Bill Text: NY A08399 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Enacts "the combating campus antisemitism act"; prohibits the granting of tuition assistance awards to any student who has knowingly engaged in promoting antisemitism in a manner that is directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or produce such action, that constitutes "true threats"; makes related provisions.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 34-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-04-09 - held for consideration in higher education [A08399 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A08399-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8399 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY December 13, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. E. BROWN -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Higher Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to prohibiting the grant of tuition assistance awards to any student who has knowingly engaged in certain antisemitic activities The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act may be known and shall be cited as 2 "the combating campus antisemitism act". 3 § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 666 of the education law, as amended by 4 chapter 947 of the laws of 1990, is amended to read as follows: 5 2. Eligible students. Tuition awards may be made to students, who 6 comply with the requirements provided in subdivisions three, five and 7 six of section six hundred sixty-one of this article, and (i) are also 8 part-time students matriculated in approved undergraduate degree 9 programs or enrolled and accepted into registered certificate programs 10 and (ii) if eligible to claim dependents or to be claimed as dependents 11 under the tax law, whose incomes do not exceed fifty thousand five 12 hundred fifty dollars or if ineligible whose incomes do not exceed thir- 13 ty-four thousand two hundred fifty dollars. The continuation of eligi- 14 bility for a tuition award shall require the retention of good academic 15 standing, as defined by the commissioner pursuant to article thirteen of 16 this chapter. Prior to the approval of any additional award pursuant to 17 this section, participating institutions shall review the academic 18 standing of all recipients of awards pursuant to this section; and 19 provided, further, that no tuition assistance award shall be provided to 20 any student, in any academic year, who has knowingly engaged in promot- 21 ing antisemitism in a manner that is directed to inciting or producing 22 imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or produce such action, 23 that constitutes "true threats," as defined by the United States supreme 24 court in Virginia v. Black (2003), or that constitutes "fighting words," EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD13566-04-3A. 8399 2 1 pursuant to Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire (1942), or fails to adequately 2 address any such event. The term "antisemitism" shall have the same 3 meaning as the working definition for "antisemitism" as provided by the 4 International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance on May 26, 2016, including 5 the contemporary examples of antisemitism cited by the International 6 Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. The higher education services corpo- 7 ration of the state of New York shall establish guidelines for determin- 8 ing when a student has knowingly engaged in promoting antisemitism as 9 well as guidelines for actions that may be taken to restore and/or 10 resume a tuition assistance award. 11 § 3. Subdivision 1 of section 667 of the education law, as amended by 12 chapter 622 of the laws of 2008, is amended to read as follows: 13 1. Recipient qualifications. Tuition assistance program awards are 14 available for all students who are enrolled in approved programs and who 15 demonstrate the ability to complete such courses, in accordance with 16 standards established by the commissioner provided, however, that no 17 award shall be made unless tuition (exclusive of educational fees) and, 18 if applicable, the college fee levied by the state university of New 19 York pursuant to the April first, nineteen hundred sixty-four financing 20 agreements with the New York state dormitory authority charged for the 21 program in which the student is enrolled total at least two hundred 22 dollars a year, [and provided further that,] no award can exceed one 23 hundred percent of the amount of tuition charged; and provided, further, 24 that no tuition assistance award shall be provided to any student, in 25 any academic year, who has knowingly engaged in promoting antisemitism 26 in a manner that is directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless 27 action and is likely to incite or produce such action, that constitutes 28 "true threats," as defined by the United States supreme court in Virgi- 29 nia v. Black (2003), or that constitutes "fighting words," pursuant to 30 Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire (1942), or fails to adequately address any 31 such event. The term "antisemitism" shall have the same meaning as the 32 working definition for "antisemitism" as provided by the International 33 Holocaust Remembrance Alliance on May 26, 2016, including the contempo- 34 rary examples of antisemitism cited by the International Holocaust 35 Remembrance Alliance. The higher education services corporation of the 36 state of New York shall establish guidelines for determining when a 37 student has knowingly engaged in promoting antisemitism as well as 38 guidelines for actions that may be taken to restore and/or resume a 39 tuition assistance award. 