the funding more considering it should be more relevant. I specifically high hopes for Senator Polsky to address this issue.
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The ironic thing is that it sucks for high achieving in-state students as well. It may actually act as a deterrent to in-state students from staying in-state (assuming it takes effect).
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In the meeting today Senator Baxley accused students of only knowing how to use TikTok and Facebook. This is on top of implying that the accomplished BF recipients canât write a letter and that their world is not the âreal world.â Students were also referred to as kids by substitute chair Passidomo while the âreal worldâ sentiment was echoed. These legislators seem to believe that education is some fantasy land despite it being the cornerstone of a democratic society.
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I was pretty shocked by those things as well. They are actually referring to the highest achieving students in their state, for the most part. Ridiculous.
The other thing Baxley mentioned a couple of times was that he felt students shouldnât graduate with non-approved majors in addition to student debt. Putting aside the ânon-approved majorsâ argument - um - the point of Bright Futures is to help qualifying students graduate with little to no debt. He just seemed confused about what the purpose of his bill was supposed to be.
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I am afraid that Baxleyâs purpose is only to bring up some topics to show that he has been doing something at the Senate besides selling his funeral services. 
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Sorry, Iâm a little confused - does this mean that Benacquisto will not be guaranteed for 4 years? If this is the case, I also wonât be attending UF. As an OOS student, it was my most favorite option, but a $45k COA is nothing to scoff at if Benacquisto is suddenly cut.
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Here is a link to Senator Bradleyâs comments on the bill even though she still voted for it: https://streamable.com/dpcffo.
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The bill has several more hurdles ahead of it before it potentially becomes law. In essence, the bill makes the funding for the Benacquisto uncertain in the coming years, and it ends OOS Benacquisto altogether after the upcoming freshman class entering fall of 2021.
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Not surprising that it is passing committees in the Florida legislature: https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2019/08/19/the-growing-partisan-divide-in-views-of-higher-education-2/
Current high school seniors choosing a college should assume that this bill is more likely than not to pass.
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As someone with one child on Benacquisto and another who probably would have been, I am sad to say I think Benacquisto is doomed. OOS will go away now and in state will be watered down. The focus of the relevant criticism of this ridiculous bill is on the provisions limiting majors and Bright Futures, as it should be. But the Benacquisto gutting will get lost in the noise and will likely remain in the revised legislation. Itâs sad, because only a few years ago this program was included in the former governor and Senate leaderâs remarkable push to raise FL public universities to world class status. Now, FL is a laughingstock.
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Did you record that yourself or is there a source for the recording? I would like to review some of the questions/comments made by the senators as I compose a new email.
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All video sourced from the official recording here: https://thefloridachannel.org/videos/3-16-21-senate-committee-on-education/.
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Question: If at one stage the nays outweigh the yeas, will that be the end of the bill? or will there have to be multiple rejections for it to die?
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From what I understand, yes.
Also, if there is an amendment to the bill within one of the house committees, the bill will need to be sent back to the Senate education committee and start all over.
The Save Bright Futures group has a website that explains the potential avenues of bill progression: https://www.savebrightfutures.org/track-the-bill
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So, for Benacquisto changes, what exactly does it mean if a âGeneral Appropriations Committeeâ is allocating money. Does that mean that they could randomly choose to only give 100 dollars in scholarship money or something? Or is it slight changes? Itâs frustrating that the bill is so vague, and ridiculous to vote yes to a bill thatâs missing important information. (specific changes, majors, etc.) To be completely honest, with the oos tuition waiver FSU and UF are still cheaper than my instate schools. But, itâs concerning the lack of transparency.
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It means they can change amounts - no restrictions on how little, how large, how oftenâŠ
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DeSantis wonât sign anything close to this bill. He is not stupid. That being said, if you are a NMF and focused (in Florida) on UF, broaden your horizonsâŠitâs not that shiny an object.
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Vistajay As an oos mom, not what I wanted to hear, but I appreciate the warning. Ugh. Are FSU or UCF providing any funding guarantees?
Both of them have historically guaranteed the Benacquisto scholarships (as of last year - no idea on what they have done this year).
@NChopeful21 , FSU and UCF have guaranteed in the past that they will fund at Benacquisto levels if the state ever pulls the funding. Iâve not seen any comment specifically on this legislation. Just as an observer over the past 20 years, I have high confidence that both schools will maintain a robust NMF scholarship for both in state and OOS, in keeping with the recent past. But I anticipate some level of uncertainty as they will not likely put any new scholarship programs in place until they see what new legislation is in effect and the level of the new Benacquisto funding by the state. Likewise, I have high confidence UF will not replace any diminished or eliminated NMF funding.
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