Bill Text: NY S07859 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Requires student financial aid award letters to contain information on net costs, defined as an estimate of the costs of attendance after financial aid which does not require repayment and options for loans which do require repayment.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO BANKS [S07859 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S07859-Introduced.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          7859

                    IN SENATE

                                     January 3, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced by Sen. GOUNARDES -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Banks

        AN  ACT to amend the banking law, in relation to information included in
          student financial aid award letters

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

     1    Section  1. Section 9-w of the banking law, as amended by section 1 of
     2  part CC of chapter 54 of the  laws  of  2016,  is  amended  to  read  as
     3  follows:
     4    §  9-w.  Standard  financial  aid  award letter. The superintendent of
     5  financial services in consultation with  the  president  of  the  higher
     6  education  services  corporation  shall develop a standard financial aid
     7  award letter which shall clearly delineate (a)  the  estimated  cost  of
     8  attendance,  including but not limited to, the cost of tuition and fees,
     9  room and board, books, and transportation. Such  standard  letter  shall
    10  provide  the  estimated cost of attendance for the current academic year
    11  as well as estimates for each academic year that the student would  need
    12  to  attend  to  earn a degree at such institution with a disclaimer that
    13  the cost of attendance for years other than the  current  academic  year
    14  are  estimates  and  may  be  subject  to  change, (b) all financial aid
    15  offered from the federal government, the state, and the institution with
    16  an explanation as to which components will require  repayment,  (c)  any
    17  expected  student  and/or family contribution, (d) net costs, defined as
    18  an estimate of the costs of attendance after financial  aid  which  does
    19  not require repayment, (e) campus-specific graduation, median borrowing,
    20  and  loan  default  rates, (f) options for loans which do require repay-
    21  ment, and [(e)] (g) any other information as determined  by  the  super-
    22  intendent in consultation with the president. Such standard letter shall
    23  include a glossary of standard terms and definitions used on such stand-
    24  ard  letter.  The  superintendent  shall publish and make available such
    25  standard letter by December thirty-first, two thousand fifteen and ther-
    26  eafter. Each college, vocational institution, and any other  institution
    27  that offers an approved program as defined in section six hundred one of
    28  the  education  law  shall  utilize  the  standard  letter issued by the

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD13228-02-3
        S. 7859                             2

     1  department of financial services  in  responding  to  all  undergraduate
     2  financial  aid  applicants  for  the  two thousand sixteen--two thousand
     3  seventeen academic year and thereafter. The superintendent shall promul-
     4  gate regulations implementing this section.
     5    §  2.  This  act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
     6  have become a law.