NY State Senate Bill 2021-S8498

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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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Mar 07, 2022	referred to higher education

co-Sponsors

2021-S8498 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A9505
Current Committee:: Senate Higher Education
Law Section:: Education Law
Laws Affected:: Add §239-d, Ed L
Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:: S4170, A1423

2021-S8498 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Enacts the "fair college admissions act"; prohibits legacy and early admissions policies at colleges and universities in New York; declares such policies and practices to be discriminatory and inequitable.

2021-S8498 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S8498

SPONSOR: GOUNARDES
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the education law, in relation to prohibiting legacy
preference and early decision admission policies at higher education
institutions in this state

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To prohibit legacy preference and early admissions policies at under-
graduate institutions.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one of the bill provides that this act shall be known as the
"Fair College Admissions Act."

Section two declares legislative intent.

Section three adds a new section 239-d to the Education Law to ban lega-

cy preference and early admissions, set penalties, and earmark penalty
funds.

Section four provides the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Much has been written about the financial barriers low-income students
face when applying to college, particularly in regards to the most elite
institutions our nation and state have to offer. Perhaps equally impor-
tant, however, are the structural barriers they face in the form of
regressive college admittance policies such as legacy preference and
early decision. These policies, which played a role in approximately 50%
of current elite college and university students' acceptance, have the
effect of excluding access to these institutions for our state's
lowest-income students who are disproportionately likely to be first-
generation college students or unable to apply to early decision due to
a need to compare financial aid packages.

Legacy preference, in which colleges consider familial relationship to
existing alumni in their admittance decisions, has resulted in legacy
students being three times more likely to be accepted into a prestigious
institution than a non-legacy student with a similar academic back-
ground, according to a 2010 study. Virtually all top 100 private
colleges and universities nationwide have express alumni preference
policies, with legacies typically composing between 10 and 15 percent of
a freshman class, and there have been more white students admitted to
top ten universities benefitting from legacy preference than students of
color admitted under affirmative action.  The data show virtually no
elite college legacy students are low-income.

Early decision, meanwhile, has had an equally discriminatory impact.
Colleges that employ early decision policies allow students to apply in
November of their senior year in exchange for committing to attend that
institution if they are accepted. This deprives the student of the
opportunity to apply to other schools in search of a better financial
aid package and is thus not a luxury any but the wealthiest of appli-
cants can afford. Early decision enrollees are overwhelmingly white,
with higher incomes and parents with greater levels of education.
According to some studies, applying early decision is worth an extra 100
points on the SAT. Admissions officers routinely tell students that
applying early improves their chances of acceptance, and at the most
elite colleges, up to 50% of an incoming class is admitted early deci-
sion. Recently, the US Justice Department has even begun investigating
some colleges' early decision policies and their possible violation of
antitrust laws, as it appears that institutions may have agreements with
each other to share information about potential applicants.

This bill would improve access to our state's highest-performing
colleges and universities by banning legacy preference and early deci-
sion outright. It would explicitly allow for the continuance of early
action, in which, distinct from early decision, students apply to a
college between October and November of their senior year under a non-
binding application, and are free to apply to other schools and compare
financial aid offers in the spring. This bill would specifically bar
colleges from asking about and considering where an applicant's parents
attended school, meaning they would not be allowed to include such a
question on their own application, or review the answers to such a ques-
tion on the Common App. Institutions found by the NYS Education Depart-
ment to be in violation of this prohibition face a penalty of 10% of the
prior year's number of full-time equivalent first-year students times
tuition and fees, and penalty money collected by NYSED would then be
distributed as TAP awards, which help subsidize tuition for students
earning $80,000 or less.

As the debate around college affordability and access continues to roil
our nation and state, a commonsense repeal of these regressive policies
will help level the playing field for all hoping to attend our state's
most celebrated and prestigious institutions. The direct correlation
between income mobility and a college degree is well-known, with New
York State residents with a bachelor's degree three times less likely to
live in poverty than those with a high school diploma. Additionally,
students who attend and graduate from a highly selective college in New
York are significantly more likely to earn salaries in the top income
quintile. This coupled with the fact that degree completion rates for
low-income students at these institutions is comparable to that of
students from wealthier backgrounds makes the clear case for a more open
and inclusive college admissions policies that favors academic perform-
ance over family history or generational wealth. The legislature has a
pivotal role to play in ensuring that the opportunities afforded by
these institutions are open to all, regardless of race, income, or fami-
ly legacy - and bills such as this are a critical first step in that
direction.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

None

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding the date
on which it shall have become a law.

