Bright Futures access dimmer

Scholarship changes hit poor and minority students in Florida

Tens of thousands of Florida’s poorest students are finding it harder to afford college because of tougher qualifications for the state’s Bright Futures scholarship.

The academic scholarship was created in 1997 to keep the state’s top students in Florida schools. But the legislature voted in 2011 to increase the required scores on ACT and SAT tests, fearing out-of-control costs caused by standards they considered too easy.

Since then, the number of freshmen receiving the scholarship has dropped by about half, but the changes have hit hardest among those with the greatest need, according to a Sun-Sentinel analysis of Education Department data, including information from about 100 South Florida high schools. The analysis showed: The changes, which took full force for the class of 2014, had little effect on students with “A” grades, who continued to receive about 40,000 scholarships annually. But “B” students receiving the award dropped from 131,134 five years ago to 68,850 last school year. (The

scholarship pays different amounts for “A” and “B” students.)

■ The changes disproportionately affected black and Hispanic students. From the 2012 to 2016 school years, the number of white students receiving a Bright Futures academic scholarship dropped by almost 50 percent. The number of black students dropped by 74 percent and Hispanic students by 64 percent.

■ The number of South Florida students eligible for an academic award dropped 73 percent at predominantly poor schools from 2011 to 2014. At the most affluent schools, that number dropped 41 percent. Predominately poor schools are defined as having at least 75 percent of their students on free or reduced lunch, while the most affluent group has less than 40 percent on those plans. Data showing how many of those students actually used the scholarship was not available at the school level.

■ More students became eligible for the Bright Futures vocational award, which can be used for applied technology diplomas, technical degrees and career certificate programs. In Broward, the number of eligible students jumped from 138 in 2011 to 873 in 2014. In Miami-Dade, the number jumped from 102 to 784. And in Palm Beach County it climbed from 127 to 632.

The Legislature wanted to attract higher-performing students when it toughened requirements for its academic scholarships, said State Rep. George Moraitis, R-Fort Lauderdale, who voted for the changes.

“At one point almost anyone could get it. I just think it had grown beyond its original intent,” he said. “I think the resources are better spent making tuition affordable for everyone and improving universities.”

Since then, the state has frozen tuition, which reduced the price of prepaid college plans, Moraitis said.

A University of South Florida study predicted in 2013 that the tougher requirements — SAT scores needed to rise from 1270 to 1290 for “A” students and from 970 to 1170 for “B” students — would most harm Hispanic and black students, based on a data analysis.

Studies show that black and Hispanic students tend to perform below white students on standardized tests. A National Center for Education Statistics study, for example, found in 2009 and 2011 that white students on average scored more than 20 points higher on fourthand eighth-grade math and reading assessments than their Hispanic and black peers did.

One factor is poverty, said Palm Beach County School Board member Debra Robinson. More minorities live in poverty, and students with fewer books and resources at home tend to do more poorly than more affluent students, she said.

Getting high SAT scores may be more difficult for low-income students. Taking preparatory classes, buying books and taking the tests several times can run up a hefty tab.

In addition, the U.S. Department of Education found in 2014 that black and Latino students were under-represented in classes for gifted and talented students.

Robinson, who is black, said her middle son was wrongly placed in a special education class in the first grade. “We have a system that has denied children access to the more rigorous classes,” she said.

Rachel Carter, of the Tampa area, worked three jobs so she could spend about $1,000 for tutoring, books and testing to get her scores up. But her scores, high enough by 2011 standards, did not meet today’s standard. Instead she landed a vocational Bright Futures scholarship and is taking classes at Santa Fe College in Gainesville.

“I was really upset because I really wanted to go to university straight off the bat,” she said. “It wasn’t that I didn’t try hard enough. I gave it my all.”

Bright Futures, which is funded by the Lottery, is not need-based and can’t be used out of state. The “A” level award previously covered full tuition and fees, while the “B” level award covered 75 percent. That was changed to a fixed amount, which now equals about half of tuition and fees for the “A” level scholarship and a third for the “B” award.

And far fewer students are getting the scholarships. The number of white firsttime recipients dropped from 29,665 to 14,941 in the school years from 2012 to 2016. The number of blacks dropped from 4,562 to 1,303. Hispanic students went from 12,513 to 5,852 — even though the number of graduates grew by more than 9,000.

Some experts worry the tougher restrictions could discourage Florida’s cashstrapped youth from applying to four-year universities.

“If I’m a low-income or first-generation student with very little knowledge of how finance works, I might hear a message like that and think, ‘Why bother going to college because I can’t afford it,’ ” said Troy Miller, associate director for research and policy at the Florida College Access Network, which advocates for college affordability.

College-bound students who no longer qualify instead take out student loans, take college classes while they’re still in high school to save money, go to a state college or dig deeper for other forms of financial aid, high school counselors say.

More students are choosing to take a vocational track early in high school, said Ralph Aiello, Broward County Schools guidance coordinator. The district added more courses over the last few years for students seeking industrial certifications. And a new program that lets students research careers has led more students to those tracks, Aiello said. That could help explain the increase in eligibility for vocational Bright Futures awards.

At Piper High in Sunrise, about two-thirds of the students live in poverty, and for many English is not their first language. In 2011, about 22 percent of students qualified for an academic Bright Futures scholarship. By 2014, that was down to 5 percent.

“For our population, it’s extremely difficult to reach those SAT and ACT scores,” said Dahlia Orris, a college and career adviser at Piper. “Now students are too scared to apply for their dream schools because they don’t know how to pay for it, so they end up at Broward College. There’s nothing wrong with Broward College, but I would love to see more of our first-generation students have the opportunity to go away for college.”

By contrast, at more affluent Spanish River High in Boca Raton, the percentage of students eligible for academic Bright Futures dropped from 46 percent in 2011 to 37 percent in 2014, the year the current requirements took effect.

Marlee Speizman, who graduated in 2015 from Spanish River, said her school had a lot of meetings about qualifying for Bright Futures. But she didn’t apply, even though she took the ACT several times and could have qualified.

“I felt like I wasn’t going to get it because I didn’t have the grades. All my friends who were applying for it were super, super smart,” Speizman said.

Incoming Florida Senate President Joe Negron said he wants to address disparities without changing the program’s requirements. Instead, he has proposed more money for need-based grants and said he will push to increase funding for free standardized testing preparatory classes offered at public schools.

“My overall goal is that every student, regardless of their family’s financial background, will be able to attend the university to which she or he is admitted,” he said.

Negron said he wants to restore full funding to the “A”-student Bright Futures award.

He said he didn’t think the changes to the program have nudged Florida’s brightest graduates out of state. But they’ve financially burdened students, leaving many to work long hours to support the cost of school, making it more difficult to finish college in four years, he said.

Mateo Dorado, who graduated from Dreyfoos School of the Arts in West Palm Beach this year, said his “B”-student scholarship didn’t cover many of his expenses when he went to Florida International University in Miami. But then he switched to Palm Beach State College.

“If you’re economically savvy, if you care more about saving money than your social life or college experience or connections and you choose to go to state college, it will pay for 80 percent,” Dorado said.

For Michael Cairo, student government president at Florida Atlantic University, the Bright Futures scholarship was a key factor in making college affordable.

"I know so many students who have taken out loans and have this feeling of helplessness. They have so much money they have to pay back," he said.