http://www.aacrao.org/transcript/index. ... oc_id=3185

Written by: Jessica Montgomery
Published: 06/07/2006

Florida to Offer Increased Aid to First-Generation Students
Florida Governor Jeb Bush signed a new bill recently to support the first members of a family going to college. The “First Generation Matching Grant Program” was created to provide an incentive for parents to send their children to college, by making available additional forms of financial assistance beyond Pell Grants and the state’s Bright Futures scholarships. The bill was sponsored by Sen. Al Lawson, D-Tallahassee, and Rep. Anitere Flores, R-Miami.

The new aid program provides $6.5 million to state universities for scholarships for Florida residents whose parents have not earned a bachelor’s degree and who have demonstrated a financial need for additional aid. The aid must be matched by private donations. A similar bill was passed to provide $5 million in aid to community colleges.

The bill originally included a provision to offer in-state tuition to children of illegal immigrants, but that provision so divided Republications that it was left out. “I do think after a certain period of time that young people that have been in our state and their families have been paying taxes, that they ought to have access to universities as well,” said Bush. “This wasn’t the year to deal with it, though. This is a highly charged political issue up in Washington, so that part of the bill was taken out.”

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