NY State Senate Bill 2025-S5653

Senate Bill S5653

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Expands eligibility for the New York state excelsior scholarship award to certain applicants enrolled on a part-time basis or in a BOCES or other approved vocational program

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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 26, 2025	referred to higher education

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2025-S5653 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A5063
Current Committee:: Senate Higher Education
Law Section:: Education Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §669-h, Ed L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2019-2020: S5821, A7486
2021-2022: S4091, A601
2023-2024: S1287, A946

2025-S5653 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Expands eligibility for the New York state excelsior scholarship award to certain applicants enrolled on a part-time basis or in a BOCES or other approved vocational program; provides criteria for eligibility, and limits on amounts and durations for any such awards.

2025-S5653 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S5653

SPONSOR: HINCHEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the education law, in relation to eligibility for the
New York state excelsior scholarship for certain part-time applicants

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 - The definition of full-time and part-time attendance at
two-year and four-year colleges operated by SUNY and CUNY is defined as
follows: The number of credits required per academic year for four-year
schools is reduced to 24 credits from 30 credits if enrolled on a full-
time basis or 12 credits per year on a part-time basis. In the student's
last semester, the student may take fewer credits if less are needed to
receive his or her degree.

Income limits are increased to $135,000 for the 2025-2026 academic year,
$150,000 for the 2026-2027 academic year, and $150,000 for the 2027-2028
academic year and thereafter. The law currently states that the tuition
to be paid for full-time students is $5,500. This section provides that
the tuition to be paid for part-time students is up to $2,750.

Full-time students will have 2 1/2 years for a two-year degree, 5 years
to obtain a four-year degree, and 6 years for a degree that normally
takes 5 years.

Part-time students will have 5 years to obtain a two-year degree, 10
years to obtain a four-year degree, and 12 years for a degree that
normally takes five years.

Should the student not receive his or her two-year, four-year, or five-
year degree for any reason, the student does not suffer any penalty with
respect to the scholarship received under the Excelsior Program.

Section 2 - This provides for an awarding of an Excelsior Scholarship
for those enrolled at least on a part-time basis at BOCES or other
approved vocational program at a SUNY or CUNY community college.

Section 3 - Effective Date. This act shall take effect immediately and
shall apply to any applicant beginning with the 2025-2026 Academic Year.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Currently, the Excelsior Scholarship program only covers full-time
students at SUNY or CUNY schools. This leaves out many students who, for
mostly economic reasons, are not able to attend college or training
after high school on a full-time basis. It has become common knowledge
that workers will need to retrain a number of times over their lifetime.
For most workers, it is unrealistic to go to school full-time since it
would mean quitting their jobs. While these workers might want to go to
school full-time, their bills will not magically go away. Part-time
attendance is the only practical route.

Also, many recent high school graduates cannot afford to go to school
full-time, so a part-time option is the only practical route for them as
well.

Further, many students will need vocational training and not a two-year
or four-year degree. This bill provides for such scholarships at two-
year colleges in the SUNY or CUNY system as well as BOCES.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2023-24: S1287/ A946 - Referred to Higher Education/Referred to Higher
Education

2019-20: S5821/ A7486 - Referred to Higher Education/Referred to Higher
Education

01/05/22 - S4091A Referred to Higher Education

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

To be determined with respect to the State. This bill will help many
counties and the City of New York whose community colleges are facing
financial difficulties due to declining enrollments.

Counties and the City of New York will benefit from increased enrollment
in their community colleges since the Excelsior Scholarship will be
offered to students who need more than two years to obtain their two-
year degree. This bill will expand the affordability of college.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take place immediately and will be effective beginning
the 2025-2026 Academic Year.

