Proposed budget cuts could impact private colleges, universities across Florida
The Brief
The Florida House has included cuts to the EASE program in its proposed budget.
EASE grants provide $3,500 vouchers to thousands of undergraduate students who attend private, non-profit universities in Florida.
Both chambers of the Florida Legislature will take up their versions of the budget for the upcoming fiscal year this week.
TAMPA, Fla. - Florida lawmakers are weighing cuts to a long-standing program that helps thousands of state residents attend private colleges, including the University of Tampa and Saint Leo University.
By the numbers
The Effective Access to Student Education, or EASE, grants provide $3,500 vouchers to thousands of undergraduate students who attend private, non-profit universities in Florida on a full-time basis.
READ: Odessa home hits market for $38.5M, setting record for Tampa Bay area
Dig deeper
The Florida House's proposed budget includes changes to criteria that universities would have to meet for their students to qualify for EASE – including meeting certain rates of access, affordability, student retention, graduation and employment.
If passed, 15 of the 30 schools that currently have access to EASE could lose their eligibility. Those colleges would either have to find funds within their already tight budgets to help bridge the gap or prepare for an exodus of students who can no longer afford to attend.
What they're saying
"What's happening in the House budget raises tuition on 22,000 students, and it's going to impact their ability to pursue these high-demand degrees that Florida needs," Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida President and CEO Robert Boyd told WPTV in West Palm Beach.
Boyd also worries the cuts would impact Florida's future workforce, with fewer students earning degrees in high-demand fields.
READ: Florida Senate targets 'high stakes' testing
What's next
Both the Florida House and Florida Senate plan to take up their budget proposals and related bills on Wednesday in Tallahassee. Once their versions of the budget are passed, the two chambers can start negotiating a final spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year.
For a closer look at EASE and its impact from the perspective of Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida, click here.
Follow FOX 13 on YouTube
The Source
Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13's Regina Gonzalez.
STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA:
Download the FOX Local app for your smart TV
Download FOX Local mobile app: Apple | Android
Download the FOX 13 News app for breaking news alerts, latest headlines
Download the SkyTower Radar app
Sign up for FOX 13's daily newsletter
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Apple to Open its AI Models to App Developers
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is one of the best Dow stocks to invest in. In one of the recent developments, the company is giving millions of app developers access to its AI models for the first time, aiming to leverage its vast hardware and software ecosystem to stay ahead of competitors. At its annual developer event, the company introduced a cautious update, unveiling refreshed operating systems and modest new AI tools, rather than making major announcements. A wide view of an Apple store, showing the range of products the company offers. CEO Tim Cook said Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) was looking to 'harness the power of Apple Intelligence', an AI-driven software update first introduced last year. Developers began testing the new features on June 9, with a broader rollout expected in the fall. These AI capabilities will only be available on newer iPhone models. Analysts have been watching to see how Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) might monetize AI within its App Store, which earned over $30 billion in 2024, according to Bank of America. One potential route could involve paid AI features within apps, with Apple taking a share as it does with other digital purchases. Among the updates are real-time AI translations of phone calls and messages processed directly on users' devices, along with enhancements like letting the 'Visual Search' tool interact with on-screen content. While we acknowledge the potential of AAPL as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: and Disclosure. None. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
The Verge
30 minutes ago
- The Verge
Apple Home is expanding its energy management features
