Changes could be coming to the state's Bright Futures scholarship. Leaders want to soften the criteria to get a full ride to state schools.
For Cathy Sherline, parenting is all about giving her kids experiences. Whether it's a day of biking or a trip to the beach, as long as they're learning, she’s happy.
Sherline is not happy however, about a requirement her kids will have to meet if they want to apply for the two most highly-coveted Bright Futures scholarships.
Right now, they'd have to work 75 to 100 hours of community service.
Now, a bill's been filed in Tallahassee to lower it.
“There are a lot of kids that are involved in different clubs and groups in their high school, whether they're doing band, whether they're already doing cub scouts or soccer, sports, so, I could see that could be challenging,” said Sherline.
Even for the most studious of students, the trek to a top-level Bright Futures award can be a hill that's just too steep to climb.
But, new options could change that.
Under the bill, students would still have to put in those hours, but they wouldn't have to be in just community service.
The hours could also be research time into social issues or professional interests like volunteering for a political campaign or working part-time for a construction company.
A lot of high school students do those kinds of things anyway, which Sherline says is exactly the point.
“If they could do something that was their interest, I think that would be an even better learning experience,” said Sherline.
The kind of fulfilling experience she wants her kids to have and one that could also help them fulfill a key requirement on the road to college.
The new bill would change the community service requirements for the 'academic scholar' and 'medallion scholar' bright futures awards.