Bill Text: NY A04425 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended


Bill Title: Enacts The New Deal for CUNY; increases the ratio of faculty and mental health counselors to full-time students; requires that certain amounts of tuition be replaced by federal, state, and city funds.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 50-2)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-03-04 - print number 4425a [A04425 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A04425-Amended.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         4425--A

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 14, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M. of A. REYES, L. ROSENTHAL, EPSTEIN, ANDERSON, DAVILA,
          BURGOS, FORREST, GALLAGHER, WEPRIN, MITAYNES, TAYLOR, SIMON,  SEPTIMO,
          SAYEGH,  JACKSON,  GONZALEZ-ROJAS, CRUZ, CARROLL, DINOWITZ, SEAWRIGHT,
          BICHOTTE HERMELYN,  LAVINE,  CLARK,  KIM,  McDONOUGH,  MAMDANI,  FALL,
          TAPIA,  BENEDETTO,  BURDICK,  HEVESI,  OTIS, RIVERA, ZINERMAN, REILLY,
          GIBBS, DARLING, COLTON,  COOK,  DE LOS SANTOS,  PAULIN,  BORES,  RAGA,
          ARDILA,  ZACCARO, ALVAREZ, SIMONE, LEE, SHIMSKY, SHRESTHA, JACOBSON --
          read once and referred to the Committee on Higher Education --  recom-
          mitted  to the Committee on Higher Education in accordance with Assem-
          bly Rule 3, sec. 2 --  committee  discharged,  bill  amended,  ordered
          reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the education law and the state finance law, in relation
          to enacting The New Deal for CUNY

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

     1    Section 1. Short title. This enacts "The New Deal for CUNY".
     2    § 2. Legislative intent. The Legislature hereby  recognizes  the  need
     3  for  The New Deal for CUNY to ensure that the commitment the Legislature
     4  articulated in establishing the city university of New York is  extended
     5  to present and future generations.  The 1961 legislation recognized that
     6  the creation of a city university as a single unified system was "justi-
     7  fied"  by the special needs of a multi-racial urban constituency and the
     8  "vital importance" of creating opportunities for disadvantaged New York-
     9  ers. Those needs have only grown in the half-century since the  Legisla-
    10  ture's  action.  Yet  CUNY's  ability  to fulfill them has diminished as
    11  enrollment has skyrocketed and investment has failed to keep  pace.  The
    12  New  Deal for CUNY reimagines CUNY as the vital urban university it must
    13  be if it is to serve the people of New York. It enhances CUNY's historic
    14  role as a leader in educational  justice  and  economic  transformation.
    15  This  legislation restores free tuition, ensures adequate faculty staff-
    16  ing, and aligns student support with nationally  recommended  standards.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01527-03-3

