S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  601--A
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 6, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. JACOBSON, TAYLOR, REYES, PICHARDO, CUSICK, SIMON,
   LAVINE,  SAYEGH,  NIOU,  WALLACE,  HYNDMAN, ABINANTI, LUPARDO, COLTON,
   BURKE, EPSTEIN, SEAWRIGHT, FRONTUS, McMAHON, CRUZ, KIM  --  read  once
   and  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Higher  Education  -- committee
   discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
   to said committee
 
 AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to  eligibility  for  the
   New York state excelsior scholarship for certain part-time applicants
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivisions 1, 2 and 3 of section 669-h of  the  education
 law,  subdivisions  1 and 2 as amended by section 1 of part T of chapter
 56 of the laws of 2018 and subdivision 3 as added by section 1  of  part
 HHH of chapter 59 of the laws of 2017, are amended and a new subdivision
 2-a is added to read as follows:
   1.  Eligibility.  An  excelsior  scholarship award shall be made to an
 applicant who: (a) is matriculated in an approved program leading to  an
 undergraduate  degree  at  a New York state public institution of higher
 education, WHICH FOR THE PURPOSES OF  THIS  SECTION  SHALL  INCLUDE  ALL
 TWO-YEAR  AND FOUR-YEAR COLLEGES OPERATED BY THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW
 YORK OR THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK; (b) if enrolled in (i) a public
 institution of higher education prior to application, has  completed  at
 least  [thirty]  TWENTY-FOUR  combined credits per year IF ENROLLED ON A
 FULL-TIME BASIS OR AT LEAST TWELVE COMBINED CREDITS PER YEAR IF ENROLLED
 ON A PART-TIME BASIS following the student's start date, or  its  equiv-
 alent,  applicable to his or her program or programs of study or (ii) an
 institution of higher education prior to application, has  completed  at
 least  [thirty]  TWENTY-FOUR  combined credits per year IF ENROLLED ON A
 FULL-TIME BASIS OR AT LEAST TWELVE COMBINED CREDITS PER YEAR IF ENROLLED
 ON A PART-TIME BASIS following the student's start date, or  its  equiv-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
              

