S 3458: Provides that beginning in the 2026-2027 academic year, certain graduate students shall be required to pay 25% of all current and future mandatory university fees; provides that in the 2027-2028 academic year and thereafter, no mandatory university fees shall be charged, with the exclusion of the graduate student association student activity fee.
The bill aims to phase out mandatory university fees for graduate students serving in certain positions. It establishes a new rate of 25% for mandatory university fees for graduate students in full-time or half-time appointments as graduate teaching assistants, graduate assistants, graduate research assistants, graduate research associates, or graduate teaching associates. The new rate applies starting from the 2026-2027 academic year. The bill also eliminates mandatory university fees for graduate students starting from the 2027-2028 academic year, excluding the graduate student association student activity fee. The changes apply to both state universities and city universities of New York.
| Dec. 19, 2025 | VETOED MEMO.139 |
| Dec. 08, 2025 | DELIVERED TO GOVERNOR |
| Jun. 16, 2025 | returned to senate |
| Jun. 16, 2025 | passed assembly |
| Jun. 16, 2025 | ordered to third reading rules cal.789 |
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3458 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 27, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. STAVISKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Higher Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to phasing out certain mandatory university fees for graduate students The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraph h of subdivision 2 of section 355 of the educa- 2 tion law is amended by adding a new subparagraph 11 to read as follows: 3 (11) (i) Beginning in the two thousand twenty-six--two thousand twen- 4 ty-seven academic year, all current and future mandatory university 5 fees, with the exclusion of the graduate student association student 6 activity fee, shall be charged to a state university of New York gradu- 7 ate student serving a full-time or half-time appointment as a graduate 8 teaching assistant, graduate assistant, graduate research assistant, 9 graduate research associate, or graduate teaching associate at the rate 10 of twenty-five percent of all mandatory university fees, with the exclu- 11 sion of the graduate student association student activity fee. 12 (ii) Beginning in the two thousand twenty-seven--two thousand twenty- 13 eight academic year and thereafter, no mandatory university fees shall 14 be charged, with the exclusion of the graduate student association 15 student activity fee. 16 § 2. Section 6206 of the education law is amended by adding a new 17 subdivision 24 to read as follows: 18 24. a. Beginning in the two thousand twenty-six--two thousand twenty- 19 seven academic year, all current and future mandatory university fees, 20 with the exclusion of the graduate student association student activity 21 fee, shall be charged to a city university of New York graduate student 22 serving as a graduate assistant, adjunct instructor, adjunct lecturer, 23 adjunct college laboratory technician or a non-teaching adjunct staff 24 member at the rate of twenty-five percent of all mandatory university EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD07787-01-5S. 3458 2 1 fees, with the exclusion of the graduate student association student 2 activity fee. 3 b. Beginning in the two thousand twenty-seven--two thousand twenty- 4 eight academic year and thereafter, no mandatory university fees shall 5 be charged, with the exclusion of the graduate student association 6 student activity fee. 7 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.