STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6399 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN SENATE April 18, 2023 ___________ Introduced by Sen. PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Veterans, Homeland Securi- ty and Military Affairs AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to enacting the "NY Cares Act" 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 shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "NY Cares Act". 3 § 2. The education law is amended by adding a new section 669-i to 4 read as follows: 5 § 669-i. Course credit for service members. 1. For purposes of this 6 section, the term "service member" means a person, male or female, who 7 is a legal resident of this state, as defined by 50 U.S.C. section 595 8 who has served in the active military, naval service, national guard and 9 reserve service of the United States or of the state during a war, expe- 10 dition, occupation of an area or territory, battle, skirmish, raid, 11 invasion, rebellion, insurrection, guerilla action, riot in which the 12 United States was engaged with a hostile or belligerent nation, faction, 13 force, or terrorists and who has been released from such service by any 14 means of an honorable or general discharge, or who has been furloughed 15 to the reserve. 16 2. Every service member shall upon application and approval of the 17 chancellor, or his or her designee, be granted academic credits towards 18 his or her degree for the completion of courses that were a part of such 19 service member's military training, service and for military experience 20 received. In determining the approval of such service member's applica- 21 tion, the chancellor, or his or her designee, shall consider the stand- 22 ards of the American council on education. No fee, tuition or other 23 charge shall be assessed against a service member who qualifies for such 24 credit pursuant to this section. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD07779-01-3S. 6399 2 1 3. The boards of trustees of the state university and the city univer- 2 sity of New York may promulgate rules and regulations as are necessary 3 to fully implement the provisions of this section. 4 § 3. The education law is amended by adding a new article 15-D to read 5 as follows: 6 ARTICLE 15-D 7 COURSE CREDIT FOR SERVICE MEMBERS 8 Section 730. Course credit for service members. 9 § 730. Course credit for service members. 1. For purposes of this 10 section, the term "service member" means a person, male or female, resi- 11 dent of this state, as defined by 50 U.S.C. section 595, who has served 12 in the active military, naval service, national guard and reserve 13 members of the United States or of the state during a war, expedition, 14 occupation of an area or territory, battle, skirmish, raid, invasion, 15 rebellion, insurrection, guerilla action, riot in which the United 16 States was engaged with a hostile or belligerent nation, faction, force, 17 or terrorists and has been released from such service by any means of an 18 honorable or general discharge, or has been furloughed to the reserve. 19 2. Every service member at an institution of higher education recog- 20 nized and approved by the regents, shall upon application and approval 21 of the governing board, or his or her designee, be granted academic 22 credits towards his or her degree for the completion of courses that 23 were part of such service member's military training, service and for 24 military experience received. In determining the approval of such 25 service member's application, the governing board, or his or her desig- 26 nee, shall consider the standards of the American council on education. 27 No fee, tuition or other charge shall be assessed against a service 28 member who qualifies for such credit pursuant to this section. 29 3. The governing board of the institution of higher education recog- 30 nized and approved by the regents may promulgate rules and regulations 31 as are necessary to fully implement the provisions of this section. 32 § 4. The education law is amended by adding a new section 237-a to 33 read as follows: 34 § 237-a. Coordination between military and higher education. 1. The 35 regents shall develop, jointly with the state director of veterans' 36 affairs, a program to facilitate coordination between participation in 37 the military, naval, National Guard and reserve service of the United 38 States or of the state and admission to any institution of higher educa- 39 tion, recognized and approved by the regents. The regents and the direc- 40 tor shall identify, review and evaluate professional training programs 41 offered and military, naval, National Guard and reserve experience 42 obtained through such service, which may, where applicable, be accepted 43 by the department for course credit. 44 2. The regents shall create a system-wide website which can be used to 45 determine what programs and universities service members are qualified 46 for based on their branch of service, training experience and rank. 47 § 5. The education law is amended by adding a new section 237-b to 48 read as follows: 49 § 237-b. NY cares bridge courses. 1. The regents shall require that 50 all institutions of higher education recognized and approved by the 51 regents develop, jointly with the state director of veterans' affairs, a 52 program of courses to facilitate the transition of military, naval, 53 National Guard and reserve service members of the United States or of 54 the state into all institutions of higher education recognized and 55 approved by the regents. These courses shall provide service members 56 with:S. 6399 3 1 (a) an accelerated and focused learning opportunity; 2 (b) an alternative to traditional developmental education; 3 (c) familiarity with a college environment and facilities; and 4 (d) access to tutoring and mentoring. 