NY State Senate Bill 2009-S2378

Senate Bill S2378

2009-2010 Legislative Session

Authorizes tuition assistance program financial aid officers to make adjustments in special circumstances to determine a student's applicable income for an award

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Higher Education Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 06, 2010	referred to higher education
Feb 19, 2009	referred to higher education

2009-S2378 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Higher Education
Law Section:: Education Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §663, Ed L

2009-S2378 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Authorizes tuition assistance program financial aid officers to make income adjustments in special circumstances in determining a student's applicable income for an award including catastrophic illness or disability of the applicant or his or her spouse or parent, call to active duty or divorce.

2009-S2378 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S2378

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the education law, in relation to the determination of
tuition assistance program awards


 PURPOSE :

The purpose of this bill is to provide financial aid officers with the
ability to assist students receiving the New York State Tuition
Assistance Program (TAP) awards by adjusting awards to accurately
reflect a change in financial status under certain circumstances.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1 amends subdivision 1 of Section 663 of the education law as
amended by chapter 305 of the laws of 2008 to define income.

Section 2 amends paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision 5 of section
663 of the education law, as amended by chapter 622 of the laws of
2008 to allow financial aid officers the ability to adjust TAP awards.

Special circumstances for which the financial aid officer can use
professional judgment include catastrophic illness of the applicant,

spouse and/or parent or legal guardian; or the applicant, parent,
legal guardian or spouse of the applicant being called to active
military duty. Divorce and involuntary unemployment are also included.

Adequate documentation, which HESC will define in regulation, shall be
required to substantiate such special circumstances of individual
students. No student or parent shall be charged a fee for collecting,
processing or delivering supplementary information.

 JUSTIFICATION :

In some cases a student's Tuition Assistance Program application does
not reflect the true financial needs of that student. However,
currently there is no mechanism within the program to account for
special circumstances. This bill will create and outline the mechanism
for financial aid officers to re-evaluate a student's financial aid
application in situations adequately documented as special
considerations.

The mechanism outlined in this bill is similar to that currently
authorized for Federal Pell Grant applications.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

2007-08 S.1574-A/A.1919-A. Vetoed Memo 107; 2006 A.9239-C, Passed
Assembly; 2005 A.726-A, Ways and Means.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

To be determined.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately.

2009-S2378 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  2378

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            February 19, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen. PADAVAN -- 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 the  determination  of
  tuition assistance program awards

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section  663  of  the  education  law,  as
amended  by  chapter  305  of  the  laws  of 2008, is amended to read as
follows:
  1. Income defined.   Except as otherwise  provided  in  this  section,
"income"  shall  be  the total of the combined net taxable income of the
applicant, the  applicant's  spouse,  and  the  applicant's  parents  as
reported in New York state income tax returns for the calendar year next
preceding  the  beginning  of  the school year for which application for
assistance is made, except that any amount received by an applicant as a
scholarship at an educational institution  or  as  a  fellowship  grant,
including  the  value  of contributed services and accommodations, shall
not be included within the definition of "income" for  the  purposes  of
this  article.  The  term "parent" shall include birth parents, steppar-
ents, adoptive parents and the spouse of an adoptive parent. Income,  if
not  a  whole  dollar  amount,  shall be assumed to be equal to the next
lowest whole dollar amount. Any change in the  status  of  an  applicant
with  regard to the INCOME OF THE APPLICANT OR THE INCOME OF THE persons
responsible for the applicant's support occurring AS A RESULT OF  EXTEN-
UATING  CIRCUMSTANCES INCLUDED IN SUBDIVISION FIVE OF THIS SECTION after
the beginning of any semester [shall not] CAN be  considered  to  change
the  applicant's award for that semester IF THE APPLICANT APPLIES FOR AN
ADJUSTMENT TO THEIR AWARD AND THAT ADJUSTMENT IS APPROVED AND  CERTIFIED
PURSUANT TO RULES AND REGULATIONS ESTABLISHED BY THE CORPORATION.
  S  2.  Paragraphs  (a)  and (b) of subdivision 5 of section 663 of the
education law, as amended by chapter  622  of  the  laws  of  2008,  are
amended to read as follows:
  [(a)]  A.  ADJUSTMENTS  OF  INCOME WHEN A SIBLING, SIBLINGS, SPOUSE OR
PARENT OR PARENTS ARE ALSO ENROLLED FULL-TIME IN AN APPROVED PROGRAM  OR

