Florida tries to limit scholarships to high paying career majors

[Wahoo Redux]

NBC News:

Florida lawmakers reverse scholarship cuts after backlash

More than 110,000 college students received the merit-based Bright Futures scholarship in 2020, but that number might have been significantly reduced after Republican state Sen. Dennis Baxley introduced Senate Bill 86. His proposal initially said only students going into fields that would yield high-paying jobs could receive the award, which pays between 75 and 100 percent of in-state tuition at public and private universities.

While a specific list had yet to be formed, if passed in its initial form, SB 86 would have likely left out students who wanted to study history, arts or English— giving them no money for a scholarship that has been part of Florida's higher education system since the 1990s. Students felt like they were about to be forced to choose between scholarship money and their academic interests.

"It was devastating," high school student Alexandro Valdez, 16, said of the proposal. "A politician was saying my dreams weren't worth funding."

What say you, wise forumites?

[Aster]

Political stunt. As U.S. states go, Florida is one of the more "anti-education" ones, especially in Higher Education. Throwing bombs at "wasteful degrees" is a cheap punchline parroted around much of the state by ladder-climbing political aspirants.

Just look at this guy's bio. It's pretty awful.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Baxley

[clean]

"A politician was saying my dreams weren't worth funding."

In Excalibur (the movie, 1981 or so) Merline said, "A Dream to some.  A nightmare to Others!!"

I agree that changes at the last minute are problematic, but in reading the article, by moving this to an annually appropriated budget item, it WILL be cut!  And for all, not just the majors that have lower paid graduates.

I was living in Florida when the lottery was created. I was too young to vote.  I would have voted against it, because of the way that the funding was treated.  Yes, all of the funding was to go to education, but it did not lock in a minimum or proportion for education from the regular/recurring funding.  In other words, While the lottery funds MUST go to education, it did not prevent anyone from taking money that HAD been going to education and shifting it elsewhere.

That is what I see as happening here now.   

"Lawmakers now want to make the scholarship subject to the state's budget appropriations, meaning the amount of money that goes towards the program could change from year to year. Many advocates see this as a way to defund the scholarship, and middle class families worry they will be left without the best option to try to get their child a quality and affordable education."

Of course, Georgia has a similar scholarship fund... the lottery goes to scholarships, and I will leave it to the GA faculty on the board to discuss, but what I had heard was that the students are particulaly pushy.  "You have to give me a B so I can keep my scholarship".  and faculty replies of "no, you have to EARN a B to KEEP your scholarship"  are 'fightin words!'

Anyway, as pointed out above, Florida is a whole nother place!!  (Too much sun tan oil in the drinking water, and too much reliance on Sand Dollars to finance things!)

[Aster]

I used to work in Georgia. I remember the huge scandal found in many of the Atlanta high schools where the teachers and administrators were changing student test scores and grades to make the students more competitive for the HOPE scholarships (or at least that was the argument that some of the teachers used to defend their actions). I wonder whatever happened to those sleazebags.

I also remember that high school grade inflation in Georgia was becoming so bad in the state as a result of competition for the HOPE scholarships, that way too many students were becoming eligible for scholarships but the money for those scholarships just wasn't there anymore. Last I heard, the state was considering boosting the GPA eligibility, but I don't know what was finally decided.

Using Sin Taxes to fund Education is kind of funny and ironic.

[clean]

Using Sin Taxes to fund Education is kind of funny and ironic.

It is the easiest way to tax the poor to fund the education of the rich!

[mamselle]

That's why I've never applied for state lottery funding for the arts (which is what my state uses it for). I've declined project offers when it turned out that was the funding source as well.

I recall my undergrad Econ 101/102 prof saying, "All lotteries are a tax on the poor," and decided then not to accept or apply for such funds.

M.

[marshwiggle]

I used to work in Georgia. I remember the huge scandal found in many of the Atlanta high schools where the teachers and administrators were changing student test scores and grades to make the students more competitive for the HOPE scholarships (or at least that was the argument that some of the teachers used to defend their actions). I wonder whatever happened to those sleazebags.

I also remember that high school grade inflation in Georgia was becoming so bad in the state as a result of competition for the HOPE scholarships, that way too many students were becoming eligible for scholarships but the money for those scholarships just wasn't there anymore. Last I heard, the state was considering boosting the GPA eligibility, but I don't know what was finally decided.

This is the value of having externally administered (and graded) tests that are compulsory for all students.

If there's incentive to game the system, there will be lots of people doing it.

[apl68]

That's why I've never applied for state lottery funding for the arts (which is what my state uses it for). I've declined project offers when it turned out that was the funding source as well.

I recall my undergrad Econ 101/102 prof saying, "All lotteries are a tax on the poor," and decided then not to accept or apply for such funds.

M.

All forms of legalized gambling are ultimately destructive to their surrounding communities.  Sure people will gamble anyway if it's not legal, but legalization makes the addiction that much more readily available.  It's a guaranteed recipe for more addictive behavior.  The same goes for legalization of dangerous addictive substances.

Plus, as clean notes, lottery funds never really increase the money available for education or whatever else they're supposed to go to.  They merely serve as an excuse to cut funding from other sources.

[apl68]

Political stunt. As U.S. states go, Florida is one of the more "anti-education" ones, especially in Higher Education. Throwing bombs at "wasteful degrees" is a cheap punchline parroted around much of the state by ladder-climbing political aspirants.

It's a political stunt, but it also helps to show why so many of the humanities people here get so defensive sometimes.  There really are powerful people out there who'd like to destroy their disciplines if they could.