S04247 Summary:

BILL NOS04247
 
SAME ASSAME AS A09615
 
SPONSORGOUNARDES
 
COSPNSR
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Add Title 7 Art 116 §§5800 - 5804, Ed L
 
Provides assistance for SUNY and CUNY students experiencing homelessness; designates liaison officers on campuses; creates systems for students experiencing homelessness to access support services and other resources available to the students.
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S04247 Actions:

BILL NOS04247
 
02/07/2023REFERRED TO EDUCATION
01/03/2024REFERRED TO HIGHER EDUCATION
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S04247 Committee Votes:

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S04247 Floor Votes:

There are no votes for this bill in this legislative session.
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S04247 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          4247
 
                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                    February 7, 2023
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced by Sen. GOUNARDES -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Education
 
        AN  ACT  to amend the education law, in relation to providing assistance
          to students experiencing homelessness
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1.  Title  7  of the education law is amended by adding a new
     2  article 116 to read as follows:
     3                                 ARTICLE 116
     4               HOMELESS STUDENT HOUSING ACCESS AND ASSISTANCE
     5  Section 5800. Definition.
     6          5801. Designation of liaison officers,  regional  contacts,  and
     7                  campus  contacts  to  assist students experiencing home-
     8                  lessness.
     9          5802. Access to housing for students experiencing homelessness.
    10          5803. Priority enrollment.
    11          5804. Assistance with college  fees  for  students  experiencing
    12                  homelessness.
    13    §  5800.  Definition.  For  the  purposes  of  this  article, the term
    14  "students experiencing homelessness" shall mean students who at any time
    15  during the current school year or  the  twenty-four  months  immediately
    16  preceding  their  enrollment  in college have been "homeless children or
    17  youth" as such term is defined  under  42  U.S.C.  Section  11434a,  and
    18  includes students who reside in a student housing facility maintained by
    19  a  college during an academic term but who are homeless between academic
    20  terms.
    21    § 5801. Designation of liaison officers, regional contacts, and campus
    22  contacts to assist students  experiencing  homelessness.  1.  The  state
    23  university  of  New  York and the city university of New York each shall
    24  hire at least one full-time equivalent staff member to act as a  liaison
    25  officer for current and incoming students experiencing homelessness.
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD06611-03-3

        S. 4247                             2
 
     1    2. The liaison officer shall:
     2    (a) have knowledge of and expertise in federal and state financial aid
     3  eligibility  of  students  experiencing  homelessness,  including  their
     4  eligibility as independent students under Section 1087vv of the  federal
     5  Higher Education Act, support services, including health services, hous-
     6  ing  resources  offered  by  the college and external housing resources,
     7  including housing navigation services and existing housing programs  for
     8  homeless  or  low-income  individuals  or  families,  meal plan and food
     9  programs and assistance, counseling  services,  academic  supports,  and
    10  other  resources available to students at the university, and best prac-
    11  tices to identify and serve students experiencing homelessness, with the
    12  goal of maximizing their enrollment, retention, and success in college;
    13    (b) create systems for students experiencing  homelessness  to  access
    14  support  services  and  other resources available to the students at the
    15  university; coordinate with the state university of  New  York  and  the
    16  city  university of New York on innovative programming aimed at increas-
    17  ing access, enrollment, attendance and success in college  for  students
    18  experiencing  homelessness, including pilot initiatives as outlined in a
    19  pilot program to increase enrollment, attendance, and success in college
    20  for students experiencing homelessness;
    21    (c) provide professional development and  other  technical  assistance
    22  activities  to  ensure  campus  contact persons for current and incoming
    23  students experiencing homelessness at  the  university.  Institute  best
    24  practices to identify students experiencing homelessness and have infor-
    25  mation  about  financial  aid,  support  services,  and  best  practices
    26  described by paragraph (a) of this subdivision;
    27    (d) provide professional development and  other  technical  assistance
    28  activities  to  professors  and university staff working in the areas of
    29  financial aid, housing, student  services,  and  teaching  and  academic
    30  support regarding the characteristics, needs, strengths, and identifica-
    31  tion of students experiencing homelessness;
    32    (e)  complete  necessary  administrative  tasks  and  data  collection
    33  related to students  experiencing  homelessness,  including  developing,
    34  administering,  and analyzing the results of a survey annually, collabo-
    35  ratively with campus contacts designated pursuant to subdivision four of
    36  this section, social work interns, and other essential staff, to collect
    37  data on student access  to  resources  needed  to  address  homelessness
    38  across  the  state university of New York and the city university of New
    39  York; and
    40    (f) make available an annual report of the survey administered  pursu-
    41  ant  to  paragraph  (e) of this subdivision on the websites of the state
    42  university of New York and the city university of New York.
    43    3. The state university of New York and the  city  university  of  New
    44  York  each  shall  require  professors and university staff to attend at
    45  least one training per year offered by the liaison officer  for  current
    46  and incoming students experiencing homelessness.
    47    4. The liaison officer for the state university of New York shall hire
    48  one part-time adjunct staff to serve as regional contacts in each of ten
    49  economic  development  regions.  Regional  contacts  shall supervise the
    50  campus contacts in their regions and  support  the  liaison  officer  to
    51  ensure  that students experiencing homelessness are identified, informed
    52  of services available to them, and able to access support  services  and
    53  other resources available in the region.
    54    5.  The liaison officer for the city university of New York shall hire
    55  five part-time adjunct staff to serve  as  regional  contacts.  Regional
    56  contacts  shall  supervise  the  campus  contacts  in  their regions and