5 2. The governing board of each institution of higher education recog- 6 nized and approved by the regents shall make these courses available at 7 their respective institutions and shall employ military trained counse- 8 lors to administer and facilitate this program. 9 § 6. The education law is amended by adding a new section 669-c to 10 read as follows: 11 § 669-c. Tuition awards for spouses and children of deceased service 12 members. The president of the higher education services corporation 13 shall make available to the spouses or children of a deceased service 14 member as defined in subdivision one of this section, a tuition award 15 that may be applied to any college or community college in the state 16 university of New York system, any university of the state of New York, 17 or the university of the city of New York. 18 1. For purposes of this section, the term "service member" means a 19 person, male or female, resident of this state, who has served in the 20 active military, naval service, national guard and reserve members of 21 the United States during a war, expedition, occupation of an area or 22 territory, battle, skirmish, raid, invasion, rebellion, insurrection, 23 guerilla action, riot in which the United States was engaged with a 24 hostile or belligerent nation, faction, force, or terrorists and who was 25 a legal resident of New York state at the time of his or her demise and 26 who died or dies while so serving. 27 2. A tuition award granted under this section shall be no more than 28 the cost of undergraduate tuition, offset by any other financial assist- 29 ance or award received. If a tuition assistance program (TAP) award or 30 a regents award is also received, the combined academic year award shall 31 not exceed tuition. 32 3. No recipient of a tuition award under this section shall receive a 33 tuition award for more than eight semesters of full time undergraduate 34 study, or the equivalent of four academic years, or, if an undergraduate 35 program normally requires five academic years of full time study, for 36 more than ten semesters of full time study, or the equivalent of five 37 academic years. "Full time study" shall mean enrollment for more than 38 twelve semester hours per semester, or the equivalent, in an approved 39 undergraduate program. 40 4. No recipient of a tuition award under this section shall receive a 41 tuition award for more than sixteen semesters of part time undergraduate 42 study, or the equivalent of eight academic years of part time study, or, 43 if an undergraduate program normally requires five academic years of 44 full time study, for more than twenty semesters of part time study, or 45 the equivalent of ten academic years. "Part time study" shall mean 46 enrollment for at least three but less than twelve semester hours per 47 semester, or the equivalent, in an approved undergraduate program. 48 § 7. The education law is amended by adding a new section 115 to read 49 as follows: 50 § 115. Multi-state collaborative on military credit. The collaborative 51 for higher education for service members is hereby entered into and 52 enacted into law with all jurisdictions legally joining therein, in the 53 form substantially as follows: 54 MULTI-STATE COLLABORATIVE ON MILITARY CREDITS. 6399 4 1 WHEREAS, states, especially state higher education agencies, need to 2 work together in order to better meet the higher education needs of 3 returning service members and their families; and 4 WHEREAS, the federal government needs to work in close partnership 5 with states to better meet the higher education needs of returning 6 service members and their families; and 7 WHEREAS, states need to support the recommendations on military credit 8 that have been developed by the American Council on Education (ACE) 9 under contract with the Department of Defense, 10 THE STATES AFFIRM the need for close and continuing consultation among 11 our several states on matters of higher education relating to service 12 members, and do hereby establish this collaborative for higher education 13 for service members. 14 Article I. Purpose and Policy. 15 A. It is the purpose of this collaborative to: 16 1. Maximize ways for service members to transition to college. 17 2. Create models for consistently, transparently, and effectively 18 awarding credit for military training and experience that can be scaled 19 regionally and nationally. 20 3. Establish strong partnerships with institutions and organizations 21 for the purpose of promoting shared interests. 22 4. Establish and maintain close cooperation and understanding among 23 executive, legislative, professional, educational, veterans affairs, and 24 lay leadership on a nationwide basis at the state and local levels. 25 5. Provide a clearinghouse of information on matters relating to prob- 26 lems with the transition of service members into institutions of higher 27 education and how they are being met in different places throughout the 28 nation, so that the executive and legislative branches of state govern- 29 ment and of local communities may have ready access to the experience 30 and record of the entire country. 31 B. It is the policy of this collaborative to develop and deliver inno- 32 vative solutions for service members entering into higher education as 33 well as provide data on such groups. 34 Article II. State Defined. 35 As used in this collaborative, "state" means a state, territory, or 36 possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the 37 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 38 Article III. The Collaborative. 