BILL NUMBER: S6705
SPONSOR: STAVISKY
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law, in relation to college admission and
financial aid for students who have received a high school diploma from
certain online high school programs
 
PURPOSE:
To allow New York State residents access to higher education and finan-
cial aid if they have completed an online high school program.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one makes individuals who have completed an online high school
program, in compliance with the standards set by the Jobs Corp under the
United States Department of Labor, to be eligible for TAP funding for
higher education.
Sections two, three and four allow for admission to SUNY, community
colleges, and CUNY schools respectively for online high school gradu-
ates.
Section five provides for a ninety-day effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Online high schools, historically referred to as correspondence schools,
have become more and more common as society continues to embrace tech-
nology and distance options for all aspects of life. These programs are
accredited through national accreditation agencies recognized by the
United States Department of Education and ultimately overseen by Jobs
Corp a branch of the United States Department of Labor.
These online high school programs partner with Jobs Corp centers to
enable students to tailor their curriculum towards a future career.
Through these Job Corp relationships students can learn the base curric-
ulum required for a high school diploma in a way that is relevant to
them and lead to future employment. Students who complete these programs
receive job training with institutions maintaining relationships with
prospective employers to train their future workforce, but a path to
higher education should be available for New York residents as well.
Unfortunately, due to restrictions on access to High Education the part-
nership with Jobs Corp has been frozen for all New York students depriv-
ing them of access to these online high schools.
In New York, colleges can admit prospective students who have completed
online high school programs from out of state, if their home state
recognizes the online high school as a high school equivalent. Prospec-
tive students who reside in New York however cannot attend without
having to take a high school equivalency test. This disparate and
inconsistent policy disadvantages New York applicants who completed the
exact same program as their out of state counterparts. This legislation
does not mandate that colleges and universities admit these students,
but rather removes the barrier to applying for admission and makes them
eligible for financial aid like all other applicants.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
This is a new bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the State.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become law.

Statutes affected:
S6705: 355 education law, 355(2) education law, 6306 education law, 6206 education law