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD09384-01-9

S. 2378                             2

PROGRAMS.  (1)  Except for purposes of paragraphs a and b of subdivision
three of section six hundred sixty-seven of this  part  if,  during  the
academic  year in which the applicant will receive an award, one or more
of  either  the  parents of the applicant or other dependent children of
such parents, the spouse of the applicant,  or  one  or  more  dependent
children  of  the  applicant,  in  addition to the applicant, will be in
full-time attendance in an approved program, the  combined  net  taxable
income determined under subdivision one of this section shall be divided
by  the  total number of the aforesaid persons (including the applicant)
who will be in such attendance, and  the  resulting  quotient  shall  be
deemed  the  applicable  income in determining the applicant's award for
such academic year.
  [(b)] (2) In the determination of income for purposes of paragraphs  a
and  b  of  subdivision three of section six hundred sixty-seven of this
part if, during the academic year in which the applicant will receive an
award, one of either the parents of the  applicant  or  other  dependent
child  of  such  parents,  the  spouse  of the applicant, or one or more
dependent children of the applicant, in addition to the applicant,  will
be  in  full-time  attendance  in  an approved program, the combined net
taxable income determined under subdivision one of this section shall be
reduced by three thousand dollars and an additional two thousand dollars
for each other such person additional to the aforesaid persons  (includ-
ing  the  applicant)  who  will be in such attendance, and the resulting
amount shall be deemed the applicable income in determining  the  appli-
cant's award for the academic year.
  B. ADJUSTMENTS OF INCOME IN EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES. THE CORPORATION
SHALL, PURSUANT TO RULES AND REGULATIONS, UPON THE REQUEST OF THE APPLI-
CANT,  THE  RECOMMENDATION  OF  A  FINANCIAL  AID ADMINISTRATOR, AND THE
CORPORATION'S REVIEW AND CERTIFICATION OF  THE  MOST  RECENT  SUPPORTING
DOCUMENTATION,  MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO INCOME AND ADJUSTMENTS TO THE APPLI-
CANT'S AWARDS AFTER THE BEGINNING  OF  ANY  SEMESTER  IN  THE  FOLLOWING
EXTENUATING  CIRCUMSTANCES: (1) CATASTROPHIC ILLNESS, PERMANENT OR TOTAL
PHYSICAL  OR  MENTAL  DISABILITY  OF  THE  APPLICANT;  (2)  CATASTROPHIC
ILLNESS,  DEATH  OR  PERMANENT  OR  TOTAL  DISABILITY OF THE APPLICANT'S
SPOUSE, PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN; (3) A CALL TO ACTIVE MILITARY DUTY  OF
THE  APPLICANT,  THE APPLICANT'S SPOUSE, PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN; (4) A
RECENT INVOLUNTARY CHANGE IN THE EMPLOYMENT STATUS OF THE APPLICANT, THE
APPLICANT'S SPOUSE, PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN THAT RESULTED IN A  VERIFI-
ABLE LOSS IN INCOME; (5) A RECENT DIVORCE OR SEPARATION OF THE APPLICANT
BY  JUDICIAL DECREE OR PURSUANT TO AN AGREEMENT OF SEPARATION FILED WITH
A COURT OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION THAT RESULTED IN  VERIFIABLE  LOSS  IN
INCOME;  OR (6) A RECENT DIVORCE OR SEPARATION OF THE APPLICANT'S PARENT
OR LEGAL GUARDIAN BY JUDICIAL DECREE OR  PURSUANT  TO  AN  AGREEMENT  OF
SEPARATION FILED WITH A COURT OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION THAT RESULTED IN
A  VERIFIABLE LOSS IN INCOME; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT IN DEVELOPING SUCH
REGULATIONS, THE CORPORATION SHALL REQUIRE, TO THE  EXTENT  PRACTICABLE,
SIMILAR CRITERIA IN DETERMINING INCOME ADJUSTMENTS FOR INDIVIDUAL APPLI-
CANTS WHO HAVE SIMILAR EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES.  WITHIN THIRTY DAYS OF
RECEIVING  ALL  REQUESTED  INFORMATION AND SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION FROM
THE FINANCIAL AID ADMINISTRATOR, THE CORPORATION MUST REVIEW THE REQUEST
OF THE APPLICANT, THE RECOMMENDATION OF A FINANCIAL  AID  ADMINISTRATOR,
AND  THE  SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION AND CERTIFY WHETHER OR NOT THE APPLI-
CANT IS ELIGIBLE FOR AN ADJUSTMENT.
  S 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

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