Senate Bill S6874

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6874
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 20, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. JACKSON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Higher Education
 
 AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to expanding  eligibility
   for the tuition assistance program
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section  667  of  the  education  law,  as
 amended  by  chapter  376  of  the  laws  of 2019, is amended to read as
 follows:
   2. Duration. No undergraduate STUDENT shall be eligible for more  than
 four  academic  years of study, or five academic years if the program of
 study normally requires five years. Students enrolled in  a  program  of
 remedial study, approved by the commissioner in an institution of higher
 education  and  intended to culminate in a degree in undergraduate study
 shall, for purposes of this section, be  considered  as  enrolled  in  a
 program of study normally requiring five years. An undergraduate student
 enrolled  in  an  eligible  two  year  program  of study approved by the
 commissioner shall be eligible for no more than three academic years  of
 study. An undergraduate student enrolled in an approved two or four-year
 program  of  study  approved  by  the  commissioner who must transfer to
 another institution as a result of permanent college  closure  shall  be
 eligible for up to two additional semesters, or their equivalent, to the
 extent  credits  necessary  to complete his or her program of study were
 deemed non-transferable from the closed institution or were  deemed  not
 applicable to such student's program of study by the new institution. NO
 GRADUATE  STUDENT SHALL BE ELIGIBLE FOR MORE THAN FOUR ACADEMIC YEARS OF
 STUDY  PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT NO GRADUATE STUDENT SHALL BE ELIGIBLE FOR
 MORE THAN ONE DEGREE PROGRAM AT  THE  MASTER'S,  FIRST  PROFESSIONAL  OR
 DOCTORATE  LEVEL.  NO STUDENT SHALL BE ELIGIBLE FOR A TOTAL OF MORE THAN
 THE  EQUIVALENT OF EIGHT YEARS OF  COMBINED  UNDERGRADUATE  AND GRADUATE
 STUDY. Any semester, quarter, or  term  of  attendance  during  which  a
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD10923-01-1

 S. 6874                             2
 
 student  receives any award under this article, after the effective date
 of the former scholar incentive program and prior to academic year nine-
 teen hundred eighty-nine--nineteen  hundred  ninety,  shall  be  counted
 toward the maximum term of eligibility for tuition assistance under this
 section,  except that any semester, quarter or term of attendance during
 which a student received  an  award  pursuant  to  section  six  hundred
 sixty-six  of  this  subpart shall be counted as one-half of a semester,
 quarter or term, as the case may be, toward the maximum term  of  eligi-
 bility  under  this section. Any semester, quarter or term of attendance
 during which a student received an award pursuant to section six hundred
 sixty-seven-a of this subpart shall not be counted  toward  the  maximum
 term  of  eligibility  under  this  section.  FOR  THE  PURPOSES OF THIS
 SECTION, AN ACADEMIC YEAR SHALL INCLUDE ANY OPTIONAL ACADEMIC  SEMESTER,
 QUARTER  OR TERM AND ANY AWARD MADE FOR SUCH OPTIONAL ACADEMIC SEMESTER,
 QUARTER OR TERM SHALL NOT REDUCE THE MAXIMUM TERM OF  ELIGIBILITY  UNDER
 THIS SECTION.
   §  2. Paragraph c of subdivision 3 of section 667 of the education law
 is relettered paragraph d and a new paragraph c  is  added  to  read  as
 follows:
   C. AMOUNT. THE PRESIDENT SHALL MAKE AWARDS TO GRADUATE STUDENTS IN THE
 FOLLOWING AMOUNTS:
   (I)  FOR  EACH YEAR OF GRADUATE STUDY, ASSISTANCE SHALL BE PROVIDED AS
 COMPUTED ON THE BASIS OF THE AMOUNT WHICH IS THE LESSER OF  THE  FOLLOW-
 ING:
   (A) FIVE HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS; OR
   (B)  ONE HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE AMOUNT OF TUITION (EXCLUSIVE OF EDUCA-
 TIONAL FEES).
   (II) EXCEPT FOR STUDENTS AS NOTED IN SUBPARAGRAPH (III) OF THIS  PARA-
 GRAPH,  THE  BASE AMOUNT AS DETERMINED IN SUBPARAGRAPH (I) OF THIS PARA-
 GRAPH, SHALL BE REDUCED IN RELATION TO INCOME AS FOLLOWS:

 AMOUNT OF INCOME                    SCHEDULE OF REDUCTION
                                     OF BASE AMOUNT
 (A) LESS THAN TWO THOUSAND          NONE
     DOLLARS
 (B) TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS OR         SEVEN AND SEVEN-TENTHS PER CENTUM
     MORE, BUT NOT MORE THAN         OF THE EXCESS OVER TWO THOUSAND
     TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS         DOLLARS
 
   (III) FOR STUDENTS WHO HAVE BEEN GRANTED EXCLUSION OF PARENTAL  INCOME
 AND WERE SINGLE WITH NO DEPENDENT FOR INCOME TAX PURPOSES DURING THE TAX
 YEAR NEXT PRECEDING THE ACADEMIC YEAR FOR WHICH APPLICATION IS MADE, THE
 BASE  AMOUNT  AS DETERMINED IN SUBPARAGRAPH (I) OF THIS PARAGRAPH, SHALL
 BE REDUCED IN RELATION TO INCOME AS FOLLOWS:
 
 AMOUNT OF INCOME                    SCHEDULE OF REDUCTION
                                     OF BASE AMOUNT
 (A) LESS THAN ONE THOUSAND          NONE
     DOLLARS
 (B) ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS OR         TWENTY-SIX PER CENTUM OF THE
     MORE, BUT NOT MORE THAN         EXCESS OVER ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS
     FIVE THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED
     SIXTY-SIX DOLLARS
 
   (IV) IF THE AMOUNT OF REDUCTION IS NOT A WHOLE  DOLLAR,  IT  SHALL  BE
 REDUCED TO THE NEXT LOWEST WHOLE DOLLAR.

 S. 6874                             3
 
   (V)  THE  AWARD  SHALL BE THE NET AMOUNT OF THE BASE AMOUNT DETERMINED
 PURSUANT TO SUBPARAGRAPH (II) OR (III) OF THIS PARAGRAPH BUT  THE  AWARD
 SHALL  NOT  BE REDUCED BELOW SEVENTY-FIVE DOLLARS. IF THE INCOME EXCEEDS
 THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF INCOME ALLOWABLE UNDER SUBPARAGRAPH (II) OR  (III)
 OF THIS PARAGRAPH, NO AWARD SHALL BE MADE.
   §  3.  This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding
 the date on which it shall have become a law.