New York S 6961: Permits the commissioner of education to include graduate programs as programs eligible for approval under the state tuition assistance program

Bill Text

Bill Search and Legislative Information | New York State Assembly 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

 Skip to main content 

 New York State Assembly

 Speaker Carl E. Heastie

 --> 
 --> 

 --> 

• 
 Assembly Members 

• 
 Legislative Info 

• 
 Public Hearings 

• 
 Speaker's Press 

• 
 Assembly Reports 

• 
 Committees & More 

• Bill Search Home
• Laws
• Legislative Calendar
• Public Hearing Schedule
• Assembly Calendars
• Assembly Committee Agenda 

 Javascript must be enabled to properly view this page. 

 Bill No.: 

• Summary 
• Actions 
• Committee&nbspVotes 
• Floor&nbspVotes 
• Memo 
• Text 
• LFIN 
• Chamber&nbspVideo/Transcript 
S06961 Summary:

BILL NOS06961 

&nbsp

SAME ASSAME AS A03879

&nbsp

SPONSORLANZA

&nbsp

COSPNSR

&nbsp

MLTSPNSR

&nbsp

Amd §§663 & 667, Ed L

&nbsp

Permits the commissioner of education to include graduate programs as programs eligible for approval under the state tuition assistance program.

Go to top S06961 Actions:

BILL NOS06961 

&nbsp

03/27/2025REFERRED TO HIGHER EDUCATION

01/07/2026REFERRED TO HIGHER EDUCATION

Go to topS06961 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topS06961 Floor&nbspVotes:

There are no Assembly votes for this bill in this legislative session.

Go to topS06961 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 6961

 2025-2026 Regular Sessions

 IN SENATE

 March 27, 2025
 ___________

 Introduced by Sen. LANZA -- 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 tuition assistance
 program awards

 The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
 bly, do enact as follows:

 1 Section 1. Paragraph a of subdivision 3 of section 663 of the educa-
 2 tion law, as amended by section 4 of part J of chapter 58 of the laws of
 3 2011, is amended to read as follows:
 4 a. In determining the amount of an award for graduate and undergradu-
 5 ate students, the income of the parents shall be excluded if the student
 6 has been emancipated from [his] their parents.
 7 § 2. The opening paragraph of subparagraph 1 of paragraph b of subdi-
 8 vision 3 of section 663 of the education law, as amended by section 5 of
 9 part J of chapter 58 of the laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows:
 10 The applicant is a student who was married on or before December thir-
 11 ty-first of the calendar year prior to the beginning of the academic
 12 year for which application is made or is an undergraduate student who
 13 has reached the age of twenty-two on or before June thirtieth prior to
 14 the academic year for which application is made or is a graduate student
 15 and who, during the calendar year next preceding the semester, quarter
 16 or term of attendance for which application is made and at all times
 17 subsequent thereto up to and including the entire period for which
 18 application is made:
 19 § 3. Paragraph d of subdivision 3 of section 663 of the education law,
 20 as amended by section 6 of part J of chapter 58 of the laws of 2011, is
 21 amended to read as follows:
 22 d. Any graduate or undergraduate student who was allowed to exclude
 23 parental income pursuant to the provisions of former subdivision three
 24 of section six hundred three of this chapter as they existed prior to
 25 July first, nineteen hundred seventy-four may continue to exclude such

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD04297-01-5

 S. 6961 2

 1 income for so long as [he] such student continues to comply with such
 2 provisions.
 3 § 4. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 667 of the education law, subdi-
 4 vision 1 as amended by chapter 622 of the laws of 2008 and subdivision 2
 5 as amended by chapter 376 of the laws of 2019, are amended to read as
 6 follows:
 7 1. Recipient qualifications. Tuition assistance program awards are
 8 available for all students who are enrolled in approved programs and who
 9 demonstrate the ability to complete such courses, in accordance with
 10 standards established by the commissioner provided, however, that no
 11 award shall be made unless tuition (exclusive of educational fees) and,
 12 if applicable, the college fee levied by the state university of New
 13 York pursuant to the April first, nineteen hundred sixty-four financing
 14 agreements with the New York state dormitory authority charged for the
 15 program in which the student is enrolled total at least two hundred
 16 dollars a year, and provided further that, no award can exceed one
 17 hundred percent of the amount of tuition charged. Nothing in this
 18 section, section six hundred sixty-one of this part, or any other
 19 provision of this chapter shall be read to exclude any graduate program
 20 from classification by the commissioner as an approved program for the
 21 purposes of this section.
 22 2. Duration. No undergraduate