40 § 4. Subdivision 1 of section 667-a of the education law, as amended 41 by chapter 83 of the laws of 1995, is amended to read as follows: 42 1. Legislative intent. The legislature hereby finds that to further 43 the goal of equal opportunity it is necessary to assure the availability 44 of supplemental assistance for the successful remediation of educa- 45 tionally disadvantaged students in addition to assistance currently 46 available under existing statute for students with financial need. 47 Accordingly, tuition assistance shall be extended to students whose need 48 for remediation precludes them from fulfilling the program pursuit and 49 academic progress requirements of the tuition assistance program; and 50 provided, further, that no supplemental tuition assistance award shall 51 be provided to any student, in any academic year, who has knowingly 52 engaged in promoting antisemitism in a manner that is directed to incit- 53 ing or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or 54 produce such action, that constitutes "true threats," as defined by the 55 United States supreme court in Virginia v. Black (2003), or that consti- 56 tutes "fighting words," pursuant to Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire (1942),A. 8399 3 1 or fails to adequately address any such event. The term "antisemitism" 2 shall have the same meaning as the working definition for "antisemitism" 3 as provided by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance on May 4 26, 2016, including the contemporary examples of antisemitism cited by 5 the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. The higher education 6 services corporation of the state of New York shall establish guidelines 7 for determining when a student has knowingly engaged in promoting anti- 8 semitism as well as guidelines for actions that may be taken to restore 9 and/or resume a tuition assistance award. 10 § 5. Subdivision 1 of section 667-c of the education law, as amended 11 by section 1 of part E of chapter 56 of the laws of 2022 and paragraph 12 (b) as amended by section 1 of part EE of chapter 56 of the laws of 13 2023, is amended to read as follows: 14 1. Notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation to the contrary, the 15 president of the higher education services corporation is authorized to 16 make tuition assistance program awards to: 17 a. part-time students enrolled at the state university, a community 18 college, the city university of New York, and a non-profit college or 19 university incorporated by the regents or by the legislature who meet 20 all requirements for tuition assistance program awards except for the 21 students' part-time attendance; and provided, further, that no part-time 22 tuition assistance award shall be provided to any student, in any 23 academic year, who has knowingly engaged in promoting antisemitism in a 24 manner that is directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action 25 and is likely to incite or produce such action, that constitutes "true 26 threats," as defined by the United States supreme court in Virginia v. 27 Black (2003), or that constitutes "fighting words," pursuant to Chaplin- 28 sky v. New Hampshire (1942), or fails to adequately address any such 29 event. The term "antisemitism" shall have the same meaning as the work- 30 ing definition for "antisemitism" as provided by the International Holo- 31 caust Remembrance Alliance on May 26, 2016, including the contemporary 32 examples of antisemitism cited by the International Holocaust Remem- 33 brance Alliance. The higher education services corporation of the state 34 of New York shall establish guidelines for determining when a student 35 has knowingly engaged in promoting antisemitism as well as guidelines 36 for actions that may be taken to restore and/or resume a tuition 37 assistance award; or 38 b. part-time students enrolled at a community college or a public 39 agricultural and technical college in a non-degree workforce credential 40 program directly leading to the employment or advancement of a student 41 in a "significant industry" as identified by the department of labor in 42 its three most recent statewide significant industries reports published 43 preceding the student's enrollment in such non-degree workforce creden- 44 tial program. The state university of New York and the city university 45 of New York shall publish and maintain a master list of all eligible 46 non-degree workforce credential program courses and update such list 47 every semester. Eligible non-degree workforce credential programs shall 48 include those programs less than twelve semester hours, or the equiv- 49 alent, per semester. A student who successfully completes a non-degree 50 workforce credential program and receives part-time tuition assistance 51 program awards pursuant to this paragraph shall be awarded academic 52 credit by the state university of New York or city university of New 53 York upon matriculation into a degree program at such institution, 54 provided that such credit shall be equal to the corresponding credit 55 hours earned in the non-degree workforce credential program; and 56 provided, further, that no part-time tuition assistance award shall beA. 8399 4 1 provided to any student, in any academic year, who has knowingly engaged 2 in promoting antisemitism in a manner that is directed to inciting or 3 producing imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or produce 4 such action, that constitutes "true threats," as defined by the United 5 States supreme court in Virginia v. Black (2003), or that constitutes 6 "fighting words," pursuant to Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire (1942), or 7 fails to adequately address any such event. The term "antisemitism" 8 shall have the same meaning as the working definition for "antisemitism" 9 as provided by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance on May 10 26, 2016, including the contemporary examples of antisemitism cited by 11 the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. The higher education 12 services corporation of the state of New York shall establish guidelines 13 for determining when a student has knowingly engaged in promoting anti- 14 semitism as well as guidelines for actions that may be taken to restore 15 and/or resume a tuition assistance award. 16 § 6. This act shall take effect immediately.