This docum ent does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives.
STORAGE NAME: h1247b.HEA
DATE: 3/24/2023
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: CS/HB 1247 William L. Boyd, IV, Effective Access to Student Education Grants
SPONSOR(S): Postsecondary Education & Workforce Subcommittee, Temple
TIED BILLS: IDEN./SIM. BILLS:
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
1) Postsecondary Education & Workforce
Subcommittee
9 Y, 4 N, As CS Kiner Kiner
2) Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee Smith Smith
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
The Effective Access to Student Education Grant Program (EASE) is a tuition assistance program serving
Florida resident, full-time, undergraduate students at eligible, independent nonprofit colleges or universities.
Currently, 34 institutions participate in the EASE program.
In Fiscal Year 2022-2023, the Legislature appropriated $75.4 million to provide 37,705 qualified students with
an average award amount of $2,000.
To promote transparency and informed consumer choice, current law requires all institutions receiving EASE
funding for their students to annually report to the Department of Education (DOE) institutional performance
against the following five statutory metrics: access rate; affordability rate; graduation rate; retention rate; and
postgraduate employment or continuing education rate. These metrics measure institutions by the percentage
of Pell-eligible students they serve; the net cost per year after accounting for federal, state, and institutional
aid; the percentage of students that graduate in six years; the percentage of students that return year over
year; and the percentage of students that obtain employment or continue their education after graduation.
Each eligible institution must also post its performance on the metrics prominently on its website.
To incentivize institutions to improve outcomes for Florida resident students, the bill proposes to tie institutional
eligibility for participation in the EASE program to performance against the metrics. Under the bill, an institution
must meet or exceed the minimum benchmark on any three out of the five metrics to be eligible for its students
to receive funding. The base per student award amount will be determined by the House proposed General
Appropriations Act is $2,841 per student. Students attending an eligible institution may be eligible to receive an
additional, plus-up award of $500 if, and only if, their institution meets or exceeds the bill’s workforce
graduation rate, which measures degree production in an in-demand field.
To enable the Legislature to incorporate a metric related to graduate employment in field of study, the bill
revises the institutional and DOE reporting requirements to require collection of data on the percentage of
grant recipient graduates who obtain employment in their field of study within 120 days after graduation. This
data will likely be collected through a survey instrument.
The bill clarifies transparency requirements and adds a disclosure requirement. Each institution must provide
each resident student with data on its performance on the metrics, the net cost to complete the student’s
degree, and expected earnings 1, 5, and 10 years after graduation based on the chosen major. The
institution’s president or chief administrative officer must certify the institution is in compliance with the
reporting, disclosure, and transparency requirements in order for the institution to be eligible for EASE funds.
The House proposed General Appropriations Act provides $34.2 million for costs associated with implementing
provisions of the bill. See Fiscal Comments.
The bill is effective July 1, 2023. STORAGE NAME: h1247b.HEA PAGE: 2
DATE: 3/24/2023
FULL ANALYSIS
I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS
A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
Effective Access to Student Education (EASE) Tuition Assistance Program
Present Situation
The Effective Access to Student Education Grant Program (EASE) is a tuition assistance program
administered by the Department of Education (DOE)
1
with the following parameters:
Student eligibility requirements:
2
o Must be enrolled as a full-time undergraduate student at an eligible college or university in a
program of study leading to a baccalaureate degree.
o Must not be enrolled in a program of study leading to a degree in theology or divinity.
o Must be making satisfactory academic progress as defined by the State Board of Education.
o Must not have completed more than 110 percent of the degree program enrolled in.
Institutional eligibility requirements:
3
o Must be an independent nonprofit college or university.
o Must be located in and chartered by the state of Florida.
o Must be accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges
and Schools.
o Must grant baccalaureate degrees.
o Must not be a state university or Florida College System institution; and
o Must have a secular purpose, so long as the receipt of state aid by students at the institution
would not have the primary effect of advancing or impeding religion or result in an excessive
entanglement between the state and any religious group.
Funding for EASE is appropriated in the General Appropriations Act (GAA).
4
Award amounts may be
prorated based on the number of students eligible to receive the award. As specified in the Fiscal Year
(FY) 2022-2023 GAA, the Legislature appropriated funds to support 37,705 qualified Florida residents
with an award of $2,000,
5
at 34 EASE-eligible institutions. The total appropriation for FY 2022-2023
was $75.4 million.
All institutions that receive EASE funding are required to submit an annual accountability report to the
DOE with the most recently available information on Florida resident students and include, at a
minimum, the following performance metrics:
6
Access rate based upon percentage of Pell-eligible students;
Affordability rate based upon average student loan debt; federal, state, and institutional financial
assistance; and average tuition and fees;
Graduation rate;
Retention rate; and
Postgraduate employment or continuing education rate.
DOE must recommend minimum performance standards that EASE institutions must meet to remain
eligible to receive grant funds.
7
By October 1 of each year, DOE must submit a report, by institution, to
the chair of the House Appropriations Committee, the chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriations,
1
S. 1009.89(2), F.S.
2
S. 1009.89(4), F.S.
3
S. 1009.89(3), F.S.
4
S. 1009.89(5), F.S.
5
See Specific Appropriation 58, ch. 2022-156, L.O.F.
6
S. 1009.89(5)(c), F.S.
7
Id. STORAGE NAME: h1247b.HEA PAGE: 3
DATE: 3/24/2023
and the Governor’s Office of Policy and Budget on the performance of eligible institutions and the
institutions that have not met the minimum performance standards recommended by the department.
