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Florida’s Bright Futures scholarship program will pass on the state’s tuition increase to students and families. Faced with a $3 billion budget deficit caused in part by diminishing Lottery revenues, lawmakers are proposing a 2009-10 budget that does not raise Bright Futures scholarships to cover the 15 percent tuition hike most universities plan to start charging in the fall. Established in 1997, Bright Futures covers 75 or 100 percent of a Florida high school graduate’s undergraduate tuition, as long as the student meets certain SAT and grade-point-average standards and attends a state school. The budget proposal represents a dramatic shift in Bright Futures policy that will affect tens of thousands of Florida families who count on the program when budgeting for college. Originally, lawmakers intended for the Bright Futures scholarships to cover the 8 percent base hike — and not the differential. The cost of Bright Futures ballooned from $75 million the first year to $120 million the next as thousands of high school graduates met the scholarship’s eligibility standards. read more

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