Florida Statutes
Subpart B - Scholarships, Grants, and Other Aid
1009.72 - Jose Marti Scholarship Challenge Grant Program.


(1) There is hereby established a Jose Marti Scholarship Challenge Grant Program to be administered by the Department of Education pursuant to this section and rules of the State Board of Education. The program shall provide matching grants for private sources that raise money for scholarships to be awarded to Hispanic-American students.
(2) All moneys collected from private sources for the purposes of this section shall be deposited into the State Student Financial Assistance Trust Fund. Any balance in the trust fund at the end of any fiscal year which has been allocated to the program shall remain therein and shall be available for carrying out the purposes of the program. All funds deposited into the trust fund for the program shall be invested pursuant to s. 17.61. Interest income accruing to that portion of the funds which is allocated to the program in the trust fund and not matched shall increase the total funds available for the program.
(3) The Legislature may appropriate funds for the program from the General Revenue Fund. Such funds shall be divided into challenge grants to be administered by the Department of Education.
(4) The amounts appropriated for the program shall be allocated by the department on the basis of one $5,000 challenge grant for each $5,000 raised from private sources. Matching funds shall be generated through contributions made after July 1, 1986, and pledged for the purposes of this section. Pledged contributions shall not be eligible for matching prior to the actual collection of the total funds.

(5)(a) In order to be eligible to receive a scholarship pursuant to this section, an applicant shall:
1. Be a Hispanic-American, or a person of Spanish culture with origins in Mexico, South America, Central America, or the Caribbean, regardless of race.
2. Be a citizen of the United States and meet the general requirements for student eligibility as provided in s. 1009.40, except as otherwise provided in this section.
3. Be accepted at a state university, Florida College System institution, or any Florida college or university that is accredited by an association whose standards are comparable to the minimum standards required to operate a postsecondary education institution at that level in Florida.
4. Enroll as a full-time undergraduate or graduate student.
5. Earn a 3.0 unweighted grade point average on a 4.0 scale, or the equivalent for high school subjects creditable toward a diploma. If an applicant applies as a graduate student, he or she shall have earned a 3.0 cumulative grade point average for undergraduate college-level courses.

(b) In order to renew a scholarship awarded pursuant to this section, a student must:
1. Earn a grade point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for the previous term, maintain at least a 3.0 average for college work, or have an average below 3.0 only for the previous term and be eligible for continued enrollment at the institution.
2. Maintain full-time enrollment.


(6) The annual scholarship to each recipient shall be $2,000. Priority in the distribution of scholarships shall be given to students with the lowest total family resources. Renewal scholarships shall take precedence over new awards in any year in which funds are not sufficient to meet the total need. No undergraduate student shall receive an award for more than the equivalent of 8 semesters or 12 quarters over a period of no more than 6 consecutive years, except as otherwise provided in s. 1009.40(3). No graduate student shall receive an award for more than the equivalent of 4 semesters or 6 quarters.
(7) The criteria and procedure for establishing standards of eligibility shall be determined by the department. The department is directed to establish a rating system upon which to base the approval of grants. Such system shall include a certification of acceptability by the postsecondary institution of the applicant’s choice.
(8) Payment of scholarships shall be transmitted to the president of the postsecondary institution that the recipient is attending or to the president’s designee. Should a recipient terminate his or her enrollment during the academic year, the president or his or her designee shall refund the unused portion of the scholarship to the department within 60 days. In the event that a recipient transfers from one eligible institution to another, his or her scholarship shall be transferable upon approval of the department.
(9) This section shall be implemented to the extent funded and authorized by law.
History.—s. 454, ch. 2002-387; s. 1960, ch. 2003-261; s. 20, ch. 2010-155; s. 141, ch. 2011-5; s. 33, ch. 2012-134.

Structure Florida Statutes

Florida Statutes

Title XLVIII - Early Learning-20 Education Code

Chapter 1009 - Educational Scholarships, Fees, and Financial Assistance

Part III - Financial Assistance (Ss. 1009.40-1009.96)

Subpart B - Scholarships, Grants, and Other Aid

1009.50 - Florida Public Student Assistance Grant Program; eligibility for grants.

1009.505 - Florida Public Postsecondary Career Education Student Assistance Grant Program.

1009.51 - Florida Private Student Assistance Grant Program; eligibility for grants.

1009.52 - Florida Postsecondary Student Assistance Grant Program; eligibility for grants.

1009.53 - Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program.

1009.531 - Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program; student eligibility requirements for initial awards.

1009.532 - Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program; student eligibility requirements for renewal awards.

1009.533 - Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program; eligible postsecondary education institutions.

1009.534 - Florida Academic Scholars award.

1009.5341 - Florida Bright Futures Scholarship awards for graduate study.

1009.535 - Florida Medallion Scholars award.

1009.536 - Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholars and Florida Gold Seal CAPE Scholars awards.

1009.538 - Bright Futures Scholarship recipients attending nonpublic institutions; calculation of awards.

1009.55 - Rosewood Family Scholarship Program.

1009.60 - Minority teacher education scholars program.

1009.605 - Florida Fund for Minority Teachers, Inc.

1009.61 - Teacher/Quest Scholarship Program.

1009.62 - Grants for teachers for special training in exceptional student education.

1009.65 - Medical Education Reimbursement and Loan Repayment Program.

1009.66 - Nursing Student Loan Forgiveness Program.

1009.67 - Nursing scholarship program.

1009.70 - Florida Education Fund.

1009.701 - First Generation Matching Grant Program.

1009.72 - Jose Marti Scholarship Challenge Grant Program.

1009.73 - Mary McLeod Bethune Scholarship Program.

1009.74 - The Theodore R. and Vivian M. Johnson Scholarship Program.

1009.75 - Last Mile College Completion Program.

1009.77 - Florida Work Experience Program.

1009.78 - Student Loan Program.

1009.79 - Issuance of revenue bonds pursuant to s. 15, Art. VII, State Constitution.

1009.80 - Approval of loans; administration of program.

1009.81 - Loan agreements.

1009.82 - Terms of loans.

1009.83 - Rate of interest and other charges.

1009.84 - Procurement of insurance as security for loans.

1009.85 - Participation in guaranteed student loan program.

1009.86 - Student Loan Operating Trust Fund.

1009.87 - Provisions of ss. 1009.78-1009.88 cumulative.

1009.88 - Validation of bonds.

1009.89 - The William L. Boyd, IV, Effective Access to Student Education grants.

1009.892 - Cost of attendance; adult norm-referenced testing.

1009.893 - Benacquisto Scholarship Program.

1009.894 - Florida Farmworker Student Scholarship Program.

1009.895 - Open Door Grant Program.

1009.896 - Florida Law Enforcement Academy Scholarship Program.

1009.8961 - Reimbursement for out-of-state and special operations forces law enforcement equivalency training.

1009.8962 - Linking Industry to Nursing Education (LINE) Fund.

1009.897 - Prepping Institutions, Programs, Employers, and Learners through Incentives for Nursing Education (PIPELINE) Fund.