Bill expanding Bright Futures to more military families advances in Senate

An effort to expand eligibility for Florida Bright Futures scholarships won support of a key Senate appropriations panel.

The Senate Higher Education Appropriations Committee advanced legislation (SB 270) to make scholarships available to more children of military members who have been deployed overseas. If the bill becomes law, those who graduated from schools outside Florida may be eligible for the state scholarship program if a parent retired from the military within the last 12 months.

“A local issue happened back home where a constituent ended their military service overseas, their son had gone to school overseas, and they wanted him to be able to complete his schooling over there, since he had basically grown up in that academic setting,” explained Sen. Danny Burgess, a Zephyrhills Republican.

“But he, under the letter of the law, will have lost his Bright Futures eligibility that he otherwise is qualified for. We just want to give a military family a little more runway to be able to get home at a reasonable time and still qualify for something that they otherwise would qualify for.”

The Bright Futures program offers scholarships to Florida high school students who meet certain grade point average criteria, complete certain high school curriculum requirements and satisfy community service hour requirements. Those scholarships can be used in Florida colleges, universities and vocational schools.

The committee passed an amendment making clear the legislation won’t kick in until the next school year.

A fiscal analysis predicts the bill, if passed, could mean $7.6 million more in scholarships are awarded following the 2026-27 school year. That could grow to an additional $11.2 million in added costs each year by the time the Class of 2029 graduates.

Burgess’ bill also would include Advanced Placement Capstone designations with eligible high school diplomas. That College Board program offers the designation for students who complete two academically broad one-year programs in AP Research and AP Seminar.

The bill ultimately won unanimous support, with members from across the political spectrum praising the successes of Bright Futures. Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, an Orlando Democrat, said he had personally benefited from the Florida Medallion Scholarship, one of the offerings of Bright Futures, when he attended and graduated from the University of Central Florida.

“It doesn’t mean, certainly, that I had a free college education,” Smith said. “It took me about 14 years to pay off my student loan debt even with the Medallion scholarship. But I would not have been able to put myself through school without that really important Bright Futures scholarship.”

The legislation previously won support from the Senate Education Postsecondary Committee and heads now to the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee.

Meanwhile, a House companion bill (HB 1107) filed by Rep. Jennifer Kincart Jonsson, a Lakeland Republican, awaits action in the House Education Administration Subcommittee.