Provides that beginning in the 2026-2027 academic year, certain graduate students shall be required to pay 25% of all current and future mandatory university fees; provides that in the 2027-2028 academic year and thereafter, no mandatory university fees shall be charged to certain graduate students and adjunct staff, with the exclusion of the graduate student association student activity fee.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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9034--B
IN SENATE
January 27, 2026
___________
Introduced by Sens. STAVISKY, BASKIN, GALLIVAN, GONZALEZ, HARCKHAM,
HINCHEY, JACKSON, MAYER, PALUMBO, RAMOS, C. RYAN, SKOUFIS, WEBB --
read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to
the Committee on Higher Education -- committee discharged, bill
amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
tee -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to phasing out certain
mandatory university fees for certain graduate students and adjunct
staff
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph h of subdivision 2 of section 355 of the educa-
2 tion law is amended by adding a new subparagraph 12 to read as follows:
3 (12) (i) Beginning in the two thousand twenty-six--two thousand twen-
4 ty-seven academic year, all current and future mandatory university
5 fees, with the exclusion of the graduate student association student
6 activity fee, shall be charged to a state university of New York gradu-
7 ate student serving a full-time or half-time appointment as a graduate
8 teaching assistant, graduate assistant, graduate research assistant,
9 graduate research associate, or graduate teaching associate at the rate
10 of twenty-five percent of all mandatory university fees, with the exclu-
11 sion of the graduate student association student activity fee.
12 (ii) Beginning in the two thousand twenty-seven--two thousand twenty-
13 eight academic year and thereafter, no mandatory university fees shall
14 be charged to those serving as a full-time or half-time graduate teach-
15 ing assistant, graduate assistant, graduate research assistant, graduate
16 research associate or graduate teaching associate, with the exclusion of
17 the graduate student association student activity fee.
18 § 2. Section 6206 of the education law is amended by adding a new
19 subdivision 25 to read as follows:
20 25. a. Beginning in the two thousand twenty-six--two thousand twenty-
21 seven academic year, all current and future mandatory university fees,
22 with the exclusion of the graduate student association student activity
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07787-05-6
S. 9034--B 2
1 fee, shall be charged to a city university of New York graduate student
2 serving as a graduate assistant, adjunct instructor, adjunct lecturer,
3 adjunct college laboratory technician or a non-teaching adjunct staff
4 member at the rate of twenty-five percent of all mandatory university
5 fees, with the exclusion of the graduate student association student
6 activity fee.
7 b. Beginning in the two thousand twenty-seven--two thousand twenty-
8 eight academic year and thereafter, no mandatory university fees shall
9 be charged to those serving as a graduate assistant, adjunct instructor,
10 adjunct lecturer, adjunct college laboratory technician or a non-teach-
11 ing adjunct staff member, with the exclusion of the graduate student
12 association student activity fee.
13 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
