Senate Bill S3500

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S3500

SPONSOR: STAVISKY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the education law, in relation to excluding certain
graduate students from mandatory fees

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

Prohibits the State University of New York (SUNY) from charging any
current or future mandatory fees, except for the graduate student asso-
ciation student activity fee, to a graduate student serving as a gradu-
ate teaching assistant, graduate assistant, graduate research assistant,
graduate research associate or graduate teaching associate; and prohib-
its the City University of New York (CUNY) from charging any current or
future mandatory fees, except for the graduate student association
student activity fee, to a graduate student serving as a graduate
assistant, adjunct instructor, adjunct lecturer, adjunct college labora-
tory technician, or a non-teaching adjunct staff member.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
              

Section 1. Amends paragraph h of subdivision 2 of section 355 of the
education law by adding a new subparagraph 11 to prohibit the State
University of New York from charging any current or future mandatory
fees, except for the graduate student association student activity fee,
to a graduate student serving in certain capacities.

Section 2. Amends subdivision 7 of 6206 by adding a new paragraph (g) to
prohibit CUNY from charging any current or future mandatory fees, except
for the graduate student association student activity fee, to a graduate
student serving in certain capacities.

Section 3. Sets forth the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

This bill provides financial relief for graduate students serving in
certain graduate teaching or graduate assisting capacities at SUNY and
CUNY by prohibiting the systems from charging mandatory fees.  Graduate
student workers are responsible for all aspects of teaching courses,
including designing syllabi, holding office hours, mentoring students,
grading, and conducting research. Graduate student employees are an
essential labor force for SONY and CUNY - and instrumental to the long-
term economic success of New York State.However, mandatory fees amount-
ing to 10-20%- of their annual income force many graduate student
employees into poverty.

As public institutions of higher education have been starved for essen-
tial resources, the SUNY and CUNY systems have shifted labor Onto gradu-
ate students. SUNY graduate student employees with full appointments are
expected to work 20 hours per week for their departments, in addition to
maintaining their course loads, and are compensated with an annual
meager stipend and, in most cases, a tuition waiver. Yet they must still
pay fees. For graduate student workers engaged in full-time coursework,
average fees across the four SUNY University Centers currently exceed
$2,000 per academic year. At the University at Buffalo (UB), which has
the highest fees in the SUNY system, domestic graduate students pay up
to $2,600 per academic year in fees. For international graduate students
at UB, fees can be as much as $2,800 per academic year.

While stipend amounts vary considerably between campuses and academic
departments, the average graduate employee stipend across the four SONY
University Centers is about $20,000 per academic year for TAs and GAs
with full appointments. For those graduate employees earning the average
stipend, the amount they must pay back to their university each year in
fees can represent as much as on of their annual income.

As a result of COVID-19, graduate student workers were forced to give up
their scheduled raises. However, their fees actually increased. We must
put an end to this pay-to-work practice that forces graduate student
workers to live in poverty.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2021-2022: A.6382-A/S.4972-B - Referred to Higher Education.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the state.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.