S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   10550
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               July 6, 2022
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Kim) -- read
   once and referred to the Committee on Higher Education
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend  the education law, in relation to enacting the "free
   resources for equitable education (FREE) act"
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section  1.  This  act  shall  be  known and may be cited as the "free
 resources for equitable education (FREE) act".
   § 2. The education law is amended by adding a new section 716 to  read
 as follows:
   §  716.  FREE RESOURCES FOR EQUITABLE EDUCATION (FREE) ACT. 1. AS USED
 IN THIS SECTION, THE FOLLOWING TERMS SHALL HAVE THE FOLLOWING  MEANINGS,
 UNLESS REFERENCED OTHERWISE:
   (A)  "GENERAL  EDUCATION"  REFERS  TO  COURSES  WHICH DO NOT EXPRESSLY
 SATISFY MAJOR SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS, INCLUDING PRE-REQUISITE COURSES;
   (B) "INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION" MEANS THE STATE  UNIVERSITY  OF
 NEW  YORK  OR INSTITUTIONS RECOGNIZED AND APPROVED BY THE REGENTS OF THE
 UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, WHICH PROVIDE  A  COURSE  OF  STUDY
 LEADING TO THE GRANTING OF A POST-SECONDARY DEGREE OR DIPLOMA;
   (C) "LOW TEXTBOOK COST (LTC)" MEANS THE DESIGNATION ASSIGNED TO COURS-
 ES  TO  DEMONSTRATE  THAT REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS DO NOT COST MORE THAN FORTY
 DOLLARS;
   (D) "MAJOR SPECIFIC" REFERS TO ANY COURSE THAT IS CONSIDERED EXPRESSLY
 NECESSARY TO THE CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT AND  TEACHINGS  OF  KEY  CONCEPTS
 WITHIN A GIVEN MAJOR;
   (E)  "TEXTBOOK"  MEANS ANY TEXTBOOK THAT IS ADOPTED FOR USE IN A GIVEN
 COURSE, AS DETERMINED BY THE PRESIDING FACULTY  OR  FACULTY  MEMBERS  OR
 ENTITY CHARGED WITH SELECTING SUCH TEXTBOOKS; AND
   (F)  "ZERO  TEXTBOOK  COST  (ZTC)"  MEANS  THE DESIGNATION ASSIGNED TO
 COURSES TO DEMONSTRATE THAT IT DOES NOT  REQUIRE  THE  PURCHASE  OF  ANY
 TEXTBOOK.
   2.  ALL  GENERAL EDUCATION COURSES OFFERED BY AN INSTITUTION OF HIGHER
 EDUCATION IN WHICH TEXTBOOKS ARE ASSIGNED BY A PROFESSOR OR OTHER FACUL-
 TY MEMBER SHALL HAVE A ZTC OR LTC DESIGNATION.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD15740-01-2
 A. 10550                            2
 
   3. TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT OF ALL MAJOR SPECIFIC  COURSES  OFFERED  BY  AN
 INSTITUTION  OF  HIGHER  EDUCATION  IN WHICH TEXTBOOKS ARE ASSIGNED BY A
 PROFESSOR OR OTHER FACULTY MEMBER SHALL HAVE A ZTC OR LTC DESIGNATION.
   4.  INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION SHALL DETERMINE WHICH COURSES AND
 THE CORRESPONDING TEXTBOOKS ARE DESIGNATED ZTC OR LTC.
   5. ZTC AND LTC DESIGNATIONS SHALL BE CLEARLY VISIBLE AND EASILY ACCES-
 SIBLE BY STUDENTS IN ANY COURSE INFORMATION MATERIALS OR COURSE  ENROLL-
 MENT  SYSTEM.  IF  A COURSE DESIGNATION CHANGES FOR ANY REASON, STUDENTS
 SHALL BE ALLOWED TO SECURE AN APPROPRIATE REPLACEMENT COURSE OR  DISCON-
 TINUE ANY COURSE WITHOUT ANY FINANCIAL OR OTHER INSTITUTIONAL PENALTY.
   6.  INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION SHALL INSTITUTE THIS SECTION IN A
 MANNER THAT DOES NOT REDISTRIBUTE THE FINANCIAL COST  OF  SUCH  TEXTBOOK
 DESIGNATIONS  ON  STUDENTS  INCLUDING  BUT NOT LIMITED TO ASSIGNING MORE
 TEXTBOOKS IN OTHER COURSES OR INCREASING TUITION OR STUDENTS' FEES.
   § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
 it shall have become a law; provided, however, the amendments to article
 15-B of the education law made by section two  of  this  act  shall  not
 affect  the  repeal  of such article and shall be deemed repealed there-
 with.