© 2024 WLRN
MIAMI | SOUTH FLORIDA
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Class of COVID-19: The Uncertain Future Of Bright Futures

Rep. Rene Plasencia, second from right, participates in an appropriations committee meeting earlier this year. A former teacher and coach, Plasencia chairs the higher education budget committee in the House.
Courtesy of the Florida House of Representatives
Rep. Rene Plasencia, second from right, participates in an appropriations committee meeting earlier this year. A former teacher and coach, Plasencia chairs the higher education budget committee in the House.

When lawmakers have slashed Florida's Bright Futures scholarship during past difficult budget cycles, Black and Latino students lost out the most.

The Florida Senate has retreated from its controversial plan to punish college students who choose majors that "do not lead directly to employment" by reducing their scholarship amounts under the state-funded Bright Futures program.

AUDIO: Class of COVID-19: The Uncertain Future Of Bright Futures

But as the Legislature grapples with a budget deficit brought on by COVID-19, Bright Futures is still in danger of cuts, after being partially restored only a few years ago.

WLRN is committed to providing South Florida with trusted news and information. In these uncertain times, our mission is more vital than ever. Your support makes it possible. Please donate today. Thank you.

When lawmakers have slashed Bright Futures during past difficult budget cycles, Black and Latino students lost out the most. Some Democratic lawmakers are trying to keep that from happening this time around — especially since students of color have been more affected by both the health and economic crises of the pandemic.

"We need to look for ways, through policy, to not only make sure that students of color aren't once again absorbing the lion's share of the negative consequences of COVID, but also that we are incentivizing them to finish the degrees that they've already started," said Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, a Democrat from Orlando.

Find the rest of the story here.

This story is part of the Florida Public Media series, "Class of COVID-19: An Education Crisis For Florida's Vulnerable Students." Find the whole project at classofcovid.org.

Jessica Bakeman is Director of Enterprise Journalism at WLRN News, and she is the former senior news editor and education reporter. Her 2021 project "Class of COVID-19" won a national Edward R. Murrow Award.
More On This Topic