39 A. The multi-state collaborative on military credit, hereinafter 40 called "the collaborative", is hereby established. The collaborative 41 shall consist of two members representing each party state. One of such 42 members shall be the governor; and one shall be the head of a state 43 agency or institution, designated by the governor, having responsibility 44 for one or more programs of veterans' affairs, unless the laws of the 45 state otherwise provide. In addition to any other principles or 46 requirements which a state may establish for the appointment and service 47 of its members of the collaborative, the guiding principle for the 48 composition of the membership on the collaborative from each party state 49 shall be that the members representing such state shall, by virtue of 50 their training, experience, knowledge or affiliations be in a positionS. 6399 5 1 collectively to reflect broadly the interests of the state government, 2 higher education, veterans' affairs, the state education system, lay and 3 professional, public and non-public educational leadership. One 4 appointee shall be the head of a state agency or institution, designated 5 by the governor, having responsibility for one or more programs of 6 veterans' affairs. In addition to the members of the collaborative 7 representing the party states, there may be not to exceed ten non-voting 8 members selected by the steering committee for terms of one year. Such 9 members shall represent leading national organizations of professional 10 educators, persons concerned with educational administration, and 11 persons concerned with veterans' affairs. 12 B. The members of the collaborative shall be entitled to one vote 13 each. No action of the collaborative shall be binding unless taken at a 14 meeting at which a majority of the total number of votes on the collabo- 15 rative are cast in favor thereof. Action of the collaborative shall be 16 only at a meeting at which a majority of the state members are present. 17 The collaborative shall meet at least once a year. For the purposes of 18 this section, meeting by video conferencing shall be permitted to obtain 19 a majority. 20 C. The direction and implementation of the collaborative should be 21 carried out by a leadership team consisting of the representatives from 22 the initial founding states and organizations. However, additional 23 members may be added to the team as needed. 24 Article IV. Cooperation With Federal Government. 25 A. If the laws of the United States specifically so provide, or if 26 administrative provision is made therefor within the federal government, 27 the United States may be represented in the collaborative by not to 28 exceed ten representatives. Any such representative or representatives 29 of the United States shall be appointed and serve in such manner as may 30 be provided by or pursuant to federal law, and may be drawn from any one 31 or more branches of the federal government, but no such representatives 32 shall have a vote in the collaborative. 33 B. The collaborative may provide information and make recommendations 34 to any executive or legislative agency or officer of the federal govern- 35 ment concerning the common educational policies of the states, and may 36 advise with any such agencies or officers concerning any matter of mutu- 37 al interest. 38 Article V. Eligible Parties; Entry Into and Withdrawal. 39 A. This collaborative shall have as eligible parties all states, 40 territories, and possessions of the United States, the District of 41 Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. In respect of any such 42 jurisdiction not having a governor, the term "governor", as used in this 43 collaborative, shall mean the closest equivalent official of such juris- 44 diction. 45 B. Any state or other eligible jurisdiction may enter into this colla- 46 borative and it shall become binding thereon when it has adopted the 47 same; provided that in order to enter into initial effect, adoption by 48 at least three neighboring jurisdictions of this state shall be 49 required. 50 C. Adoption of the compact may be either by enactment thereof or by 51 memorandum of understanding between the governor and the other states. 52 Such collaborative shall be deemed ratified by the legislature upon theS. 6399 6 1 governor's certification to the temporary president of the senate, the 2 speaker of the assembly, and the secretary of state. 3 Article VI. Construction and Severability. 4 This collaborative shall be liberally construed so as to effectuate 5 the purposes thereof. 6 A. The provisions of this collaborative shall be severable and if any 7 phrase, clause, sentence or provision of this compact is declared to be 8 contrary to the constitution of any state or of the United States, or 9 the applicability thereof to any government, agency, person or circum- 10 stances is held invalid, the validity of the remainder of this collabo- 11 rative and the applicability thereof to any government, agency, person 12 or circumstances shall not be affected thereby. If this collaborative 13 shall be held contrary to the constitution of any state participating 14 therein, the collaborative shall remain in full force and effect as to 15 the state affected as to all severable matters. 16 B. The members of the collaborative representing this state shall 17 receive no compensation for their services but shall be allowed 18 reimbursement for their actual and necessary expenses in performance of 19 their duties hereunder. 20 § 8. The trustees of the state university and city university of New 21 York are hereby authorized and directed to immediately take all actions 22 to create and establish within their respective university system, and 23 subject to the jurisdiction of their board of trustees, internet-based 24 coursework for active military, naval service, National Guard and 25 reserve service members of the United States or of the state. 26 § 9. This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding 27 the date on which it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the 28 addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary 29 for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized 30 to be made and completed on or before such effective date.