2025-S5653 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5653
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 26, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  HINCHEY, ASHBY -- 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  eligibility  for  the
   New York state excelsior scholarship for certain part-time applicants

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivisions 1, 2 and 3 of section 669-h of  the  education
 law,  subdivision  1  as amended by section 1 of part T of chapter 56 of
 the laws of 2018, subdivision 2 as amended by section 1  of  part  G  of
 chapter  56  of the laws of 2022 and subdivision 3 as added by section 1
 of part HHH of chapter 59 of the laws of 2017, are  amended  and  a  new
 subdivision 2-a is added to read as follows:
   1.  Eligibility.  An  excelsior  scholarship award shall be made to an
 applicant who: (a) is matriculated in an approved program leading to  an
 undergraduate  degree  at  a New York state public institution of higher
 education, WHICH FOR THE PURPOSES OF  THIS  SECTION  SHALL  INCLUDE  ALL
 TWO-YEAR  AND FOUR-YEAR COLLEGES OPERATED BY THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW
 YORK OR THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK; (b) if enrolled in (i) a public
 institution of higher education prior to application, has  completed  at
 least  [thirty]  TWENTY-FOUR  combined credits per year IF ENROLLED ON A
 FULL-TIME BASIS OR AT LEAST TWELVE COMBINED CREDITS PER YEAR IF ENROLLED
 ON A PART-TIME BASIS following the student's start date, or  its  equiv-
 alent,  applicable  to [his or her] THE STUDENT'S program or programs of
 study or (ii) an institution of higher education prior  to  application,
 has completed at least [thirty] TWENTY-FOUR combined credits per year IF
 ENROLLED  ON  A  FULL-TIME BASIS OR AT LEAST TWELVE COMBINED CREDITS PER
 YEAR IF ENROLLED ON A PART-TIME  BASIS  following  the  student's  start
 date,  or  its  equivalent,  applicable  to  [his  or her] THE STUDENT'S
 program or programs of study and which were accepted upon transfer to  a
 public  institution  of higher education; (c) enrolls in at least twelve
 credits  per  semester  and  completes  at  least  [thirty]  TWENTY-FOUR
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02338-01-5

 S. 5653                             2
 
 combined  credits  per year IF ENROLLED ON A FULL-TIME BASIS OR AT LEAST
 SIX CREDITS IF ENROLLED ON A PART-TIME  BASIS  following  the  student's
 start  date, or its equivalent, applicable to [his or her] THE STUDENT'S
 program  or  programs  of  study  except  in  limited  circumstances  as
 prescribed by the corporation in regulation.   Notwithstanding,  in  the
 student's last semester, the student may take at least one course needed
 to meet [his or her] THE STUDENT'S graduation requirements and enroll in
 and  complete  [at  least twelve credit hours or its equivalent] AS MANY
 CREDITS AS REQUIRED TO OBTAIN THE STUDENT'S DEGREE.   For  students  who
 are  disabled as defined by the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990,
 42 USC 12101, the corporation shall prescribe rules and regulations that
 allow applicants who are disabled to be eligible for an  award  pursuant
 to  this  section  based on modified criteria; (d) has an adjusted gross
 income for the qualifying year, as such terms are defined in this subdi-
 vision, equal to or less than:  (i)  one  hundred  THIRTY-FIVE  thousand
 dollars  for  recipients  receiving an award in the two thousand [seven-
 teen] TWENTY-FIVE--two thousand  [eighteen]  TWENTY-SIX  academic  year;
 (ii)  one  hundred [ten] FIFTY thousand dollars for recipients receiving
 an award in the two thousand [eighteen] TWENTY-SIX--two thousand  [nine-
 teen]  TWENTY-SEVEN  academic  year; and (iii) one hundred [twenty-five]
 FIFTY thousand dollars for recipients receiving  an  award  in  the  two
 thousand  [nineteen]  TWENTY-SEVEN--two  thousand  [twenty] TWENTY-EIGHT
 academic year and thereafter;  and  (e)  complies  with  the  applicable
 provisions  of  this  article  and  all  requirements promulgated by the
 corporation for the administration of the program. Adjusted gross income
 shall be the total of the combined adjusted gross income of  the  appli-
 cant  and  the  applicant's parents or the applicant and the applicant's
 spouse, if married. Qualifying year shall be the adjusted  gross  income
 as  reported  on the federal income tax return, or as otherwise obtained
 by the corporation, for the calendar year coinciding with the  tax  year
 established  by  the  U.S. department of education to qualify applicants
 for federal student financial aid programs authorized by Title IV of the
 Higher Education Act of nineteen hundred sixty-five, as amended, for the
 school year in which  application  for  assistance  is  made.  Provided,
 however,  if an applicant demonstrates to the corporation that there has
 been a change in such applicant's adjusted gross income in  the  year(s)
 subsequent to the qualifying year which would qualify such applicant for
 an  award,  the  corporation shall review and make a determination as to
 whether such applicant meets the requirement set forth in paragraph  (d)
 of  this  subdivision  based  on  such year. Provided, further that such
 change was caused by the death, permanent and total physical  or  mental
 disability,  divorce, or separation by judicial decree or pursuant to an
 agreement of separation which is filed with a court of competent  juris-
 diction  of  any  person whose income was required to be used to compute
 the applicant's total adjusted gross income.
   2. Amount. Within amounts appropriated therefor and  based  on  avail-
 ability  of  funds, awards shall be granted beginning with the two thou-
 sand [seventeen] TWENTY-FIVE--two thousand [eighteen] TWENTY-SIX academ-
 ic year and thereafter to applicants that the corporation has determined
 are eligible to receive such awards. The corporation  shall  grant  such
 awards  FOR  FULL-TIME  STUDENTS  in  an amount up to five thousand five
 hundred dollars or actual tuition, whichever is less AND  FOR  PART-TIME
 STUDENTS  IN AN AMOUNT UP TO TWO THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS OR
 ACTUAL TUITION, WHICHEVER IS LESS; provided, however, (a) a student  who
 receives educational grants and/or scholarships that cover the student's
 full  cost  of  attendance shall not be eligible for an award under this
 S. 5653                             3
 
