50,000 eligible students didn’t apply for Bright Futures money over 5+ years. Leaders want to change that

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Close to 300,000 people with student loan debt totaling $7.4 billion will have their debt forgiven, according to an announcement by the Biden Administration on Friday morning.

The announcement came a couple of hours before students at William M. Raines High School learned more about the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program.

The state is hoping more students sign up for the program, instead of leaving free money for their education on the table.

“It’s free money, you’re going to go to school debt-free. Everybody wants to go to school debt-free,” Daveon Ghee, a junior at Raines High School said.