Allows the higher education services corporation to consider an applicant's change in income due to the loss of employment in determining eligibility and award amount for the tuition assistance program.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A7245A
SPONSOR: Kelles TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law, in relation to allowing the higher
education services corporation to consider an applicant's change in
income due to the loss of employment in determining eligibility and
award amount for the tuition assistance program
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To allow the higher education services corporation(HESC), which adminis-
ters the state's tuition assistance program (TAP), to consider a TAP
applicant's more recent income in making adjustments to eligibility and
award amounts if the applicant's change in income is due to loss of
employment.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one of the bill amends subdivision 5 of section 663 of education
law adding a new paragraph b. allowing HESC to consider an applicant's
change in income due to the loss of employment in determining eligibil-
ity and award amount for TAP.
Section 2 is the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
NYS Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) is one of several state funded
programs supporting students in their pursuit of higher education and
since its establishment in 1974, TAP has provided aid to over 6 million
students. The Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) administers
TAP and the program's application process which requires applicants to
provide income tax information for the previous two years as part of
determining eligibility and calculating award amounts.
Under TAP's certification and eligibility guidelines, income adjustments
will only be made under "limited situations" including divorce of
parents or from spouse, death of wage-earning parent or spouse or total,
permanent disability of wage-earning parent, student or spouse. The
program does .not allow for adjustments to be made in the event of unem-
ployment regardless of whether a student, parent, or spouse becomes
unemployed prior to or during an academic year. Changes in income or
employment can occur for various reasons, such as sudden changes in
mental health or physical health of a student, wage-earning parent, or
spouse.
This bill will allow HESC to consider an applicant's change in income
due to the loss of employment of the applicant or parent of the appli-
cant and utilize the applicant's income reported in the New York state
income tax returns for the prior calendar year in making adjustments to
eligibility and the amount of the award for such academic year.
As Governor Hochul announced in October of 2024, expanded eligibility
for TAP and increased TAP award amounts have resulted in thousands more
students applying for and receiving financial aid. Many of these
students and their families may experience a change in income during the
year and the state should be flexible enough to recognize a need for an
adjustment to the TAP award to compensate for that lost income. Doing so
will enable more students to stay on track with their education - a goal
we should do all we can to support.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023/24: A9641 (Zebrowski) - referred to higher education
2021/22: A7050 (Zebrowski) - higher education reported to ways & means
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7245--A
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 21, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. KELLES -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Higher Education -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to allowing the higher
education services corporation to consider an applicant's change in
income due to the loss of employment in determining eligibility and
award amount for the tuition assistance program
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 5 of section 663 of the education law, as
2 amended by section 3 of part J of chapter 58 of the laws of 2011, is
3 amended to read as follows:
4 5. a. Adjustments of income. In the determination of income for
5 purposes of paragraphs a and b of subdivision three of section six
6 hundred sixty-seven of this part if, during the academic year in which
7 the applicant will receive an award, one of either the parents of the
8 applicant or other dependent child of such parents, the spouse of the
9 applicant, or one or more dependent children of the applicant, in addi-
10 tion to the applicant, will be in full-time attendance in an approved
11 program, the combined net taxable income determined under subdivision
12 one of this section shall be reduced by three thousand dollars and an
13 additional two thousand dollars for each other such person additional to
14 the aforesaid persons (including the applicant) who will be in such
15 attendance, and the resulting amount shall be deemed the applicable
16 income in determining the applicant's award for the academic year.
17 b. The corporation, pursuant to rules and regulations, shall consider
18 an applicant's change in income due to the loss of employment of the
19 applicant or parent of the applicant and utilize the applicant's income
20 reported in New York state income tax returns for the prior calendar
21 year in making adjustments to eligibility and the amount of the award
22 for the current academic year. The corporation may require such documen-
23 tary evidence, testimony or affidavits as it deems sufficient in grant-
24 ing such an adjustment of an award.
25 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04951-02-5