 program; and (b) an award under this program shall be applied to tuition
 after the application of payments received under the tuition  assistance
 program  pursuant  to  section  six hundred sixty-seven of this subpart,
 tuition  credits  pursuant  to section six hundred eighty-nine-a of this
 article, federal Pell grant pursuant to section one thousand seventy  of
 title  twenty  of the United States code, et seq., and any other program
 that covers the cost of attendance unless  exclusively  for  non-tuition
 expenses,  and  the  award  under  this  program shall be reduced in the
 amount equal to such payments, provided that the  combined  benefits  do
 not  exceed  five thousand five hundred dollars. Upon notification of an
 award under this program, the institution  shall  defer  the  amount  of
 tuition. Notwithstanding paragraph h of subdivision two of section three
 hundred fifty-five and paragraph (a) of subdivision seven of section six
 thousand  two  hundred  six  of this chapter, and any other law, rule or
 regulation to the contrary, the undergraduate  tuition  charged  by  the
 institution  to recipients of an award shall not exceed the tuition rate
 established by the institution for the two  thousand  [sixteen]  TWENTY-
 FOUR--two  thousand  [seventeen]  TWENTY-FIVE  academic  year  provided,
 however, that in the two thousand [twenty-two] TWENTY-SIX--two  thousand
 [twenty-three] TWENTY-SEVEN academic year and every year thereafter, the
 undergraduate  tuition  charged  by  the institution to recipients of an
 award shall be reset to equal the tuition rate established by the insti-
 tution for the forthcoming academic  year,  provided  further  that  the
 tuition  credit calculated pursuant to section six hundred eighty-nine-a
 of this article shall be applied toward the  tuition  rate  charged  for
 recipients  of  an  award under this program.  Provided further that the
 state university of New York and the city university of New  York  shall
 provide  an  additional tuition credit to students receiving an award to
 cover the remaining cost of tuition.
   2-A. IN THE EVENT THAT FOR ANY REASON, THE STUDENT  DOES  NOT  RECEIVE
 THE  STUDENT'S  TWO-YEAR,  FOUR-YEAR OR FIVE-YEAR DEGREE OR COMPLETE THE
 BOCES OR VOCATIONAL PROGRAM REFERRED TO IN PARAGRAPH (G) OF  SUBDIVISION
 FOUR  OF  THIS  SECTION,  THE  STUDENT SHALL NOT SUFFER ANY PENALTY WITH
 RESPECT TO THE SCHOLARSHIP  RECEIVED  UNDER  THE  EXCELSIOR  SCHOLARSHIP
 PROGRAM.
   3. Duration. An eligible recipient shall not receive an award for more
 than  [four]  FIVE  academic years of full-time OR TEN ACADEMIC YEARS OF
 PART-TIME undergraduate study FOR A FOUR-YEAR DEGREE or [five] SIX FULL-
 TIME OR TWELVE PART-TIME academic years if the program of study normally
 requires five years. An eligible  recipient  enrolled  FULL-TIME  in  an
 eligible [two year] TWO-YEAR program of study shall not receive an award
 for  more  than  two AND A HALF academic years AND AN ELIGIBLE RECIPIENT
 ENROLLED PART-TIME IN AN ELIGIBLE TWO-YEAR PROGRAM OF  STUDY  SHALL  NOT
 RECEIVE  AN  AWARD  FOR MORE THAN FIVE ACADEMIC YEARS.  Notwithstanding,
 such duration may be extended for an  allowable  interruption  of  study
 including,  but not limited to, death of a family member, medical leave,
 military service, and parental leave, as established by the  corporation
 in regulation.
   § 2. Subdivision 4 of section 669-h of the education law is amended by
 adding a new paragraph (g) to read as follows:
   (G)  NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY  OTHER  PROVISION OF LAW TO THE CONTRARY, AN
 APPLICANT WHO SATISFIED ALL OTHER REQUIREMENTS OF THIS SECTION SHALL  BE
 ELIGIBLE  TO RECEIVE AN AWARD PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION IF SUCH APPLICANT
 IS ENROLLED ON AT LEAST A PART-TIME BASIS OR ITS EQUIVALENT IN  A  BOARD
 OF  EDUCATIONAL SERVICES (BOCES) OR OTHER APPROVED VOCATIONAL PROGRAM AT
 A SUNY OR CUNY COMMUNITY COLLEGE AS DETERMINED BY THE APPLICABLE  EDUCA-
 S. 5653                             4
 