        A. 4425--A                          2

     1  In doing so, The New Deal for CUNY restores New York to national leader-
     2  ship  in  public  higher  education  and removes the barriers to student
     3  success that have prevented thousands of CUNY  students  from  realizing
     4  the  full potential of a college degree. The New Deal for CUNY gradually
     5  increases the  ratio  of  students  to  full-time  faculty  at  CUNY  to
     6  nationally  recommended  levels,  with  a special emphasis on racial and
     7  ethnic diversity in hiring. It also replaces the system of  underpayment
     8  for  contingent  faculty  with  a  dignified  labor system that provides
     9  students with the support they urgently  need.  CUNY  students,  perhaps
    10  more  than  any  other  college population in the country, bear stresses
    11  that make it extraordinarily difficult to  stay  in  college,  sometimes
    12  even  to  survive.  The  New Deal for CUNY addresses the urgent need for
    13  student support by gradually escalating the hiring of mental health  and
    14  other  counselors  to  bring CUNY into line with national standards. The
    15  New Deal for CUNY  mandates  that  all  tuition  and  student  fees  for
    16  in-state   undergraduate  students  within  specified  time  frames  for
    17  completion of degree be eliminated, and that the revenue to the colleges
    18  that would otherwise derive from tuition and fees be  replaced  annually
    19  by federal, state, and city funds.
    20    §  3. Subdivision A of section 6221 of the education law is amended by
    21  adding a new paragraph 4-b to read as follows:
    22    4-b. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule or regulation to
    23  the contrary,  subject  to  amounts  made  available  by  appropriation,
    24  commencing  in  the  two  thousand  twenty-five--two thousand twenty-six
    25  academic year, the city university shall be entitled to annually receive
    26  one hundred percent reimbursement for the annual  cost  of  tuition  and
    27  student  fees  for  each  matriculated  undergraduate  student at a city
    28  university senior college and  community  college  who  is  enrolled  in
    29  credit-bearing  academic  coursework  and  is on track to graduate.  The
    30  state comptroller shall establish a separate fund for such monies to  be
    31  distributed  to  the  city  university  of New York. The city university
    32  shall receive an amount equal to the full cost of in-state undergraduate
    33  tuition and student fees for each qualifying, matriculated  student  who
    34  successfully  completes  credit-bearing  academic  coursework  and is on
    35  track to graduate. The full cost of tuition shall not include any  addi-
    36  tional  funds  the  student may receive from any other New York state or
    37  federal grant, award, or scholarship program. The deposit of these funds
    38  shall be utilized as first dollar awards to the  students  at  the  city
    39  university.  Any  student  not  successfully  completing  credit-bearing
    40  academic coursework in a semester shall still be eligible to receive all
    41  other grants, awards, and scholarships for which they qualify but  shall
    42  not  be eligible for the tuition and student fee reimbursement described
    43  herein. Students shall be eligible to receive a one  semester  exemption
    44  from  the requirement to complete credit-bearing academic coursework for
    45  such tuition  reimbursement  as  promulgated  by  the  higher  education
    46  services corporation. Such exemption shall not preclude any student from
    47  exercising  their  right to appeal pursuant to higher education services
    48  corporation policy. The state comptroller shall deposit such monies with
    49  the city university no later than thirty days after  the  start  of  the
    50  semester.
    51    §  4. Section 6206 of the education law is amended by adding three new
    52  subdivisions 23, 24 and 25 to read as follows:
    53    23. Each community college and senior college of the  city  university
    54  of  New York shall maintain, at a minimum, a ratio of one clinical, non-
    55  student mental health staff member per one thousand students. Within two
    56  years of the effective date of  this  subdivision,  each  community  and

        A. 4425--A                          3

     1  senior  college  shall  establish,  and require a meeting of, a board of
     2  advisors  having  expertise  in  the  area  of  clinical  mental  health
     3  services.  The  advisory  boards  shall,  using current data, update and
     4  modify,  as  necessary, such ratios based on actual ratios in this state
     5  and any new information related to  appropriate  benchmarks  for  clini-
     6  cian-to-student  ratios.  Data  collected  by the advisory boards may be
     7  used as a means to increase the number of mental health  staff  members.
     8  In  no event shall the ratio fall below one clinical, non-student mental
     9  health staff member per one thousand  students.  Following  the  initial
    10  meeting, advisory boards shall meet once every five years. This subdivi-
    11  sion  shall not be funded by student tuition or fees created on or after
    12  the effective date of this subdivision. Community  colleges  and  senior
    13  colleges  in the city university of New York may seek federal funding or
    14  private  grants,  if  available,  to  further  expand  and  support  the
    15  provisions  of this subdivision. Any faculty and staff hired through the
    16  assistance of federal funding or private grants pursuant to this  subdi-
    17  vision shall be treated and classified as full-time public employees and
    18  covered  under  any collectively bargained contracts in their respective
    19  bargaining units. The city university shall  report  annually,  on  July
    20  first,  to  the  chair of the senate finance committee, the chair of the
    21  assembly ways and means committee, the chair of the senate higher educa-
    22  tion committee, and the chair of the assembly higher education committee
    23  on the following criteria:
    24    a. the ratio of clinical and non-student mental health staff  employed
    25  and what that number equates to per student;
    26    b.  the  number  of full-time mental health staff, and number of part-
    27  time mental health staff per campus, including those who may not possess
    28  the title mental health staff but are primarily employed to perform  and
    29  carry  out  the  duties  typically  assigned to, and function as, mental
    30  health staff; and
    31    c. the mean and median  number  of  students  receiving  services  per
    32  campus in the two thousand twenty-five--two thousand twenty-six academic
    33  year and in the academic year in which the report is prepared from full-
    34  time mental health staff, and from part-time academic advisor.
    35    24.  Commencing  in the two thousand twenty-five--two thousand twenty-
    36  six academic year each community college and senior college of the  city
    37  university  of New York shall maintain a minimum academic staffing ratio
    38  of forty-five full-time  faculty  members  per  one  thousand  full-time
    39  equivalent  students.  Commencing  in  the  two thousand twenty-six--two
    40  thousand twenty-seven academic year each community  college  and  senior
    41  college  of  the  city  university  of New York shall maintain a minimum
    42  academic staffing ratio of fifty full-time faculty members per one thou-
    43  sand full-time equivalent students.   Commencing  in  the  two  thousand
    44  twenty-seven--two  thousand  twenty-eight  academic  year each community
    45  college and senior college of the city  university  of  New  York  shall
    46  maintain  a  minimum  academic  staffing  ratio  of fifty-five full-time
    47  faculty  members  per  one  thousand  full-time   equivalent   students.
    48  Commencing  in  the  two thousand twenty-eight--two thousand twenty-nine
    49  academic year each community college and  senior  college  of  the  city
    50  university  of New York shall maintain a minimum academic staffing ratio
    51  of sixty full-time faculty members per one thousand full-time equivalent
    52  students. Commencing in the two thousand twenty-nine--two thousand thir-
    53  ty academic year and each year thereafter, each  community  college  and
    54  senior college of the city university of New York shall maintain a mini-
    55  mum  academic staffing ratio of sixty-five full-time faculty members per
    56  one thousand full-time equivalent students.  This subdivision shall  not