2021-S8498 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8498
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               March 7, 2022
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sen. GOUNARDES -- 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 prohibiting legacy
   preference and early decision admission policies at  higher  education
   institutions in this state
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Short title. This act may be known and shall  be  cited  as
 the "fair college admissions act".
   §  2.  Legislative  intent. a. The legislature hereby finds that there
 are significant income gains  associated  with  postsecondary  education
 degree  attainment,  with  New  York  state  residents with a bachelor's
 degree three times less likely to live in poverty than those with a high
 school diploma.
   b. The legislature further finds that students who attend and graduate
 from a highly selective higher education institution in the state of New
 York are much more likely to earn salaries in the  top  income  quintile
 than  those  who  graduate  from less selective institutions, furthering
 economic and social inequality.
   c. The legislature further finds that  within  most  highly  selective
 higher education institutions in New York state, degree completion rates
 for  students  from  low-income and working class family backgrounds are
 comparable to students from upper-income family backgrounds.
   d. The legislature further finds that many four-year higher  education
 institutions in New York state consider whether a prospective student is
 related to alumni as part of the admissions process.
   e. The legislature further finds that providing preferential treatment
 to  students  related  to  alumni  of  a higher education institution is
 discriminatory in nature and disproportionately hurts students who  come
 from  working  class  and  low-income families, have parents who did not
 earn a bachelor's degree, are  undocumented,  are  immigrants,  and  are
 members of historically underrepresented minority groups formerly denied
 entry  into specific higher education institutions either as a matter of
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD14861-03-2

 S. 8498                             2
 
 institution policy or the effect of historic underlying law and  govern-
 ment practices.
   f.  The  legislature  further finds that 30 percent of bachelor degree
 granting institutions in the state of New York currently employ an early
 decision admissions policy that allows students to apply in the fall  of
 their  senior  year  and  receive an application decision by December in
 exchange for committing to attend  that  institution  and  foregoing  an
 opportunity  to  compare  financial  aid  packages  offered by competing
 institutions of higher education.
   g. The legislature further finds that at a number of higher  education
 institutions,  particularly highly selective institutions with low admit
 rates, between 40 and 50 percent of enrolled students are admitted early
 decision, and early decision applicants are more than twice as likely to
 be admitted.
   h. The legislature further finds that early decision  admission  poli-
 cies  are  discriminatory  in nature, as they favor students with strong
 college advising and the ability to commit to a  college  or  university
 without  considering  a financial aid package. They put first-generation
 students, students at under-resourced high schools,  and  students  from
 working  class and low-income backgrounds at a disadvantage because they
 lack awareness of the strategic benefit of applying early  decision  and
 do  not  have the luxury of committing to an institution without knowing
 the post-financial aid cost of attendance.
   i. The legislature further finds that inequitable,  unfair  admissions
 policies  and practices such as legacy preference and early decision are
 a significant factor behind  disparities  in  college  enrollment  among
 students  from  historically  underserved  racial and economic subgroups
 compared to their more advantaged peers at  selective  higher  education
 institutions.
   j.  The legislature hereby declares that a prohibition on legacy pref-
 erence  and  early  decision  admissions  policies  at   degree-granting
 colleges and universities in the state shall further the goals of educa-
 tional,  economic, and social equity, helping to diversify highly selec-
 tive institutions while closing achievement  gaps  between  historically
 advantaged  and  disadvantaged groups, and shall commit to achieving the
 same with the following provisions of this act.
   § 3. The education law is amended by adding a  new  section  239-d  to
 read as follows:
   § 239-D. PROHIBITION ON LEGACY PREFERENCE AND EARLY DECISION ADMISSION
 POLICIES.  1.  DEFINITIONS. AS USED IN THIS SECTION, THE FOLLOWING TERMS
 SHALL HAVE THE FOLLOWING MEANINGS:
   (A) "CONSIDER ALUMNI/AE RELATION AS  A  FACTOR  IN  ADMISSIONS"  SHALL
 REFER  TO  WHEN  AN  ADMISSIONS  APPLICATION ASKS APPLICANTS TO INDICATE
 WHERE THEIR RELATIVES ATTENDED COLLEGE  AND  THAT  SUCH  INFORMATION  IS
 INCLUDED  AMONG THE DOCUMENTS THAT THE HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION USES
 TO CONSIDER AN APPLICANT FOR ADMISSION.
   (B) "EARLY ACTION" SHALL MEAN AN ADMISSIONS PLAN THAT ALLOWS A STUDENT
 TO APPLY AT AN EARLIER STAGE OF THE ADMISSIONS PROCESS  AND  RECEIVE  AN
 EXPEDITED  ADMISSIONS  DECISION  BUT  DOES  NOT  REQUIRE SUCH STUDENT TO
 COMMIT TO ATTEND SUCH INSTITUTION UPON RECEIVING A  DECISION  OF  ADMIT-
 TANCE.
   (C)  "EARLY  DECISION"  SHALL  MEAN  AN  ADMISSIONS PLAN THAT ALLOWS A
 STUDENT TO APPLY AT AN EARLIER  STAGE  OF  THE  ADMISSIONS  PROCESS  AND
 RECEIVE  AN  EXPEDITED  ADMISSIONS  DECISION THAT REQUIRES SUCH STUDENT,
 ABSENT UNIQUE CIRCUMSTANCES STIPULATED IN THE EARLY DECISION APPLICATION
 OR OTHERWISE AGREED TO BY THE INSTITUTION, TO COMMIT TO ATTEND A  HIGHER
 S. 8498                             3
 