8
During the October 2022 reporting period, the DOE recommended the following performance
standards:
Also, by October 1 each year, each institution that is eligible for an EASE grant must prominently post
on its website its performance on the metrics, as reported to DOE.
9
Effect of Proposed Changes
To incentivize institutions to improve outcomes for grant recipient students, the bill proposes to tie
institutional eligibility for participation in the EASE program to performance against the metrics. Under
the bill, an institution must meet or exceed the minimum benchmark on any three out of the five metrics
to be eligible for its students to receive funding. To accomplish this, the bill establishes a tiered
structure for award amounts. If an institution meets no more than 2 out of 5 benchmarks, they will be
placed in Tier 3; if an institution meets or exceeds at least 3 out of 5 benchmarks, they will be placed in
Tier 2; if an institution meets the requirements of a Tier 2 institution and also meets or exceeds a
workforce graduation rate of 56 percent, it will be placed in Tier 1. The workforce graduation rate
measures degree production in in-demand fields. Pursuant to the bill, in-demand fields are those that
are included on Department of Economic Opportunity or Labor Market Estimating Conference statewide
or regional demand lists. Such programs include programs in healthcare, education, and STEM.
The award amount for Tier 2 will be as specified in the GAA. The award amount for Tier 1 will be $500
higher than the Tier 2 award. The award amount for Tier 3 will be $0.
For FY 2023-2024, the benchmarks and minimum standards for each benchmark are as follows
10
:
Metric Benchmark
(2023-24)
Access Rate 32%
Affordability Rate $7,263
Graduation Rate 45%
Retention Rate 65%
Postgraduate Employment/Continuing Ed Rate 64%
To ensure continuous improvement of the state’s independent colleges and universities, the bill
requires the DOE continue to recommend minimum benchmarks that increase annually and strategies
for improvement.
8
S. 1009.89(5)(d), F.S.
9
S. 1009.89(5)(c), F.S.
10
EASE Accountability Report 2022, accessible here:
https://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx?PublicationType=Committees&CommitteeId=3192&Session=20
23&DocumentType=Meeting+Packets&FileName=hea+1-25-23.pdf. See presentation to the Higher Education Appropriations
Subcommittee, at 10-14. STORAGE NAME: h1247b.HEA PAGE: 4
DATE: 3/24/2023
To enable the Legislature to incorporate a metric related to graduate employment in field of study, the
bill revises the institutional and Department of Education reporting requirements to require collection of
data on the percentage of grant recipient graduates who obtain employment in their field of study within
120 days after graduation. This data will likely be collected through a survey instrument.
The bill requires each institution to provide each resident student with data on its performance on the
metrics, the net cost to complete the student’s degree, and expected earning 1, 5, and 10 years after
graduation based on the chosen major. The institution’s president or chief administrative officer must
certify the institution is in compliance with the reporting, disclosure, and transparency requirements in
order for the institution to be eligible for EASE funds.
B. SECTION DIRECTORY:
Section 1. Amends s. 1009.89, F.S.; revising legislative findings; providing that tuition assistance
through the program shall be based on specified performance metrics and tiers; revising
eligibility criteria for institutions and persons to participate in the program; revising the
requirements for a specified report institutions must annually submit; providing for annual
minimum performance benchmarks and standards; providing requirements for such
benchmarks and standards; requiring the legislature to annually adopt benchmarks and
standards for specified purposes and evaluate institutions based on such benchmarks
for tier placement; providing funding requirements for such institutions based on such
tiers.
Section 2. Provides an effective date of July 1, 2023.
II. FISCAL ANALYSIS & ECONOMIC IMPACT STATEMENT
A. FISCAL IMPACT ON STATE GOVERNMENT:
1. Revenues:
None.
2. Expenditures:
See Fiscal Comments.
B. FISCAL IMPACT ON LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
1. Revenues:
None.
2. Expenditures:
None.
C. DIRECT ECONOMIC IMPACT ON PRIVATE SECTOR:
See Fiscal Comments.
D. FISCAL COMMENTS:
The creation of a tiered award amount structure for the EASE program will have varying impacts on
institutions and students based upon institutional relative performance. The House proposed General
Appropriations Act provides $34.2 million for costs associated with implementing provisions of the bill.
Award amounts and funding provided by tier in the House proposed GAA are as follows:
STORAGE NAME: h1247b.HEA PAGE: 5
DATE: 3/24/2023
III. COMMENTS
A. CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES:
1. Applicability of Municipality/County Mandates Provision:
None. The bill does not appear to affect county or municipal governments.
2. Other:
None.
B. RULE-MAKING AUTHORITY:
None.
C. DRAFTING ISSUES OR OTHER COMMENTS:
None.
IV. AMENDMENTS/COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE CHANGES
On March 21, 2023, the Postsecondary Education & Workforce Subcommittee adopted a proposed
committee substitute and subsequently reported the bill favorably as a committee substitute. The PCS
differed from HB 1247 in the following ways:
Clarified that the workforce graduation rate, which measures degree production in in-demand
fields, is tied to statewide and regional demand lists prepared by the Labor Market Estimating
Conference and Department of Economic Opportunity, rather than the Labor Market Estimating
Conference and United States Department of Labor.
Restored the requirement that institutions post their performance against the metrics
prominently on their websites. Under current law, this performance data is also reported to
DOE.
The bill analysis is drafted to the committee substitute adopted by the Postsecondary Education &
Workforce Subcommittee.
Tier Award# InstitutionsFTE Funding
1 3,341$ 15 22,899 76,505,559$
2 2,841$ 12 11,677 33,174,357$
3 -$ 7 3,152 -$
Effective Access to Student Educaiton (EASE)