Bill Text: NY A01298 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Expands the veterans tuition awards program to include all persons who were honorably discharged and were residents of the state before and after serving in the armed forces of the United States; provides veterans an award equal to the in-state tuition paid at a state university for each semester the veteran is engaged in undergraduate, graduate or vocational study.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-09 - referred to higher education [A01298 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-A01298-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          1298

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                     January 9, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. SLATER, BENDETT -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Higher Education

        AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to expanding  eligibility
          under the veterans tuition awards program

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 669-a  of  the  education  law  is
     2  amended by adding a new paragraph d-1 to read as follows:
     3    d-1.  "Veteran"  means  a  person who: (i) is a resident of the state;
     4  (ii)  served in the armed forces of the United States; (iii) was a resi-
     5  dent of the state immediately prior to his or her entry into such  armed
     6  forces;  and (iv) received an honorable discharge from the branch of the
     7  armed forces of the United States in which they served.
     8    § 2. Paragraph a of subdivision 2 of section 669-a  of  the  education
     9  law,  as  amended by chapter 453 of the laws of 2024, is amended to read
    10  as follows:
    11    a. Tuition awards are available for all other  eligible  veterans,  as
    12  defined  in  subdivision  one  of  this  section,  and  veterans who are
    13  enrolled, pursuant to paragraph a of subdivision  four  of  section  six
    14  hundred  sixty-one  of  this part, in approved undergraduate or graduate
    15  programs at degree granting institutions or enrolled in  approved  voca-
    16  tional  training programs and who apply for a tuition assistance program
    17  award, for up to the equivalent of eight full-time  semesters,  pursuant
    18  to section six hundred sixty-seven of this subpart.
    19    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.



         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03836-01-5