 EDUCATION  INSTITUTION  SHOULD  SUCH STUDENT BE ADMITTED AND TO WITHDRAW
 ALL OTHER APPLICATIONS TO OTHER HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS.
   (D)  "HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION" SHALL MEAN THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF
 NEW YORK, AS DEFINED IN SUBDIVISION ONE OF SECTION THREE HUNDRED  FIFTY-
 TWO  OF THIS CHAPTER, THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK, AS ESTABLISHED IN
 SECTION SIXTY-TWO HUNDRED THREE OF  THIS  CHAPTER,  OR  ANY  INSTITUTION
 GIVEN  THE POWER TO CONFER DEGREES IN THIS STATE BY THE BOARD OF REGENTS
 AS PROVIDED IN SECTION TWO HUNDRED EIGHTEEN OF THIS ARTICLE.
   (E) "LEGACY PREFERENCE" SHALL MEAN A PREFERENCE IN ADMISSIONS GIVEN BY
 A HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION TO APPLICANTS RELATED BY CONSANGUINITY OR
 AFFINITY TO ALUMNI OF SUCH INSTITUTION.
   2. PROHIBITION. NO HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION IN THIS STATE SHALL:
   (A) CONSIDER ALUMNI/AE RELATION AS A FACTOR IN ADMISSIONS; OR
   (B) EXECUTE AN EARLY DECISION  POLICY  FOR  UNDERGRADUATE  ADMISSIONS.
 SUCH  PROHIBITION SHALL NOT APPLY, HOWEVER, TO A HIGHER EDUCATION INSTI-
 TUTION THAT ASKS APPLICANTS ABOUT RELATIONS TO ALUMNI OF  SUCH  INSTITU-
 TION AFTER AN OFFER OF ADMISSION AND FINANCIAL AID HAS BEEN ACCEPTED FOR
 THE  PURPOSES OF DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING.  FURTHERMORE, THE PROHI-
 BITION HEREIN DESCRIBED SHALL NOT BE CONSTRUED  TO  APPLY  TO  AN  EARLY
 ACTION  POLICY  AS  DEFINED  IN PARAGRAPH (B) OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS
 SECTION.
   3. PENALTY. A VIOLATION OF  SUBDIVISION  TWO  OF  THIS  SECTION  SHALL
 RESULT  IN  A  CIVIL  PENALTY  OF A SUM EQUIVALENT TO TEN PERCENT OF THE
 NUMBER OF FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT FIRST YEAR STUDENTS ENROLLED AT THE HIGH-
 ER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION THE YEAR PREVIOUS TO THE VIOLATION MULTIPLIED
 BY SUCH INSTITUTION'S PUBLISHED TUITION AND FEES.
   4. DEDICATION OF PENALTY FUNDS. ALL PENALTIES PAID PURSUANT TO  SUBDI-
 VISION  THREE  OF THIS SECTION SHALL BE ASSESSED BY THE COMMISSIONER AND
 DEPOSITED INTO THE GENERAL FUND OF THE STATE.  SUCH MONIES SHALL THEN BE
 USED FOR THE DISBURSEMENT OF TUITION ASSISTANCE  AWARDS  BY  THE  HIGHER
 EDUCATION SERVICES CORPORATION TO ELIGIBLE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS PURSU-
 ANT  TO  THE  PROVISIONS  OF SECTIONS SIX HUNDRED SIXTY-SIX, SIX HUNDRED
 SIXTY-SEVEN, SIX HUNDRED SIXTY-SEVEN-A, AND SIX HUNDRED SIXTY SEVEN-C OF
 THIS CHAPTER.
   § 4. This act shall take effect on the first of July  next  succeeding
 the date on which it shall have become a law.  Effective immediately the
 addition, amendment, and/or repeal of any rules or regulations necessary
 for  the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized
 to be made on or before such effective date.

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Senate Bill S8498

Sponsored By

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

co-Sponsors

2021-S8498 (ACTIVE) - Details

2021-S8498 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2021-S8498 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2021-S8498 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S8498

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Sponsored By

Andrew Gounardes

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

co-Sponsors

Zellnor Myrie

Luis R. Sepúlveda

2021-S8498 (ACTIVE) - Details

2021-S8498 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2021-S8498 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2021-S8498 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments