BILL NUMBER: S4068
SPONSOR: MAY
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law, in relation to authorizing and
directing the commissioner of education establish rules and regulations
for a college or university seeking to cease operations
 
PURPOSE:
To establish rules and regulations that will ensure the orderly closure
of a college or university
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 lists the rules and regulations that the commissioner is
authorized and directed to promulgate. These rules include but are not
limited to instructions to inform the school's community of a plan to
close at least a year prior, requires the college to host public meet-
ings about the closure, and an outline for engagement with state and
local governments on campus resources and services.
Section 2 establishes the effective date of the bill and repeals any
rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
This bill would outline orderly procedures for colleges and universities
seeking to close down operations to allow more seamless transitions for
the students, staff, and faculty, as well as for the state and local
governments. It would require the colleges to provide notice of an
impending closure at least a year in advance, to host public meetings to
address concerns, and to provide the students with teach out or transfer
agreements at least six months in advance. Crucially, it would require
stakeholders in the college to be in touch with their local governments
about campus resources six months before planned closures.
According to US Department of Education data, hundreds of post-secondary
institutions close every year. In 2023, fourteen small nonprofit
colleges closed in the US. Of these, three were in New York. This year,
we will see the closure of at least three more New York institutions of
higher education with one hundred year plus histories, which have served
as anchors of their communities.
While some institutions give ample notice of their closures, allowing
students, staff, and faculty to make other plans, other colleges have
closed more abruptly. This could mean the loss of dozens of jobs without
sufficient notice, and students having to scramble to figure out the
future of their education, with or without a "teach out" agreement.
Abrupt closures lead to lower re-enrollment and completion rates for
students compared to orderly closures for their peers, underscoring the
necessity of this bill.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-2024: S.9397 (May) / A.10396 Rules (Stirpe)
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the state
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
One year after it shall become a law

Statutes affected:
S4068: 305 education law