NY State Senate Bill 2023-S7980

Senate Bill S7980

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Relates to requiring SUNY and CUNY to inform eligible high school seniors of their college options and inform them of their acceptance to community college

download bill text pdf

Current 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
Jan 04, 2024	referred to higher education

2023-S7980 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Higher Education
Law Section:: Education Law
Laws Affected:: Add §§355-f & 6206-a, Ed L

2023-S7980 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires SUNY and CUNY to inform eligible high school seniors at NY public high schools of their college options and inform them of their acceptance to community college; and to invite them to apply to a state college and provide financial aid information.

2023-S7980 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S7980

SPONSOR: GOUNARDES
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the education law, in relation to requiring SUNY and
CUNY to inform eligible high school seniors of their college options and
inform them of their acceptance to community college

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To require that SUNY and CUNY send personalized direct admission letters
to certain eligible high school seniors indicating that they have been
accepted to community college and inviting them to apply to SUNY and
CUNY senior colleges.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 adds a new section 355-f to education law which requires SUNY
to send a personalized admission letter by October 1st of each year to
all high school seniors on track to graduate from public high schools in
New York State. The letter states that they've been accepted to their

local SUNY community college and invites them to apply to SUNY's senior
colleges. It also provides the student with financial aid options, scho-
larship opportunities, information on how to access SUNY's net price
calculator, information on the enrollment process, and points of contact
to assist in these areas.

Section 2 adds a new section 6206-a to education law which requires CUNY
to send a personalized admission letter by October 1st of each year to
all high school seniors on track to graduate from public high schools in
New York City. The letter states that they've been accepted to CUNY's
network of community colleges and invites them to apply to CUNY's senior
colleges. It also provides the student with financial aid options, scho-
larship opportunities, information on how to access CUNY's net price
calculator, information on the enrollment process, and points of contact
to assist in these areas.

Section 3 sets the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

As part of Governor Hochul's 2023 State of the State Agenda to Eliminate
Barriers to Higher Education, SUNY and CUNY sent personalized letters to
public school seniors on track to graduate, providing them with informa-
tion about their college options and offering financial aid and enroll-
ment assistance. This bill builds on and codifies this successful plan,
which was part of a set of initiatives that led to a 386 percent
increase in CUNY applications in October 2023 compared to October 2022.

This bill ensures CUNY letters go to all NYC public school seniors and
SUNY letters go to all public school seniors across the state. The
letters must be sent by October 1st, ensuring students have adequate
time to consider their college options and can take advantage of the
application fee waivers that these institutions often put in place for
the full month of October. The letters will also provide information to
access SUNY and CUNY's net price calculators, tools that allow students
to get a clear picture of the cost of attendance before making an
enrollment decision.
Critically, the bill requires SUNY and CUNY to state in the letter that
the student has been accepted to community college, a proven step to
increase enrollment that fourteen other states have already taken. A
study found that the nation's first direct admission letter program in
Idaho led to an 8-15 percent increase in enrollment. This is a simple,
powerful tool to make sure students feel like they have a place in high-
er education.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New Bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

TBD

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act will take effect immediately and apply to the next academic
year after it becomes law.

2023-S7980 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7980
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              January 4, 2024
                                ___________
 
 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 requiring SUNY and
   CUNY to inform eligible high school seniors of their  college  options
   and inform them of their acceptance to community college

