Bill Text: NJ A4499 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Provides that State operating aid for public or independent institution of higher education may be reduced under certain circumstances related to virtual or remote instruction and tuition and fees in 2020-2021 academic year.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-08-10 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Higher Education Committee [A4499 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2020-A4499-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman RONALD S. DANCER
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Provides that State operating aid for public or independent institution of higher education may be reduced under certain circumstances related to virtual or remote instruction and tuition and fees in 2020-2021 academic year.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning reductions in State operating aid for certain institutions of higher education in the 2020-2021 academic year.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Notwithstanding any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, for the 2020-2021 academic year, a public institution of higher education or independent institution of higher education shall receive a reduction in its State operating aid if the institution provides the majority of its classes through virtual or remote instruction and does not decrease the tuition and fee amounts charged by the institution compared to those charged in the 2019-2020 academic year. The Secretary of Higher Education shall determine the methodology and manner for a reduction in State operating aid pursuant to this section.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
On June 18, 2020, the Governor issued Executive Order No. 155, which permitted institutions of higher education to resume limited in-person instruction beginning July 2020. Since March 18, 2020, institutions of higher education had been closed for in-person instruction in order to limit individual exposure to COVID-19. While many colleges and universities announced that they were primarily offering virtual or remote classes in order to limit the transmission of COVID-19, several colleges did not concomitantly decrease their tuition and fee rates to reflect the different online learning experience most students will face in the 2020-2021 academic year. The decision not to reduce these charges comes at a time when many students and their families are facing difficult economic challenges.
This bill provides that a public research university, State college or university, county college, or independent institution of higher education will receive a reduction in its State operating aid for the 2020-2021 academic year if: 1) the institution provides the majority of its classes through virtual or remote instruction; and 2) the institution does not decrease the tuition and fee amounts it charges to students compared to those charged in the 2019-2020 academic year. Under the bill, the Secretary of Higher Education has the authority to determine the methodology and manner in which a public or independent institution of higher education will receive the reduction in State operating aid support.
