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A04942 Summary:

BILL NOA04942
 
SAME ASSAME AS S05355
 
SPONSORForrest
 
COSPNSRTaylor, Darling, Hyndman, Levenberg, Sillitti
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Amd 355 & 6206, Ed L
 
Requires the SUNY and CUNY boards of trustees to establish a policy for the awarding of posthumous degrees; requires such policy to waive any remaining credits for students who are killed and would otherwise have been eligible for graduation had they been able to complete their academic career.
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A04942 Actions:

BILL NOA04942
 
02/27/2023referred to higher education
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A04942 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A4942
 
SPONSOR: Forrest
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the education law, in relation to establishing policies for the awarding of posthumous degrees   PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF THE BILL: This bill intends to authorize posthumous degrees to students who have been killed while enrolled in a state or city university of New York.   SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Section 1 sets the title of the legislation as "Mel's Law" Section 2 amends Subdivision 2 of section 355 of the education law by authorizing posthumous degrees to students who died before they could graduate from a state university of New York. Section 3 amends Section 6206 of the education law by authorizing posthumous degrees to students who died before they could graduate from a city university of New York. Section 4 states that these degrees will not affect an institution's standing or its evaluation process for accreditation. Section 5 is an immediate effective date.   JUSTIFICATION: We are living in a time when death among college students is at an all- time high. Several of the leading causes of death for this population in the United States has continued to rise, especially with the continua- tion of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some leading causes are suicide, acci- dents (vehicular, drug/alcohol-related, and other), homicide, and cancer. Most of these issues can be exacerbated by the environment that is uniquely that of a college campus. Excessive drinking, experimenta- tion with illicit substances, high pressure, and isolation have all been reported as common experiences on college campuses. These experiences, coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic help us to understand why the mortal- ity rate among this group continues to rise. When a student dies before graduating from a state or city university in New York, they are not automatically entitled to formal recognition of their academic efforts or achievements. For many families, this can be devastating; in addition to losing a loved one, they are missing a sense of closure for the work, money, and time that was put into their higher education. This is especially true for first-generation college students. The State University of New York (SUNY) currently has no system-wide policy on eligibility for posthumous degrees. This has left room for many of the individual schools to implement their own policies regarding the topic. Because these policies are not uniform across the system, the wording and credit requirements vary from school to school. The City University of New York (CUNY) does have a system-wide policy on eligibility for posthumous degrees. However, this policy leaves out students who have completed fewer than 45 credit hours. This leaves students' families without a tangible piece of evidence of their loved one's efforts in higher education. There is no reason to believe these degrees impact the formal standing of a university as accreditation does not consider how many posthumous degrees are given out in the evaluation. The recognition of a student's time and effort is essential to their loved ones. This type of formal recognition can bring a sense of closure and healing to those close to the student. It provides a compassionate close to the students academic career. The presentation of a posthumous degree can bring some joy to the students family, friends, and the campus community during a time of unimaginable grieving and loss. The passage of this bill would help families like that of Brooklyn resi- dent Melquain Jatelle-Anderson, who was tragically shot and killed at a bus stop in 2017 while enrolled at a City University of New York. While his family did receive recognition of his efforts, there was no policy in place to allow the awarding of a posthumous degree given his circum- stances. Granting posthumous degrees to all students who die while enrolled in higher education can be a stepping stone for the family to find closure.   PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: None.   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None.   EFFECTIVE DATE: Immediately.
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A04942 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          4942
 
                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    February 27, 2023
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by M. of A. FORREST -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Higher Education
 
        AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to establishing  policies
          for the awarding of posthumous degrees
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. This act shall be known  and  may  be  cited  as  "Melquain
     2  Jatelle Anderson's (Mel's) Law".
     3    §  2.  Subdivision 2 of section 355 of the education law is amended by
     4  adding a new paragraph f-2 to read as follows:
     5    f-2. Notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation to the contrary,  the
     6  state  university of New York board of trustees shall establish a policy
     7  authorizing state-operated  institutions  within  the  state  university
     8  system  to grant posthumous degrees to students whose death occurs prior
     9  to graduation. Such policy  shall  provide  that  any  remaining  credit
    10  requirements  shall  be  waived  for  any  student who is killed and who
    11  otherwise would have been eligible for graduation had they been able  to
    12  complete their academic career.
    13    §  3.  Section  6206  of  the education law is amended by adding a new
    14  subdivision 22 to read as follows:
    15    22. Notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation to the  contrary,  the
    16  board  of  trustees  shall  establish  a policy authorizing institutions
    17  within the city university  of  New  York  system  to  grant  posthumous
    18  degrees to students whose death occurs prior to graduation.  Such policy
    19  shall provide that any remaining credit requirements shall be waived for
    20  any student who is killed and who otherwise would have been eligible for
    21  graduation had they been able to complete their academic career.
    22    §  4.  Such  posthumous  degrees shall not be counted in the conferred
    23  degrees during the accreditation process or negatively impact a school's
    24  standing during the accreditation process.
    25    § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04553-01-3
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