Bright Futures expansion ready for summer

TALLAHASSEE — For the fifirst time in 17 years, top-performing students will be able to use their Bright Futures scholarships to attend summer classes at state universities and colleges.

The state Department of Education sent out a memorandum this week to fifinancial- aid offices at the schools out lining how them erit-based scholarships can be used in summer semesters this year.

Under a new law and the current state budget, the summer scholarships will be limited to 44,456 students who qualify as “academic scholars,” the highest achievement level in the Bright Futures program. The scholarships pay full tuition and fees for the qualifying students.

In the memorandum, Levis Hughes, head of the Department of Education’s Offiffice of Student Financial Assistance, said in addition to students already enrolled in universities and colleges, the summer scholarships can also be used by new high-school graduates if they have qualifified for the award.

This will mark the fifirst use of Bright Futures scholarships for summer classes since 2001. The scholarship program, which began in 1997, is primarily funded by proceeds from the Florida Lottery.

The summer scholarships are part of an expansion of the Bright Futures program that was made permanent by legislation ( SB 4) passed during the 2018 legislative session and signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott in March.

Under the law and the 201819 state budget, the summer scholarships will be expanded to 46,521 students who qualify as “medallion scholars” in the Bright Futures program in the summer of 2019, meaning a total of more than 90,000 Bright Futures students will have the option of using the scholarships for summer classes next year.