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD05204-02-1

 A. 601--A                           2
 
 alent,  applicable  to his or her program or programs of study and which
 were accepted upon transfer to a public institution of higher education;
 (c) enrolls in at least twelve credits per  semester  and  completes  at
 least  [thirty]  TWENTY-FOUR  combined credits per year IF ENROLLED ON A
 FULL-TIME BASIS OR AT LEAST SIX CREDITS IF ENROLLED ON A PART-TIME BASIS
 following the student's start date, or its equivalent, applicable to his
 or her program or programs of study except in limited  circumstances  as
 prescribed  by  the  corporation in regulation.  Notwithstanding, in the
 student's last semester, the student may take at least one course needed
 to meet his or her graduation requirements and enroll  in  and  complete
 [at  least  twelve  credit  hours  or its equivalent] AS MANY CREDITS AS
 REQUIRED TO OBTAIN HIS OR HER DEGREE.  For students who are disabled  as
 defined  by  the  Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 USC 12101,
 the corporation shall prescribe rules and regulations that allow  appli-
 cants  who  are  disabled  to  be eligible for an award pursuant to this
 section based on modified criteria; (d) has an adjusted gross income for
 the qualifying year, as such terms  are  defined  in  this  subdivision,
 equal  to or less than: (i) one hundred THIRTY-FIVE thousand dollars for
 recipients  receiving  an  award  in  the   two   thousand   [seventeen]
 TWENTY-ONE--two  thousand  [eighteen] TWENTY-TWO academic year; (ii) one
 hundred [ten] FIFTY thousand dollars for recipients receiving  an  award
 in the two thousand [eighteen] TWENTY-TWO--two thousand [nineteen] TWEN-
 TY-THREE  academic year; and (iii) one hundred [twenty-five] FIFTY thou-
 sand dollars for recipients receiving  an  award  in  the  two  thousand
 [nineteen] TWENTY-THREE--two thousand [twenty] TWENTY-FOUR academic year
 and  thereafter; and (e) complies with the applicable provisions of this
 article and all requirements promulgated  by  the  corporation  for  the
 administration  of the program. Adjusted gross income shall be the total
 of the combined adjusted gross income of the applicant  and  the  appli-
 cant's  parents or the applicant and the applicant's spouse, if married.
 Qualifying year shall be the adjusted gross income as  reported  on  the
 federal  income tax return, or as otherwise obtained by the corporation,
 for the calendar year coinciding with the tax year  established  by  the
 U.S.  department  of education to qualify applicants for federal student
 financial aid programs authorized by Title IV of  the  Higher  Education
 Act  of  nineteen hundred sixty-five, as amended, for the school year in
 which application for assistance  is  made.  Provided,  however,  if  an
 applicant  demonstrates  to the corporation that there has been a change
 in such applicant's adjusted gross income in the year(s)  subsequent  to
 the qualifying year which would qualify such applicant for an award, the
 corporation  shall  review  and  make a determination as to whether such
 applicant meets the requirement set  forth  in  paragraph  (d)  of  this
 subdivision  based  on such year. Provided, further that such change was
 caused by the death, permanent and total physical or mental  disability,
 divorce, or separation by judicial decree or pursuant to an agreement of
 separation  which is filed with a court of competent jurisdiction of any
 person whose income was required to be used to compute  the  applicant's
 total adjusted gross income.
   2.  Amount.  Within  amounts appropriated therefor and based on avail-
 ability of funds, awards shall be granted beginning with the  two  thou-
 sand [seventeen] TWENTY-ONE--two thousand [eighteen] TWENTY-TWO academic
 year  and  thereafter  to applicants that the corporation has determined
 are eligible to receive such awards. The corporation  shall  grant  such
 awards  FOR  FULL-TIME  STUDENTS  in  an amount up to five thousand five
 hundred dollars or actual tuition, whichever is less AND  FOR  PART-TIME
 STUDENTS  IN AN AMOUNT UP TO TWO THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS OR

