: es . | faa & nae STATE OF FLORIDA PFEB29 Avi: 45 DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OFFICE OF STUDENT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE GIVISION ge APPEALS COMMITTEE ADH INISTRAT VE OC OTS: Hears = In re: APPEAL OF NOVA LISHON-SAVARINO / FINAL ORDER an accordance with Section 1009.42(1), Florida Statutes, the Commissioner of &ducatién appointed the following individuals to serve as the Office of Student Financial ae aq Rid Appeal Committee (Committee) in-this matter: Sot S&S « — = -Bill Spiers, Chair, Director of Financial Aid = <2 | }“£Tallahassee Community College @ EF hm) firiag sete 4s g ~~; Darryl Marshall, Director of Financial Aid a lade ¢ Florida State University Ryan Powers, Student Florida State University Jerolyn Barnhart, Budget Director Office of Student Financial Assistance, Florida Department of Education PRELIMINARY STATEMENT The Department of Education (Department) notified the Petitioner, Nova Lishon- Savarino, on April 30, 2007, that she was ineligible to receive financial assistance through the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program. The Petitioner requested a reevaluation of the determination of ineligibility on September 30, 2007. The Bright Futures Reevaluation Committee upheld the ineligibility determination and informed the Petitioner by letter dated October 18, 2007. On November 11, 2007, the Petitioner timely filed an appeal by requesting a hearing pursuant to Section 1009.42(1), Florida Statutes. Pursuant to notice, the Appeals Committee (Committee) convened on January 30, 2008, to receive evidence, testimony and argument on behalf of the Petitioner and the Department. The Petitioner was represented by Aleta Lishon, her parent, and was present via telephone for the hearing. The Department was represented by Lois S. Tepper, Esquire Assistant General Counsel, Florida Department of Education, Tallahassee, Florida. The Committee was represented by Bonnie Wilmot, Esquire, Assistant General Counsel, Florida Department of Education, Tallahassee, Florida. The issue before the Committee is whether the Department of Education, Office of Student Financial Assistance erred in their determination that the Petitioner is ineligible to receive financial assistance through the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program based on her credentials as a home educated student together with her score on the ACT. Petitioner relies on language from sections 1009.40(4), 1009.531(5), 1009.537, Florida Statutes, to document her eligibility. The Committee hereby enters this Final Order as final agency action pursuant to Section 1009.42(1), Florida Statutes. FINDINGS OF FACT 1, The Petitioner attended a home education program according to section 1002.41, Florida Statutes, during grades eleven and twelve. 2. The Petitioner registered with the Broward County School District during her final two years of her home education program as evidenced by the Confirmation Form dated April 30, 2007. 3, The Petitioner took the ACT on April 14, 2007, and achieved a score of 22. 4, The Petitioner registered to take the ACT on June 10, 2007, but did not take the test. 5. The Petitioner graduated from high school on June 24, 2007. 6, The Petitioner was determined to be ineligible for the F lotida Medallion Scholars award based on an ACT score of less then 23. : 7, The Petitioner requested a reevaluation on September 30, 2007. 8. The reevaluation committee upheld the determination of ineligibility on October 18, 2007. 9, The Petitioner timely appealed the determination on November 11, 2007. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW We have jurisdiction to hear the Petitioner’s appeal pursuant section 1009.42(1), Florida Statutes, and Rule 6A-20.0371, Florida Administrative Code. Our determination in this matter is governed by our authority under section 1009.42(1), Florida Statutes, which permits the appeal of “. . errors in eligibility determinations, or failure to transfer awards between eligible institutions, made by the Department of Education, regarding applicants’ eligibility for receiving state student financial aid awards.” Petitioner alleges that the Department of Education erred in its determination that she was ineligible to receive financial assistance through the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program and posits that she should qualify outside the normal standards for home school students in one of three ways. Petitioner first argues that based on § 1009.537 of the Florida Statutes her exceptional grades and completion of high school level courses should allow her to qualify with an ACT Assessment Program score of less than the 23 required for home school students by the State Board of Education. Petitioner points to § 1009.537 to provide an exception that would allow home school students to qualify with the same ACT scores required of public school students if the home school students could document college preparatory courses commensurate with those required of public high school students. Petitioner provides literature to shed light on the history and application of this section of the statutes. Petitioner relies on and makes available to this Committee, information provided by the Home Education Foundation (HEF), a home school lobbying group. The HEF analysis includes an excerpt from § 1009.537 which correctly lists the first requirement of eligibility under this section as, “Is scheduled to graduate from high school in 1997.” § 1009.537(3)(a)1 Fla. Stat. (2003), HEF’s ensuing explanation is flawed in that it suggests that a home school student who could document 15 required courses with the required GPA could qualify for the Medallion Scholarship with the same ACT score as a public school student. HEF neglects to reiterate that this is only applicable if the student