Last Call — A prime-time read of what's going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
Florida Lottery Secretary John F. Davis wants students to know what it takes to land a Bright Futures scholarship, and he needs teachers, businesses and community members across the state to be familiar as well.
During remarks delivered at the Florida Chamber of Commerce's Learners to Earners Workforce Solutions Summit, Davis encouraged attendees to help the Lottery and the state Department of Education get the message out as part of a new initiative: "Keeping Florida's Future Bright."
Most high schoolers are familiar with the requirements to land a Florida Academic Scholarship or Florida Medallion Scholarship, which help cover tuition for a traditional college education, but fewer are familiar with other post-secondary scholarship programs offered by the state and funded, in part, by lottery ticket sales.
The other two Bright Futures programs — the Gold Seal Cape Scholarship and Gold Seal Vocational Scholarship — are meant to help high school graduates cover the costs of trade school or professional certifications, which Davis said is of increasing importance as the state attempts to grow and diversify its economy.
"There are some students that we all know in our communities, in our schools, wherever it may be, that just are not college material. They're not going to college — no matter how much we try, and we create the opportunities and resources they need — some students just aren't interested in going to college for those students," Davis said, adding that "oftentimes" those students have other talents and skills that can be developed.
Davis said he and Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. have been coordinating with the Governor's Office to raise awareness about the state's non-college track scholarship programs.
"Stay tuned over the next few months … we're going to be traveling the state, we're going to have more individuals that are going to be focusing on making sure that the awareness program is taken to the next level," he said.
"There's more to the Bright Futures scholarship program than just those two top-tier scholarships that we oftentimes speak about, and it is incumbent upon us to make sure that every student has a chance to live their dreams here in the greatest country known to mankind."
As the awareness campaign revs up, Davis is encouraging Floridians to visit FloridaBrightFutures.gov and become familiar with each of the state's scholarship programs and ensure the students in their lives understand them as well.
Evening Reads
—"From packing heat to drone delivery: A list of new Florida laws signed by Ron DeSantis" via James Call of the Tallahassee Democrat
—"DeSantis doubles down on threat to execute drug cartel members who illegally cross Southern border" via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics
—"Who's a serious candidate for the Republican nomination, and who's just dreaming?" via Nathaniel Rakich of FiveThirtyEight
—"The GOP presidential candidates have no idea how to talk about abortion" via Jim Newell of Slate
—"Supreme Court rejects theory that would have meant radical changes to election rules" via Robert Barnes of The Washington Post
—"How Fox News (yes, Fox News) managed to beat 'The Tonight Show'" via Matt Flegenheimer and Jeremy W. Peters of The New York Times
—"Businesses, saying Florida needs migrant labor, turn to 'guest workers' program" via Mary Ellen Klas of the Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times
—"The nuclear industry's big bet on going small" via Umair Irfan of Vox
—"Jane Castor's driver had role in exposing Tampa politico's hidden past" via Dan Sullivan, Tony Marrero and Justin Garcia of the Tampa Bay Times
Quote of the Day
"If these cartels are breaking into a wall and cutting a piece out of the wall and moving product in, that's going to be the last thing that those people have ever done because they're going to end up stone-cold dead."
— Gov. Ron DeSantis, detailing his aggressive anti-immigration campaign platform.
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Last Call is published by Peter Schorsch, assembled and edited by Phil Ammann and Drew Wilson with contributions from the staff of Florida Politics.
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