 A. 601--A                           3

 ACTUAL TUITION, WHICHEVER IS LESS; provided, however, (a) a student  who
 receives educational grants and/or scholarships that cover the student's
 full  cost  of  attendance shall not be eligible for an award under this
 program; and (b) an award under this program shall be applied to tuition
 after  the application of payments received under the tuition assistance
 program pursuant to section six hundred  sixty-seven  of  this  subpart,
 tuition  credits  pursuant  to section six hundred eighty-nine-a of this
 article, federal Pell grant pursuant to section one thousand seventy  of
 title  twenty of the United States code, et. seq., and any other program
 that covers the cost of attendance unless  exclusively  for  non-tuition
 expenses,  and  the  award  under  this  program shall be reduced in the
 amount equal to such payments, provided that the  combined  benefits  do
 not  exceed  five thousand five hundred dollars. Upon notification of an
 award under this program, the institution  shall  defer  the  amount  of
 tuition. Notwithstanding paragraph h of subdivision two of section three
 hundred fifty-five and paragraph (a) of subdivision seven of section six
 thousand  two  hundred  six  of this chapter, and any other law, rule or
 regulation to the contrary, the undergraduate  tuition  charged  by  the
 institution  to recipients of an award shall not exceed the tuition rate
 established  by  the  institution  for  the   two   thousand   [sixteen]
 TWENTY--two  thousand  [seventeen]  TWENTY-ONE  academic  year provided,
 however, that in the two thousand [twenty-one]  TWENTY-THREE--two  thou-
 sand  [twenty-two] TWENTY-FOUR academic year and every four years there-
 after, the undergraduate tuition charged by the institution  to  recipi-
 ents of an award shall be reset to equal the tuition rate established by
 the institution for the forthcoming academic year, provided further that
 the  tuition  credit  calculated pursuant to section six hundred eighty-
 nine-a of this article shall be applied toward the tuition rate  charged
 for recipients of an award under this program. Provided further that the
 state  university  of New York and the city university of New York shall
 provide an additional tuition credit to students receiving an  award  to
 cover the remaining cost of tuition.
   2-A.  IN  THE  EVENT THAT FOR ANY REASON, THE STUDENT DOES NOT RECEIVE
 HIS OR HER TWO-YEAR, FOUR-YEAR OR FIVE-YEAR DEGREE OR COMPLETE THE BOCES
 OR VOCATIONAL PROGRAM REFERRED TO IN PARAGRAPH (G) OF  SUBDIVISION  FOUR
 OF  THIS  SECTION, THE STUDENT SHALL NOT SUFFER ANY PENALTY WITH RESPECT
 TO THE SCHOLARSHIP RECEIVED UNDER THE EXCELSIOR SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.
   3. Duration. An eligible recipient shall not receive an award for more
 than [four] FIVE academic years of full-time OR TEN  ACADEMIC  YEARS  OF
 PART-TIME undergraduate study FOR A FOUR-YEAR DEGREE or [five] SIX FULL-
 TIME OR TWELVE PART-TIME academic years if the program of study normally
 requires  five  years.  An  eligible  recipient enrolled FULL-TIME in an
 eligible [two year] TWO-YEAR program of study shall not receive an award
 for more than two AND A HALF academic years AND  AN  ELIGIBLE  RECIPIENT
 ENROLLED  PART-TIME  IN  AN ELIGIBLE TWO YEAR PROGRAM OF STUDY SHALL NOT
 RECEIVE AN AWARD FOR MORE THAN FIVE ACADEMIC  YEARS.    Notwithstanding,
 such  duration  may  be  extended for an allowable interruption of study
 including, but not limited to, death of a family member, medical  leave,
 military  service, and parental leave, as established by the corporation
 in regulation.
   § 2. Subdivision 4 of section 669-h of the education law is amended by
 adding a new paragraph (g) to read as follows:
   (G) NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW  TO  THE  CONTRARY,  AN
 APPLICANT  WHO SATISFIED ALL OTHER REQUIREMENTS OF THIS SECTION SHALL BE
 ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE AN AWARD PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION IF SUCH  APPLICANT
 IS  ENROLLED  ON AT LEAST A PART-TIME BASIS OR ITS EQUIVALENT IN A BOARD

 A. 601--A                           4
 
 OF EDUCATIONAL SERVICES (BOCES) OR OTHER APPROVED VOCATIONAL PROGRAM  AT
 A  SUNY OR CUNY COMMUNITY COLLEGE AS DETERMINED BY THE APPLICABLE EDUCA-
 TIONAL AUTHORITY. WITHIN AMOUNTS  APPROPRIATED  THEREFOR  AND  BASED  ON
 AVAILABILITY  OF  FUNDS,  AWARDS SHALL BE GRANTED BEGINNING WITH THE TWO
 THOUSAND TWENTY-ONE--TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-TWO ACADEMIC YEAR AND THEREAFT-
 ER TO APPLICANTS THAT THE CORPORATION HAS  DETERMINED  ARE  ELIGIBLE  TO
 RECEIVE SUCH AWARDS. THE CORPORATION SHALL GRANT SUCH AWARDS TO ELIGIBLE
 FULL-TIME AND PART-TIME STUDENTS IN ACCORDANCE WITH SUBDIVISION THREE OF
 THIS  SECTION.  A RECIPIENT ELIGIBLE FOR AN AWARD PURSUANT TO THIS PARA-
 GRAPH SHALL NOT RECEIVE AN AWARD FOR MORE THAN FOUR  ACADEMIC  YEARS  OF
 FULL-TIME  OR EIGHT ACADEMIC YEARS OF PART-TIME ENROLLMENT IN SUCH BOCES
 OR OTHER APPROVED VOCATIONAL PROGRAM. YEARS ENROLLED ARE NOT REQUIRED TO
 BE CONSECUTIVE.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately and  shall  apply  to  any
 eligible applicant beginning with the 2021-2022 academic year.