What's happening
This bill requires New York colleges to clearly inform students with education loans that tuition or fee refunds must be repaid to the lender.
Why it matters
Promotes financial awareness for students. By requiring clear notification, the bill helps students understand that any refunded tuition or fee payments, when paid by loans, are not "free money" but must be repaid with interest, potentially preventing financial misunderstandings or unexpected debt.
Targets a common source of confusion. Many students may assume a refund means they have surplus grant aid or credit, when in reality it’s often borrowed funds. This measure directly addresses this misconception, helping students make more informed decisions about their finances.
Encourages responsible borrowing and spending. By making loan repayment obligations explicit at the point of refund or aid acceptance, the bill may discourage students from unnecessary borrowing and foster more prudent financial planning.
Supports institutional transparency. Mandating conspicuous notices holds colleges accountable for communicating the true nature of tuition refunds, aligning school practices with consumer protection principles.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Notify Students Loan Refunds Repayable
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
2 Co-sponsors
History
- Referred to higher education
- Referred to higher education
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
4101
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 1, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. ENGLEBRIGHT, PEOPLES-STOKES, JAFFEE -- Multi- Sponsored by -- M. of A. COOK, GALEF, LUPARDO, MOSLEY, RIVERA, WRIGHT -- read once and referred to the Committee on Higher Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to requiring institutions of higher education to provide conspicuous notice to students, having education loans, that refunds of overpayments of tuition or fees have to be repaid to the lender
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 6437-a to read as follows:
§ 6437-a. Overpayments of tuition and fees. Every institution of higher education which receives or credits to a student's account any overpayment of tuition and/or fees, shall, if such student's tuition and/or fees are paid by means of any type of education loan, conspicuously provide notice to students, either at the time a student accepts a financial aid offer or directly on the refund check for such overpayment, that the refund is loan money that will have to be repaid to the education loan lender.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08498-01-9
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.