        A. 4425--A                          4

     1  be funded by student fees created on or after the effective date of this
     2  subdivision. Any faculty or staff hired through the assistance of feder-
     3  al  funding  or  private  grants  pursuant  to this subdivision shall be
     4  treated  and  classified as full-time public employees and covered under
     5  any collectively bargained  contracts  in  their  respective  bargaining
     6  units.  The  city  university  shall utilize national searches to ensure
     7  recruitment of diverse faculty from underrepresented racial, ethnic, and
     8  gender groups, and prioritize the creation of  full-time  faculty  posi-
     9  tions  for adjunct faculty currently employed by the university in order
    10  to meet the minimum academic staffing ratios described herein. The  city
    11  university  shall  report  annually,  on July first, to the chair of the
    12  senate finance committee, the chair  of  the  assembly  ways  and  means
    13  committee,  the  chair of the senate higher education committee, and the
    14  chair of the assembly  higher  education  committee.  The  report  shall
    15  include, but not be limited to, the following criteria:
    16    a.  data  that  indicates whether the city university is in compliance
    17  with the mandatory minimum academic staffing ratios established pursuant
    18  to this subdivision;
    19    b. the number by campus, in the two thousand twenty-five--two thousand
    20  twenty-six academic year and in the academic year in which the report is
    21  prepared, of each  full-time  tenured  faculty,  full-time  tenure-track
    22  faculty, full-time non-tenure track faculty, including those who may not
    23  have  a  faculty  or academic job title but perform instructional duties
    24  and number of faculty lines and unfilled faculty positions;
    25    c. the mean and median class size by campus in the two thousand  twen-
    26  ty-five--two  thousand twenty-six academic year and in the academic year
    27  in which the report is prepared, for full-time  tenured  faculty,  full-
    28  time  tenure-track  faculty,  and full-time non-tenure track faculty and
    29  instructional staff;
    30    d. the mean and median class size by level for  remedial  one  hundred
    31  level  introductory courses, and two hundred level mid-level courses and
    32  above for completion of an associate degree and baccalaureate degree  in
    33  the  two thousand twenty-five--two thousand twenty-six academic year and
    34  in the academic year in which the report is prepared;
    35    e. the number of part-time non-tenure track faculty in the  two  thou-
    36  sand  twenty-five--two  thousand  twenty-six  academic  year  and in the
    37  academic year in which the report is prepared, including those  who  may
    38  not  have  a  faculty  or  academic  job title but perform instructional
    39  duties, by campus; and
    40    f. the mean and median class size by campus for  part-time  non-tenure
    41  track  faculty and instructional staff in the two thousand twenty-five--
    42  two thousand twenty-six academic year and in the academic year in  which
    43  the report is prepared.
    44    25.  Commencing  in the two thousand twenty-five--two thousand twenty-
    45  six academic year each community college and senior college of the  city
    46  university  of  New  York  shall  maintain, at a minimum, a ratio of one
    47  academic advisor per six hundred full-time equivalent students. Commenc-
    48  ing in the two thousand twenty-six--two thousand  twenty-seven  academic
    49  year, the minimum staffing ratio for academic advisors at each community
    50  college  and  senior college of the city university of New York shall be
    51  one  academic  advisor  per  every  four  hundred  full-time  equivalent
    52  students.  Commencing  in  the  two  thousand twenty-seven--two thousand
    53  twenty-eight academic year, the  minimum  staffing  ratio  for  academic
    54  advisors  at  each  community  college  and  senior  college of the city
    55  university of New York shall be one academic  advisor  for  every  three
    56  hundred  full-time  equivalent  students. Commencing in the two thousand

