Senate President Ken Pruitt applauded a decision Thursday by the Florida Board of Governors to back off its push to force students with scholarship programs like Bright Futures to pay more for their education.
The problem with the scholarship program is that when tuition rates are increased, so is the cost of the scholarships. The Board of Governors has wanted to separate the two, so that tuition rates can be raised without forcing the Legislature to increase funding for scholarships.
But Pruitt, the fiercest defender of Bright Futures in the Legislature, has said that amounts to a "cut" to the popular scholarship program. Last week, he announced the chamber would push a constitutional amendment declaring lawmakers alone, not the BOG, set tuition rates.
On Thursday, the board backed down, scrubbing a planned meeting on the topic and dropping its lobbying push "until we get a signal from legislative leadership that the scholarship program is coming under legislative review," board chair Carolyn Roberts said.
“Florida’s parents and students have spoken, and I am grateful their voices were heard," Pruitt responded.
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