Florida Public Student Assistance Grant Program; eligibility for grants.

(1) There is hereby created a Florida Public Student Assistance Grant Program. The program shall be administered by the participating institutions in accordance with rules of the state board.

(2)(a) State student assistance grants through the program may be made only to degree-seeking students who enroll in at least 6 semester hours, or the equivalent per term, and who meet the general requirements for student eligibility as provided in s. 1009.40, except as otherwise provided in this section. The grants shall be awarded annually for the amount of demonstrated unmet need for the cost of education and may not exceed the maximum annual award amount specified in the General Appropriations Act. A demonstrated unmet need of less than $200 shall render the applicant ineligible for a state student assistance grant. Recipients of the grants must have been accepted at a state university or Florida College System institution authorized by Florida law. If funds are available, a student who received an award in the fall or spring term may receive an award in the summer term. Priority in the distribution of summer awards shall be given to students who are within one semester of completing a degree program and students who have not yet earned at least 9 semester hours by attendance at one or more summer sessions. A student is eligible for the award for 110 percent of the number of credit hours required to complete the program in which enrolled, except as otherwise provided in s. 1009.40(3).

(b) A student applying for a Florida public student assistance grant shall be required to apply for the Pell Grant. The Pell Grant entitlement shall be considered when conducting an assessment of the financial resources available to each student.

(c) Priority in the distribution of grant moneys may be given to students who are within one semester of completing a degree program. An institution may not make a grant from this program to a student whose expected family contribution exceeds one and one-half times the maximum Pell Grant-eligible family contribution. An institution may not impose additional criteria to determine a student’s eligibility to receive a grant award.

(d) Each participating institution shall report to the department by the established date the students eligible for the program for each academic term. Each institution shall also report to the department necessary demographic and eligibility data for such students.

(3) Based on the unmet financial need of an eligible applicant, the amount of a Florida public student assistance grant must be between $200 and the amount specified in the General Appropriations Act.

(4)(a) The funds appropriated for the Florida Public Student Assistance Grant Program shall be distributed to eligible institutions in accordance with a formula approved by the State Board of Education. The formula must consider at least the prior year’s distribution of funds and the number of eligible applicants who did not receive awards. The formula must account for changes in the number of eligible students across all student assistance grant programs established pursuant to this section and ss. 1009.505, 1009.51, and 1009.52.

(b) Payment of Florida public student assistance grants shall be transmitted to the president of the state university or Florida College System institution, or to his or her representative, in advance of the registration period. Institutions shall notify students of the amount of their awards.

(c) The eligibility status of each student to receive a disbursement shall be determined by each institution as of the end of its regular registration period, inclusive of a drop-add period. Institutions shall not be required to reevaluate a student’s eligibility status after this date for purposes of changing eligibility determinations previously made.

(d) Institutions shall certify to the department within 30 days after the end of regular registration each term the amount of funds disbursed to each student and shall remit to the department any undisbursed advances within 60 days after the end of regular registration each spring term. An exception to the remittance deadline may be granted if the institution documents to the department how it plans to disburse awards to students for the subsequent summer term. An institution that uses funds for the summer term shall certify to the department the amount of funds disbursed to each student and shall remit to the department any undisbursed advances within 30 days after the end of the summer term.

(e) Each institution that receives moneys through the Florida Public Student Assistance Grant Program shall prepare a biennial report that includes a financial audit, conducted by the Auditor General, of the institution’s administration of the program and a complete accounting of moneys allocated to the institution for the program. Such report shall be submitted to the department by March 1 every other year. The department may conduct its own annual or biennial audit of an institution’s administration of the program and its allocated funds in lieu of the required biennial report and financial audit report. The department may suspend or revoke an institution’s eligibility to receive future moneys for the program or may request a refund of any moneys overpaid to the institution for the program if the department finds that an institution has not complied with this section. Any refund requested pursuant to this paragraph shall be remitted within 60 days after notification by the department.

(5) The State Board of Education shall establish rules necessary to implement this section.