 TIONAL  AUTHORITY.  WITHIN  AMOUNTS  APPROPRIATED  THEREFOR AND BASED ON
 AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS, AWARDS SHALL BE GRANTED BEGINNING  WITH  THE  TWO
 THOUSAND  TWENTY-FIVE--TWO  THOUSAND TWENTY-SIX ACADEMIC YEAR AND THERE-
 AFTER  TO APPLICANTS THAT THE CORPORATION HAS DETERMINED ARE ELIGIBLE TO
 RECEIVE SUCH AWARDS. THE CORPORATION SHALL GRANT SUCH AWARDS TO ELIGIBLE
 FULL-TIME AND PART-TIME STUDENTS IN ACCORDANCE WITH SUBDIVISION THREE OF
 THIS SECTION. A RECIPIENT ELIGIBLE FOR AN AWARD PURSUANT TO  THIS  PARA-
 GRAPH  SHALL  NOT  RECEIVE AN AWARD FOR MORE THAN FOUR ACADEMIC YEARS OF
 FULL-TIME OR EIGHT ACADEMIC YEARS OF PART-TIME ENROLLMENT IN SUCH  BOCES
 OR OTHER APPROVED VOCATIONAL PROGRAM. YEARS ENROLLED ARE NOT REQUIRED TO
 BE CONSECUTIVE.
   §  3.  This  act  shall take effect immediately and shall apply to any
 eligible applicant beginning with the 2025-2026 academic year.

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Senate Bill S5653

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Sponsored By

Michelle Hinchey