Nearly 22,000 college students pursuing degrees in nursing , teaching, and other areas of critical employment need stand to lose critical funding, with some even having to drop out, if a Florida House budget proposal moves forward, officials at several private, nonprofit universities are warning.

The elimination of $3,500 "vouchers" for students at Bethune-Cookman University, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and other schools could save the state some $76 million.

Officials with the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida, including several university presidents, said the state's economy is well-served by the grants known as EASE, or Effective Access to Student Education, and are fighting to amend the House's plans.

Robert Boyd, ICUF's president and CEO, framed the EASE grants as higher education's version of student choice vouchers.

“The higher education voucher is much older: It’s been successful since 1979," Boyd said. “It’s been working great since then to provide access with a great return on investment for Florida.”

Boyd compared the elimination of the $3,500 EASE grants for in-state students who attend some ICUF schools to a tuition increase – words the Republicans who control the Legislature are loathe to use after more than a decade of frozen tuition costs within the State University System schools such as the University of Florida, Florida State University and the University of Central Florida.

House Budget Chair Lawrence McClure, R-Dover, did not return a call Monday seeking comment on the proposal.

Why might some private schools' students lose access to EASE grants?

The House budget language must be reconciled with the Senate's and passed by both bodies before being presented to Gov. Ron DeSantis for his signature. What is proposed is a new set of benchmarks for private colleges and universities to meet in order for their students to be eligible to receive EASE grants.

Benchmarks include access (meaning at least 30% of an institution's students are eligible for Pell Grants), a graduation rate of at least 54%, and a retention rate of 67% or more. There is also an affordability formula and an employment rate.

Qualifying institutions must meet four of the five criteria for their students to be eligible for EASE scholarships.

Fully half of the 30 ICUF schools would lose access to EASE under the plan.

Students at which 15 Florida colleges and universities would lose EASE grants?

It was unclear how many students at Bethune-Cookman and Embry-Riddle, both located in Daytona Beach, would be impacted. William Berry, acting president at B-CU, was not available Monday for an interview, and an ERAU official declined to comment, citing a school policy not to comment on ongoing legislation.

University presidents: Eliminating EASE access harms school choice

Mike Allen, president of Barry University in Miami Shores, said roughly 1,000 students at his Hispanic-serving institution would face "at best a much more difficult path to complete their education.

"And for many," Allen said, "it would end their path to higher education permanently.”

Allen, who is also chairman of the ICUF board, compared EASE to Florida's student-choice vouchers, which travel with students to whichever school their parents determine best suits their needs.

"Imagine if we started telling families that they could use the K-12 voucher for one private school, but then not use it at the one across the street," Allen said. “... It doesn’t track with the priorities around school choice that have been made very, very clear.”

Filling Florida economy's areas of critical need – nursing, teaching

David Armstrong, president of St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, said 90% of his school's Class of 2023 – most of whom received EASE grants – remained in Florida to work in nursing, business administration and other jobs in demand.

Private schools fill in higher education access gaps that would be costly for states to fill with more public colleges and universities, officials say.

"I always joke that back in the '80s, when me and all my friends were looking at colleges, if we could breathe on a mirror, we could get into Ohio State," Armstrong said. "Those days are over. The large state land-grant institutions have become the elite institutions in every single state."

While those schools' pursuit of excellence represents a "rising tide" that lifts all boats, the community colleges and small private institutions have picked up the role of being "the access schools," he said.

Arthur Keiser, cofounder and chancellor of Keiser University, which has a Daytona Beach campus, said the private schools have served Florida well in that role by providing a high return on the state's investment in the form of EASE grants.

“Each EASE grant recipient contributes $88,000 to the Florida economy, encompassing job creation, labor income and overall economic input," Keiser said.

"Every dollar spent on EASE generates $3.83 in tax revenue," Keiser said, "making it one of the most cost-effective educational programs in Florida."

He offered another metric representing the private, independent colleges' value: "For every $1 million the state spends and invests in students in Florida to produce baccalaureate degrees, ICUF produces 277.7 baccalaureate degrees to 19.6 baccalaureate degrees by the public universities.”

Allen said ICUF graduates earn 28% of all the nursing degrees and 25% of all the teaching degrees that are awarded in Florida.

“Think about the incredible amount of work, the sacrifice that went into making college a reality for these students," he said, "only to have funding disappear before their journey is complete. It would be devastating.”