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, with the exclusion of the graduate student association student activity fee.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9034--A
IN SENATE
January 27, 2026
___________
Introduced by Sen. STAVISKY -- 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 committee
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to phasing out certain
mandatory university fees for graduate students
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, with the exclusion of the graduate student association
15 student activity fee.
16 § 2. Section 6206 of the education law is amended by adding a new
17 subdivision 24 to read as follows:
18 24. a. Beginning in the two thousand twenty-six--two thousand twenty-
19 seven academic year, all current and future mandatory university fees,
20 with the exclusion of the graduate student association student activity
21 fee, shall be charged to a city university of New York graduate student
22 serving as a graduate assistant, adjunct instructor, adjunct lecturer,
23 adjunct college laboratory technician or a non-teaching adjunct staff
24 member at the rate of twenty-five percent of all mandatory university
25 fees, with the exclusion of the graduate student association student
26 activity fee.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07787-03-6
S. 9034--A 2
1 b. Beginning in the two thousand twenty-seven--two thousand twenty-
2 eight academic year and thereafter, no mandatory university fees shall
3 be charged, with the exclusion of the graduate student association
4 student activity fee.
5 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
