A 786: Prohibits independent higher education institutions from collecting financial information from a student's or prospective student's non-custodial parent; requires that private colleges use student financial aid formulas that are arrived at independently, without coordination with outside standard setting organizations.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 786 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Higher Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to prohibiting independ- ent higher education institutions from collecting financial informa- tion from a student's non-custodial parent and requiring independent higher education institutions to make student aid formula determi- nations independently The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 224-b 2 to read as follows: 3 § 224-b. Collection of financial information from non-custodial parent 4 prohibited; student financial aid formula determinations. 1. No inde- 5 pendent higher education institution in New York state shall collect 6 financial information from a student's or prospective student's non-cus- 7 todial parent for the purpose of determining financial aid awards. 8 2. Student financial aid formulas, including expected family contrib- 9 ution formulas, used by independent higher education institutions in New 10 York state shall be determined independently by such institutions with- 11 out consultation, communication, or participation with any outside stan- 12 dard setting organization. 13 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed- 14 ing the date on which it shall have become a law. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD02501-01-5