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section  355-f
 to read as follows:
   §  355-F.  STATE  UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PERSONALIZED DIRECT ADMISSION
 LETTERS. THE STATE UNIVERSITY SHALL SEND A LETTER BY  OCTOBER  FIRST  OF
 EACH CALENDAR YEAR TO EVERY HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR WHO IS ON TRACK TO GRADU-
 ATE  FROM  A  PUBLIC  HIGH SCHOOL IN NEW YORK STATE INDICATING THAT THEY
 HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED TO THEIR LOCAL STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK COMMUNITY
 COLLEGE, AS DEFINED IN SECTION THREE HUNDRED FIFTY OF THIS ARTICLE.  THE
 LETTER SHALL BE ADDRESSED TO THE STUDENT BY  NAME  AND  INVITE  THEM  TO
 APPLY TO ALL OF THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK'S STATE-OPERATED INSTI-
 TUTIONS,  AS  DEFINED  IN  SECTION  THREE HUNDRED FIFTY OF THIS ARTICLE,
 WHICH THEY ARE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY TO AS HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS.  THE  LETTER
 SHALL  PROVIDE FINANCIAL AID OPTIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR FINANCIAL AID
 ASSISTANCE, SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES,  INFORMATION  ON  THE  ENROLLMENT
 PROCESS,  AND INFORMATION TO HELP CONNECT STUDENTS TO INDIVIDUALS AT THE
 STATE UNIVERSITY WHO CAN ASSIST  WITH  THE  ENROLLMENT  AND  APPLICATION
 PROCESS.   THE LETTER SHALL INCLUDE INFORMATION ON HOW TO ACCESS THE NET
 PRICE CALCULATOR ON THE STATE UNIVERSITY'S WEBSITE.  FOR THE PURPOSES OF
 THIS SECTION, THE "NET PRICE CALCULATOR" SHALL MEAN A TOOL TO  CALCULATE
 NET  PRICE  AT  A  COLLEGE.   NOTHING IN THIS SECTION SHALL PROHIBIT THE
 STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK FROM REQUIRING INFORMATION FROM HIGH SCHOOL
 SENIORS TO FINALIZE THEIR COMMUNITY COLLEGE ACCEPTANCE OR FROM REQUIRING
 STUDENT INFORMATION IN THE ENROLLMENT PROCESS.
   § 2. The education law is amended by adding a new  section  6206-a  to
 read as follows:
   §  6206-A.  CITY  UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PERSONALIZED DIRECT ADMISSION
 LETTERS. THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK SHALL SEND A LETTER BY  OCTOBER
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD13777-02-3
 S. 7980                             2

 FIRST  OF EACH CALENDAR YEAR TO EVERY HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR WHO IS ON TRACK
 TO GRADUATE FROM A PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK INDICATING
 THAT THEY HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED TO ALL CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK COMMUNI-
 TY  COLLEGES,  AS DEFINED IN SECTION SIXTY-TWO HUNDRED TWO OF THIS ARTI-
 CLE.  THE LETTER SHALL BE ADDRESSED TO THE STUDENT BY  NAME  AND  INVITE
 THEM  TO  APPLY TO THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK'S SENIOR COLLEGES, AS
 DEFINED IN SECTION SIXTY-TWO HUNDRED TWO OF  THIS  ARTICLE.  THE  LETTER
 SHALL  PROVIDE FINANCIAL AID OPTIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR FINANCIAL AID
 ASSISTANCE, SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES, ENROLLMENT  ASSISTANCE,  INFORMA-
 TION ON THE ENROLLMENT PROCESS, AND INFORMATION TO HELP CONNECT STUDENTS
 TO INDIVIDUALS AT THE CITY UNIVERSITY WHO CAN ASSIST WITH THE ENROLLMENT
 AND  APPLICATION PROCESS. THE LETTER SHALL INCLUDE INFORMATION ON HOW TO
 ACCESS THE NET PRICE CALCULATOR ON THE CITY  UNIVERSITY  OF  NEW  YORK'S
 WEBSITE.    FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, THE "NET PRICE CALCULATOR"
 SHALL MEAN A TOOL TO CALCULATE NET PRICE AT A COLLEGE.  NOTHING IN  THIS
 SECTION  SHALL  PROHIBIT  THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK FROM REQUIRING
 INFORMATION FROM HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS TO FINALIZE THEIR COMMUNITY COLLEGE
 ACCEPTANCE OR FROM REQUIRING STUDENT INFORMATION IN THE ENROLLMENT PROC-
 ESS.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately and  shall  apply  to  the
 academic  year  next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a
 law.

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