graduated in 1997. Section 1009.537 is intended to be and is in fact titled as a transition section to be applicable only to students graduating in the transition year of 1997. Legislators took pains to make this abundantly clear by including the following verbiage, “Students who graduate from high school after 1999 must meet the eligibility criteria pursuant to s. 1009.536.” § 1009.537 (2) Fla. Stat. (2003) — (emphasis added). Since petitioner did not graduate in 1997, she cannot use options available through § 1009.537 to qualify for a Medallion Scholarship. Barring qualification through § 1009.537, Respondent suggests that a family medical emergency prevented her from taking the ACT a second time and should qualify her for an exemption and additional time to complete the re-test based on § 1009.40(4) of the Florida Statutes which states, “Students who receive state student aid and subsequently fail to meet state academic progress requirements due to verifiable illness or other emergencies may be granted an exception from the academic requirements.” § 1009.40(4) Fla. Stat. (2007). Petitioner’s reliance on this section of the statutes is misplaced since it applies to students who already have an award and subsequently fail to meet requirements. Additionally, the appeal under this section is made to the ‘institution’ which suggests that the student has initially qualified for the scholarship and is attending a postsecondary school. The requirement that the ACT or SAT be taken by June 31 of the applicant’s graduation year is statutory and the statutes provide no exceptions that could be applied by this Committee. Petitioner is not entitled to additional time to retake the ACT. ; Finally, Petitioner asserts that the school district andthe state failed to advise her adequately with regard to her qualifications for a Medallion Scholarship through the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program. To support this argument Petitioner relies on § 1009.531(5) which in pertinent part states, “A student who wishes to qualify for a particular award within the Florida Bright Futures Program, but who does not meet all the requirements for that level of award, may, nevertheless, receive the award if the principal of the student’s school or the district superintendent verifies that the deficiency is caused by the fact that school district personnel provided inaccurate or incomplete information to the student.” § 1009.531(5) Fla. Stat. (2007). This Committee finds that, while no inaccurate or incomplete information is evident, this responsibility statutorily rests with the district and is not within the jurisdiction of this Committee or the intended scope of this appeal. . Tt is the determination of the Committee that the Department did not err in determining the Petitioner ineligible to receive a Bright Futures Scholarship. Asa graduate of a home education program, the Petitioner was required to register with the district during grades eleven and twelve and attain a score of 1070 on the SAT or 23 on the ACT by June 30, 2007. The Petitioner has been unable to demonstrate the required SAT or ACT test score. Therefore, in light of the current statutory requirements for financial assistance and the scope of our review under § 1009.42 of the Florida Statutes, we conclude that no error was made in the denial of Petitioner’s eligibility for a Florida Bright Futures Scholarship by the Department of Education, Office of Student Financial Assistance. DISPOSITION Based upon the foregoing, it is hereby ‘ORDERED that the appeal of the denial of eligibility for a Florida Bright Futures Scholarship of Petitioner, Nova Lishon-Savarino, is DENIED. This Order becomes effective upon filing with the Agency Clerk of the Department of Education, subject only to the Notice of Right to Judicial Review. DONE AND ORDERED this 1) day of February, 2008, in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida. e Spiehy, . Appeals Committee Chair NOTICE OF RIGHT TO JUDICIAL REVIEW This Final Order constitutes final agency action. Judicial review of this proceeding by the Division of Administrative Hearings may be instituted by filing a notice of appeal with the Agency Clerk of the Department of Education in accordance with § 120.57 of the Florida Statutes. Such notice must be filed with the agency within twenty one (21) days of the date that this order is filed in the official records of the agency, as indicated in the clerk’s certificate below, or further review of this action will be barred. Mediation in accordance with § 120.573 of the Florida Statutes is not available. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I HEREBY CERTIFY that a true and correct copy of the foregoing has been furnished by U.S. Mail to: Ms. Nova Lishon-Savarino 3116 NW 69" Court Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 33309 Aleta Lily Lishon 3116 NW 69" Court Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 33309 Theresa Antworth, Director State Scholarship and Grants Office of Student Financial Assistance Florida Department of Education ’ 1940 North Monroe Street, Suite 70 Tallahassee, Florida 32303 Lois Tepper, Esquire Assistant General Counsel Florida Department of Education 325 W Gaines Street, Suite 1244 Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400 Bill Spiers Appeals Committee Chair Financial Aid Director Tallahassee Community College 444 Appleyard Drive Tallahassee, Florida 32304 . — Bonnie Wilmot, Esquire Assistant General Counsel Florida Department of Education 325 W Gaines Street, Suite 1232 Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400 Deborah Kearney, Esquire General Counsel Florida Department of Education 325 W Gaines Street, Suite 1244 Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400 This] day of February, 2008. GENZY CLE

Docket for Case No: 08-001075