The Department of Education has cleared away confusion surrounding Bright Futures for the fall semester.

In a letter to university and college financial aid officers Wednesday night, DOE confirmed how much money the program's top award recipient will receive during the 2017 – 2018 school year.

Confusion reigned when the Legislature increased funding for the program – inserting an additional $180 million in the state budget to pick up the entire cost of tuition and fees and kicking in an additional $300 per semester for top scholars.

The change meant about $30 million for the nearly 6,000 students attending Florida State University as Florida Academic Scholars.

But then Gov. Rick Scott vetoed the bill in June. He objected to other provisions in the legislation while encouraging lawmakers to make the boost permanent.

Despite the veto, the extra money was included in the budget that went into effect July 1. DOE officials at the time said the additional money was not in jeopardy and needed time to figure out how to get the money through the bureaucratic snafu to the students' financial aid offices. With the fall semester set to begin next month, about 40,000 students and their parents worried if they would ever see it.

In 2016 the top Bright Futures scholarship paid $3,000 a semester, about half the cost of attending a state university. This academic year the award more than doubles. The extra money will evaporate unless the Legislature acts when it meets in session in January.

Bright Futures was created in 1997 to reward high school students who posted good grades and high scores on college entrance exams. Lawmakers voted to double the amount this year for top recipients, those with a high school GPA of 3.5 on a 4.0-scale, 100 hours of community service and an ACT score of 29 or a SAT score of 1290.

The awards for 2017-2018 will be:

Florida Academic Scholars

100 percent of tuition and fees for fall, spring and summer semesters and an additional $300 per semester (fall and spring only)

Florida Medallion Scholars (Per Credit Hour)

$77 at a 4year institution

$63 at a 2year institution

$53 upper division College Programs

$39 Career/Technical Centers

Gold Seal and Cape Vocational Scholars ( Per Credit Hour)

$39 Career Certificate Program

$39 Applied Technology Diploma Program

$48 Technical Degree Education Program

Gold Seal and CAPE Vocational Scholars (Per Credit Hour)

$48 Bachelor of Science Program with statewide articulation agreement

$48 Florida College System Bachelor of Applied Science

Reporter James Call can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com.