Apple's smart home didn't get a single nod during the WWDC keynote, but it turns out there are some interesting developments coming to the Home app around energy management. In a video posted to the Apple developer site this week, the company outlined its new EnergyKit framework, which allows developers to integrate energy data from Apple Home in iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 to reduce or shift the electricity usage of their devices to prioritize cleaner and/or less expensive energy. So, for example, your thermostat can reduce its energy use when prices are higher, and your EV can generate a charging schedule based on forecasted prices to save you money. The Home app can already display your electricity usage and electricity rate, plus the availability of clean energy via the Grid Forecast widget, when connected to your utility provider. (Currently, PG&E is the only supported utility company.) With EnergyKit, developers can use a feature called EnergyKit Guidance that uses these data points to create actions for their devices to reduce or shift energy use. Apple's documentation says EnergyKit is currently designed to work with EV chargers and smart thermostat apps. Today, several individual products offer these features. Ecobee and Google Nest thermostats can shift their energy use based on factors such as clean energy availability and rates, and work with demand response programs, and most EV chargers have apps that can create schedules based on energy data. While EnergyKit is designed to bring data securely from Apple Home into the manufacturer's app, you can see the potential here to one day manage all of these devices and functions from within Apple Home. It could be laying the groundwork for Apple Home to eventually become a home energy management system (HEMS): a system that can monitor, control, and optimize your energy usage. We're already seeing this implemented in smart home platforms like Samsung SmartThings with its AI Energy Mode, Homey (owned by LG), and others. Apple has a lot of catching up to do, as its platform doesn't currently support energy monitoring from connected devices. This could lay the groundwork for Apple Home to eventually become a home energy management system This is likely why EnergyKit is focused on allowing developers to integrate the data from Apple Home into their own apps, as Apple Home doesn't support EV chargers or energy monitoring of thermostats. However, with Apple's deep involvement in the Matter smart home standard, it's possible that support for these devices might come to Apple Home. Matter recently added support for most major appliance types as well as energy-intensive devices like heat pumps and electric water heaters, all of which could now more easily be integrated into Apple Home via Matter. The standard also supports battery energy storage systems and solar power devices such as inverters, panels, and hybrid solar / battery systems. When you connect the dots, it seems that this could be a natural next step for Apple's smart home ambitions.
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
Hong Kong outlaws video game, saying it promotes ‘armed revolution'
The game was removed from Apple's app store in Hong Kong on Wednesday, but remains available elsewhere. Advertisement But it had already been out of reach for many gamers. It was never available in mainland China, and earlier this month Google removed Reversed Front from its app store, citing hateful language, according to the developers. ESC Taiwan is a group of anonymous volunteers who are outspoken against China's Communist Party. Their products, which include a board game released in 2020, are supported by crowdfunded donations. The developers said that the removal of the game demonstrated how mobile apps in Hong Kong are subject to the type of political censorship seen in mainland China. 'Our game is precisely accusing and revealing such intentions,' the group's representatives said in an email. In social media posts, they also thanked authorities for the free publicity and posted screenshots of the game's name surging in Google searches. They said the comments and pseudonyms selected by players in the game would not be censored, whether they were in support or in opposition of the Communist Party. Advertisement In its statement, Hong Kong police said the game promoted 'secessionist agendas' and was intended to provoke hatred of the government. They said that publishing, recommending, and downloading the game, or supporting the online campaigns that funded it, could amount to sedition and incitement to secession under the national security law in Hong Kong, offenses that can lead to jail sentences. This is not the first time a video game has been used as an avenue for political protest that has incurred the wrath of Chinese authorities. Animal Crossing, an online game in which players could build elaborate designs of their own island, was removed from mainland China after players began importing Hong Kong protest slogans into the game. Even though virtually all forms of dissent in Hong Kong have been quashed, the national security dragnet in the city continues to widen. Authorities have made widespread arrests under the law, which was imposed five years ago in the wake of massive pro-democracy protests. Last week, Hong Kong authorities laid new national security charges against Joshua Wong, one of the city's most prominent young activists. Wong is serving the prison sentence of another national security charge that ends in January 2027. Authorities last month charged the father of Anna Kwok, an outspoken activist living in Washington, D.C., accusing him of helping handle her financial assets. Kwok is on a list of people overseas wanted by the Hong Kong police, which has placed bounties on their heads by offering rewards for information that would lead to their arrest. Advertisement This article originally appeared in