        S. 4247                             3

     1  support the liaison officer to ensure that students  experiencing  home-
     2  lessness  are  identified,  informed  of services available to them, and
     3  able to access support services and other  resources  available  in  the
     4  region.
     5    6. Each college shall designate and may provide a stipend to, at least
     6  one person, who may be an employee of the college or an undergraduate or
     7  graduate level student of any college who is completing an internship as
     8  part  of obtaining a degree in social work or a related field, to act as
     9  a campus contact person for current and incoming  students  experiencing
    10  homelessness.
    11    7. The campus contact person shall:
    12    (a) institute best practices to identify current and incoming students
    13  experiencing homelessness, including:
    14    (i)  posting  flyers,  posters,  and other written materials about the
    15  rights of students experiencing homelessness, using  understandable  and
    16  culturally  competent language, in locations on campus and in the commu-
    17  nity where students experiencing homelessness are likely to see them;
    18    (ii) posting using understandable and culturally competent information
    19  about the  rights  of  students  experiencing  homelessness  on  college
    20  websites and social media;
    21    (iii)  collaborating  with  student  organizations  and  organizations
    22  providing food, housing, or other services on campus and in the communi-
    23  ty; and
    24    (iv) sharing information about the  rights  of  students  experiencing
    25  homelessness  and  the process to refer students who may be experiencing
    26  homelessness to the campus contact  with  professors  and  other  campus
    27  staff;
    28    (b)   provide  students  experiencing  homelessness  with  information
    29  regarding their federal and state financial aid  eligibility,  including
    30  their  eligibility  as  independent students under Section 1087vv of the
    31  federal Higher Education Act, and assistance to such students to  ensure
    32  they  are  able to apply for and receive federal and state financial aid
    33  and all available on and off campus services for which they  are  eligi-
    34  ble;
    35    (c)   provide  students  experiencing  homelessness  with  information
    36  regarding support services, health services, housing  resources  offered
    37  by  the  college  and  external  housing  resources,  housing navigation
    38  services and existing housing programs for homeless or low-income  indi-
    39  viduals  or  families, meal plan and food programs and assistance, coun-
    40  seling services, academic supports, and other resources available to the
    41  students at the college;
    42    (d)  participate  in  professional  development  and  other  technical
    43  assistance activities offered by the liaison officer; and
    44    (e)    contact   liaisons   designated   under   42   U.S.C.   Section
    45  11432(g)(1)(J)(ii) as necessary  to  facilitate  successful  transitions
    46  from  secondary  to  postsecondary  education  for students experiencing
    47  homelessness.
    48    § 5802. Access to housing for students experiencing homelessness. Each
    49  college shall:
    50    1. prioritize students experiencing homelessness for access to  exist-
    51  ing  housing  resources  offered  by  the college, as needed, during and
    52  between academic terms, including granting them first priority for hous-
    53  ing facilities that remain open for occupation during the most days in a
    54  calendar year; and
    55    2. develop a plan to connect students experiencing  homelessness  with
    56  external  housing  resources  when existing housing resources offered by

        S. 4247                             4
 
     1  the college are not available, including through working  with  existing
     2  housing programs for homeless or low-income individuals or families.
     3    §  5803. Priority enrollment. Each college that administers a priority
     4  enrollment system shall grant priority in that system for enrollment  in
     5  classes to students experiencing homelessness.
     6    §  5804.  Assistance with college fees for students experiencing home-
     7  lessness. For students experiencing homelessness, each college shall:
     8    1. waive administrative fees and fees based on  enrollment,  including
     9  health  and wellness, student activity, consolidated services, and tech-
    10  nology fees, that are not fully covered by  a  student's  financial  aid
    11  package; and
    12    2. defer the payment of any fee or deposit, including housing fees and
    13  deposits,  that  are  covered by a student's financial aid package until
    14  the college receives the aid, such that students  will  not  incur  late
    15  fees on payments delayed while awaiting disbursement of financial aid.
    16    §  2.  This  act  shall take effect immediately and shall apply to the
    17  academic year next succeeding the date on  which  this  act  shall  have
    18  become a law.
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