240.40206  Florida Merit Scholars award.--

(1)  A student is eligible for a Florida Merit Scholars award if the student meets the general eligibility requirements for the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program and the student:

(a)  Has achieved a weighted grade point average of 3.0 as calculated pursuant to s. 240.40202, or the equivalent, in high school courses that are adopted by the Board of Regents and recommended by the State Board of Community Colleges as college-preparatory academic courses; and

(b)  Has attained at least the score identified by rules of the Department of Education on the combined verbal and quantitative parts of the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the Scholastic Assessment Test, or the recentered Scholastic Assessment Test of the College Entrance Examination, or an equivalent score on the American College Testing Program; or

(c)  Has attended a home education program according to s. 232.0201 during grades 11 and 12 or has completed the International Baccalaureate curriculum but failed to earn the International Baccalaureate Diploma, and has attained at least the score identified by rules of the Department of Education on the combined verbal and quantitative parts of the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the Scholastic Assessment Test, or the recentered Scholastic Assessment Test of the College Entrance Examination, or an equivalent score on the American College Testing Program.

(2)  A Florida Merit Scholar is eligible for an award equal to the amount required to pay 75 percent of matriculation and fees, if the student is enrolled in a public postsecondary education institution. A student who is enrolled in a nonpublic postsecondary education institution is eligible for an award equal to the amount that would be required to pay 75 percent of the matriculation and fees of a public postsecondary education institution at the comparable level.

(3)  To be eligible for a renewal award as a Florida Merit Scholar, a student must maintain the equivalent of a grade point average of 2.75 on a 4.0 scale for all postsecondary education work attempted, with an opportunity for reinstatement one time as provided in this act.