        A. 4425--A                          5

     1  twenty-eight--two thousand twenty-nine academic  year,  and  every  year
     2  thereafter,  the  minimum  staffing  ratio for academic advisors at each
     3  community college and senior college of the city university of New  York
     4  shall be one academic advisor for every two hundred fifty students. This
     5  subdivision shall not be funded by student tuition or fees created on or
     6  after its effective date.  Community colleges and senior colleges in the
     7  city  university of New York may seek federal funding or private grants,
     8  if available, to further expand  and  support  the  provisions  of  this
     9  subdivision.  Any  faculty  and  staff  hired  through the assistance of
    10  federal funding or private grants pursuant to this subdivision shall  be
    11  treated  and  classified as full-time public employees and covered under
    12  any collectively bargained  contracts  in  their  respective  bargaining
    13  units.  The  city  university shall report annually on July first to the
    14  chair of the senate finance committee, the chair of  the  assembly  ways
    15  and means committee, the chair of the senate higher education committee,
    16  and  the  chair  of the assembly higher education committee.  The report
    17  shall include, but not be limited to, the following criteria:
    18    a. whether the city university is in  compliance  with  the  mandatory
    19  minimum  academic  advisor  staffing ratios established pursuant to this
    20  subdivision;
    21    b. the number of full-time academic advisors per campus, and number of
    22  part-time academic advisors, including those who  may  not  possess  the
    23  title  academic  advisor but are primarily employed to perform and carry
    24  out the duties typically assigned to, and function as, an academic advi-
    25  sor; and
    26    c. the mean and median number of student advisees, per  full-time  and
    27  part-time  academic advisor per campus in the two thousand twenty-five--
    28  two thousand twenty-six academic year and in the academic year in  which
    29  the report is prepared.
    30    §  5.  The second undesignated paragraph of section 6220 of the educa-
    31  tion law is amended by  adding  a  new  subparagraph  16-a  to  read  as
    32  follows:
    33    16-a.  Part-time  and  adjunct faculty shall receive wages and compen-
    34  sation equal to those in the lecturer title of  this  section  based  on
    35  comparable  hours,  duties and level of responsibility assigned to those
    36  in the title of lecturer. Commensurate increases in  wages  and  compen-
    37  sation  for adjunct faculty with professoriate titles shall correlate to
    38  the appropriate professor, associate professor, and assistant  professor
    39  titles as bargained.
    40    §  6. Section 22-c of the state finance law is amended by adding a new
    41  subdivision 7 to read as follows:
    42    7. For the fiscal year beginning on April first, two thousand  twenty-
    43  four  and  every fifth fiscal year thereafter, the governor shall submit
    44  to the legislature as part of the  annual  executive  budget,  five-year
    45  capital  plans  for  the  state  university  of  New York state operated
    46  campuses and city university of New York  senior  colleges.  Such  plans
    47  shall provide for the annual appropriation of capital funds to cover one
    48  hundred  percent  of the annual critical maintenance needs identified by
    49  each university system, and may include funds for new infrastructure  or
    50  other  major  capital  initiatives,  provided  that such funding for new
    51  infrastructure or  other  major  capital  initiatives  shall  not  count
    52  towards  meeting  the  overall  critical maintenance requirement. In the
    53  event that such plan is unable to fund one hundred percent of the  crit-
    54  ical  maintenance  needs due to the limitation imposed by article five-B
    55  of this chapter, the director of  the  budget  shall  develop  five-year
    56  capital  plans  whereby  the  implementation  of each capital plan would

        A. 4425--A                          6

     1  annually reduce the overall facility condition index for each university
     2  system. For the purposes of this subdivision, "facility condition index"
     3  shall mean an industry benchmark that measures  the  ratio  of  deferred
     4  maintenance dollars to replacement dollars for the purposes of analyzing
     5  the  effect  of investing in facility improvements. The apportionment of
     6  capital appropriations to each state-operated campus or  senior  college
     7  shall  be  based on a methodology to be developed by the director of the
     8  budget, in consultation with the state university of New  York  and  the
     9  city university of New York.
    10    § 7. This act shall take effect immediately.
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