Last week, SB 732 Collegiate Purple Star Campuses, sponsored in the Florida House by Representative Lisa Dunkley (D- Lauderhill) and Prime Co-Sponsor Representative Christine Hunschofsky (D- Parkland), was signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis.
SB 732 creates the Purple Star Campus Program to support military-connected college students. The program will identify colleges, universities, and career centers in the state that support these students by requiring participating institutions to designate a staff member as a military liaison and maintain a web page that provides resources for military students and their families. The bill also requires that participating institutions assist military students with transition to an institution, provide professional training to staff members on the needs of military students, and provide military students with priority course registration.
“The Collegiate Purple Star Campuses law, which expands on the Purple Star Campus Program that recognizes K-12 schools that provide resources to military-connected students, will provide important resources to these students at the college level,” said Representative Hunschofsky. “This recognition program will hopefully encourage our state’s colleges, universities, and career centers to meet the needs of military students and their families and be recognized as Purple Star Campuses.”
“I am grateful to have co-sponsored this legislation so our veterans, their spouses and their children will have priority when applying to institutions in pursuit of a higher education. Colleges and universities now have an opportunity to participate in this program to give back to a sector of people who have made sacrifices for our country in more ways than one.” added Representative Dunkley.
