NY State Senate Bill 2025-S4701

Senate Bill S4701

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Requires degree-granting institutions of higher education to make certain biennial disclosures

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
Feb 11, 2025	referred to higher education

2025-S4701 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Higher Education
Law Section:: Education Law
Laws Affected:: Add §239-c, Ed L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2019-2020: S8208
2021-2022: S299
2023-2024: S529

2025-S4701 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires degree-granting institutions of higher education to make certain biennial disclosures and to conspicuously publish the report on the website of such institution and submit the website address of such report to the department.

2025-S4701 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S4701

SPONSOR: CLEARE
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the education law, in relation to requiring degree-
granting institutions of higher education to make certain biennial
disclosures

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To empower students and college guidance counselors with data to help
them make informed choices.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends the education law by adding a new section 239-c requir-
ing all degree-granting institutions to make biennial disclosures
publicly available online. The annual disclosures required under this
section must include information such as the cost of attendance; insti-
tutional spending on instruction, academic support, and student
services; marketing expenditures; median earnings of students after

attendance; and facts about the debt incurred by students to attend,
including, the average amount of debt, loan type and progress made
repaying such debt.

Section 2 provides the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Students considering pursuing their higher education in New York have
over 300 colleges and universities from which to choose, including
public, private nonprofit, and for-profit institutions, all of which can
offer students different educational experiences. Students, parents, and
guidance counselors have access to a significant and diffuse amount of
information about colleges from a mix of public and private sources,
including the College Scorecard, rankings aggregators such as U.S. News
and World Report, and institutions themselves.

This bill would create a centralized online repository of information
maintained by the New York State Education Department to help students
make informed decisions about where to attend college in the state by
providing them with data on the cost of attendance, how schools spend
their tuition dollars, debt students may reasonably expect to incur, and
other students' employment outcomes after attending the school.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2021-22: S.299 (Thomas)/A.3308-B (Epstein) - Referred to Higher Educa-
tion Committee

2020: S.8208 (Thomas)/A.10298 (Epstein) - Referred to Higher Education
Committee.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None noted to the State.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the
date on which it shall have become law. Effective immediately, the addi-
tion, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for
the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized to
be made and completed on or before such effective date.

2025-S4701 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4701
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 11, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  CLEARE -- 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  degree-
   granting  institutions  of  higher  education to make certain biennial
   disclosures

   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 239-c
 to read as follows:
   § 239-C. BIENNIAL DISCLOSURES. 1. ALL DEGREE-GRANTING INSTITUTIONS  OF
 HIGHER  EDUCATION  OFFERING REGISTERED UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS SHALL MAKE
 AND PUBLISH A BIENNIAL REPORT DISCLOSING THE  FOLLOWING,  BASED  ON  THE
 MOST  RECENT  DATA  OR  CALCULATIONS  AVAILABLE, AND BASED ON AUDITED OR
 AGENCY-REVIEWED DATA WHENEVER AVAILABLE:
   (A) WHETHER SUCH INSTITUTION IS A DEGREE-GRANTING PROPRIETARY INSTITU-
 TION OF HIGHER EDUCATION, A NON-PROFIT INSTITUTION OF  HIGHER  EDUCATION
 OR A PUBLIC INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION;
   (B)  EXCEPT FOR PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, THE OWNERSHIP
 OR OWNERSHIP INTEREST AND CONTROL OF SUCH INSTITUTION;
   (C) WHETHER THE INSTITUTION  HAS  THE  AUTHORITY  TO  CONFER  TWO-YEAR
 DEGREES, FOUR-YEAR DEGREES OR BOTH;
   (D)  A  SCHEDULE  OF  ALL  TUITION, MANDATORY FEES AND OTHER MANDATORY
 COSTS TO ATTEND SUCH INSTITUTION, PER SEMESTER OR, WHEN APPLICABLE,  PER
 QUARTER;
   (E)  IN  THE  CASE  OF  ANY DEGREE-GRANTING PROPRIETARY INSTITUTION OF
 HIGHER EDUCATION, THE GROSS PROFIT OF SUCH INSTITUTION AS STATED IN  THE
 INSTITUTION'S  MOST RECENT AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENT SHALL BE REPORTED
 AS A DOLLAR AMOUNT;
   (F) THE AMOUNT OF SPENDING ON  INSTRUCTION,  POST-ENROLLMENT  ACADEMIC
 SUPPORT,  AND  POST-ENROLLMENT  STUDENT  SERVICES DETERMINED IN A MANNER
 CONSISTENT WITH THE SPENDING CATEGORIES USED BY THE  FEDERAL  INTEGRATED
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD09397-01-5

