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

    S. 2129                                                  A. 3051

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                      S E N A T E - A S S E M B L Y

                            January 21, 2015
                               ___________

IN SENATE -- Introduced by Sen. LANZA -- read twice and ordered printed,
  and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Higher Education

IN  ASSEMBLY  --  Introduced  by  M.  of A. MALLIOTAKIS -- read once and
  referred to the Committee on Higher Education

AN ACT to amend the education law, in  relation  to  tuition  assistance
  program awards

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

  Section 1. Paragraph a of subdivision 3 of section 663 of  the  educa-
tion law, as amended by section 4 of part J of chapter 58 of the laws of
2011, is amended to read as follows:
  a.  In determining the amount of an award for GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADU-
ATE students, the income of the parents shall be excluded if the student
has been emancipated from his parents.
  S 2. The opening paragraph of subparagraph 1 of paragraph b of  subdi-
vision 3 of section 663 of the education law, as amended by section 5 of
part J of chapter 58 of the laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows:
  The applicant is a student who was married on or before December thir-
ty-first  of  the  calendar  year prior to the beginning of the academic
year for which application is made or is an  undergraduate  student  who
has  reached  the age of twenty-two on or before June thirtieth prior to
the academic year for which application is made OR IS A GRADUATE STUDENT
and who, during the calendar year next preceding the  semester,  quarter
or  term  of  attendance  for which application is made and at all times
subsequent thereto up to and  including  the  entire  period  for  which
application is made:
  S 3. Paragraph d of subdivision 3 of section 663 of the education law,
as  amended by section 6 of part J of chapter 58 of the laws of 2011, is
amended to read as follows:

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD02112-01-5

              

S. 2129                             2                            A. 3051

  d. Any GRADUATE OR undergraduate student who was  allowed  to  exclude
parental  income  pursuant to the provisions of FORMER subdivision three
of section six hundred three of this chapter as they  existed  prior  to
July  first,  nineteen hundred seventy-four may continue to exclude such
income for so long as he continues to comply with such provisions.
  S 4. Subdivision 1 and 2 of section 667 of the education law, subdivi-
sion  1  as amended by chapter 622 of the laws of 2008 and subdivision 2
as amended by section 1 of part J of chapter 58 of the laws of 2011, are
amended to read as follows:
  1. Recipient qualifications. Tuition  assistance  program  awards  are
available for all students who are enrolled in approved programs and who
demonstrate  the  ability  to  complete such courses, in accordance with
standards established by the commissioner  provided,  however,  that  no
award  shall be made unless tuition (exclusive of educational fees) and,
if applicable, the college fee levied by the  state  university  of  New
York  pursuant to the April first, nineteen hundred sixty-four financing
agreements with the New York state dormitory authority charged  for  the
program  in  which  the  student  is enrolled total at least two hundred
dollars a year, and provided further  that,  no  award  can  exceed  one
hundred  percent  of  the  amount  of tuition charged.   NOTHING IN THIS
SECTION, SECTION SIX HUNDRED  SIXTY-ONE  OF  THIS  PART,  OR  ANY  OTHER
PROVISION  OF THIS CHAPTER SHALL BE READ TO EXCLUDE ANY GRADUATE PROGRAM
FROM CLASSIFICATION BY THE COMMISSIONER AS AN APPROVED PROGRAM  FOR  THE
PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION.
  2.  Duration.  No  undergraduate  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 educa-
tion 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.  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
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.
  S 5. This act shall take effect immediately.