Bright Futures for scientists, teachers
Who knows how far that will go, but sophomore Democratic Sen. Jeremy Ring wants to base the amount of Bright Futures awards on whether a student studies, say, philosophy or engineering.
SB 1320 has no House sponsor yet, but Ring says Republican Rep. Frank Attkisson will file the companion soon.
Bright Futures now covers all tuition and fees for the brightest Florida High School graduates, plus $300 per semester for expenses like books. It covers 75 percent for students with slightly lower GPAs and SATs. Ring, calling his proposal an "profitable development tool," wants to inspire more students
Science-engineer types would get 110 percent of tuition and fees covered, plus $330 a semester for expenses, while those philosophers would get a scholarship covering amoung just 55 and 80 percent of tuition and fees.
"I anticipate there will be some students and parents who are disturbed," Ring told the Buzz. "But whether you’re a philosophy major and you’re going to get 80 percent of your tuition covered, it’s still a good deal.”
Original post by Shannon Colavecchio-Van Sickler
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What a horrible idea. I fell in love with the liberal arts and have worked hard to get my Bright Futures scholarship for this fall. But now you’re telling me that I’m not worth the money I worked for because my major is not important enough? This is extremely discouraging. Disturbed doesn’t even scratch the surface of how I feel about this. And yes 80% is good but NOT good enough. If I deserve 100% then don’t give it away to someone who chose a major because they wanted more funding. Why am I being punished? This bill needs to be stopped in its tracks. The state’s ideas about education are seriously headed in the wrong direction. First, they put our calendar back, which I guarantee will have an affect on FCAT and AP scores. Florida’s education is already one of the worst system’s in the nation. Let’s not put it further behind. We need to be a strong leader in supporting educations from all disciplines and improve how we educate.
I ask everyone to please stand up against this bill. It is extremely undemocratic.