 S. 4701                             2
 
 POSTSECONDARY  EDUCATION  DATA SYSTEM EXCEPT THE AMOUNTS (I) MAY INCLUDE
 EXPENSES FOR COURSE DESIGN AND INSTRUCTOR SUPPORT  RELATED  TO  DISTANCE
 LEARNING,  AND  (II) SHALL EXCLUDE EXPENSES FOR ADVERTISING, RECRUITING,
 ADMISSIONS, AND OTHER ACTIVITIES RELATED TO STUDENTS NOT YET ENROLLED IN
 AN INSTITUTION.  IN THE CASE OF PUBLICLY FUNDED INSTITUTIONS,  REPORTING
 OF  SUCH  EXPENSES IS REQUIRED WHEN THOSE EXPENSES EXCEED TWO PERCENT OF
 THE OPERATING FUNDS DERIVED FROM STATE SOURCES;
   (G) MARKETING AND RECRUITMENT EXPENDITURES AS  STATED  IN  THE  INSTI-
 TUTION'S  MOST  RECENTLY  AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENT SHALL BE EXPRESSED
 BOTH AS A DOLLAR AMOUNT AND AS A PERCENTAGE OF  THE  OVERALL  BUDGET  OF
 SUCH INSTITUTION.  IN THE CASE OF PUBLICLY FUNDED INSTITUTIONS,  REPORT-
 ING  OF SUCH EXPENSES IS REQUIRED WHEN THOSE EXPENSES EXCEED TWO PERCENT
 OF THE OPERATING FUNDS DERIVED FROM STATE SOURCES; AND
   (H) WHEN SUCH INFORMATION IS PUBLICLY AVAILABLE OR ACCESSIBLE  TO  THE
 INSTITUTION:
   (I)  MEDIAN  EARNINGS  ONE YEAR AFTER GRADUATING FROM SUCH INSTITUTION
 SEPARATED BY PROGRAM;
   (II) THE PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS WHO TAKE OUT FEDERAL LOANS  TO  ATTEND
 SUCH INSTITUTION;
   (III) THE AVERAGE DOLLAR AMOUNT OF FEDERAL LOANS TAKEN OUT BY STUDENTS
 TO ATTEND SUCH INSTITUTION;
   (IV)  THE AVERAGE DOLLAR AMOUNT OF PRIVATE LOANS TAKEN OUT BY STUDENTS
 TO ATTEND SUCH INSTITUTION;
   (V) THE AMOUNT IN DOLLARS THAT SUCH INSTITUTION RECEIVES FROM THE  NEW
 YORK STATE TUITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM;
   (VI)  THE PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS WHO TOOK OUT A FEDERAL LOAN TO ATTEND
 SUCH INSTITUTION WHO HAVE REPAID AT LEAST ONE DOLLAR OF THE PRINCIPAL OF
 SUCH LOAN WITHIN FIVE YEARS OF LEAVING SUCH INSTITUTION; AND
   (VII) THE DEFAULT RATE AFTER THREE, FIVE, AND TEN  YEARS  OF  STUDENTS
 WHO  TOOK  OUT  A  FEDERAL LOAN (OR PRIVATE LOAN, IF SUCH INFORMATION IS
 ACCESSIBLE TO THE INSTITUTION) TO ATTEND SUCH INSTITUTION.
   2. (A) BIENNIALLY ON OR BEFORE THE FIRST DAY OF JULY, EACH INSTITUTION
 OF HIGHER EDUCATION SHALL  CONSPICUOUSLY  PUBLISH  THE  REPORT  PREPARED
 PURSUANT  TO  SUBDIVISION  ONE  OF  THIS  SECTION ON THE WEBSITE OF SUCH
 INSTITUTION AND SUBMIT THE WEBSITE ADDRESS OF SUCH REPORT TO THE DEPART-
 MENT.
   (B) THE COMMISSIONER SHALL PUBLISH AND MAINTAIN A LIST OF ALL  WEBSITE
 ADDRESSES  RECEIVED PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS SUBDIVISION ON THE
 WEBSITE OF THE DEPARTMENT.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next  succeed-
 ing the date on which it shall have become a law. Effective immediately,
 the  addition,  amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation neces-
 sary for the implementation of  this  act  on  its  effective  date  are
 authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.

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