What's happening
This bill creates a student loan forgiveness program for New York child care professionals who serve in licensed facilities for up to five years.
Why it matters
Addresses workforce shortages in child care. by incentivizing more people to become and remain child care professionals in New York, which could improve access to quality child care for families across the state.
Targets retention as well as recruitment. , since loan forgiveness is distributed incrementally over five years, encouraging professionals not just to enter the field but to stay in it longer-term.
Provides substantial financial relief. (up to $25,000) for child care workers with student debt, which may make the profession more accessible to graduates who otherwise couldn’t afford to work in lower-paying, high-need roles.
May help elevate the status and stability of the child care workforce. by recognizing the value of their service and supporting their educational investment, potentially leading to better outcomes for young children in licensed care settings.
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Who cares
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Forgive Child Care Worker Loans
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to higher education
- Print number 3784a
- Amend and recommit to higher education
- Referred to higher education
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Forgive Child Care Worker Loans
In Assembly Committee · Higher Education · Sponsor William Magnarelli
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
3784--A
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 14, 2019
Introduced by Sen. KENNEDY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Higher Education -committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to creating the child care professionals loan forgiveness incentive program
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 605 of the education law is amended by adding a new subdivision 13 to read as follows:
13. New York state child care professionals loan forgiveness incentive program. a. Purpose. The president shall grant student loan forgiveness awards for the purpose of increasing the number of child care professionals employed in New York state. Such awards shall be made on a competitive basis to applicants who have graduated from an institution of higher education approved or registered by the regents.
b. Eligibility. (1) To be eligible to receive an award pursuant to this subdivision, an applicant must be a resident of New York state who has graduated from an institution of higher education and has an outstanding student loan debt.
(2) Such awards shall be made annually to eligible applicants who, prior to accepting such awards, engaged in twelve months of service as a child care professional in a child day care facility licensed or registered pursuant to the social services law or the administrative code of the city of New York and such awards shall not exceed an amount of twenty-five thousand dollars and shall be made to such applicants, pursuant to the following schedule:
(i) twenty percent to be awarded upon the completion of the first year;
(ii) twenty percent to be awarded upon the completion of the second year;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00834-02-9
S. 3784--A 2
(iii) twenty percent to be awarded upon the completion of the third year;
(iv) twenty percent to be awarded upon the completion of the fourth year; and
(v) twenty percent to be awarded upon the completion of the fifth year.
(3) Recipients of such awards shall be eligible to apply for other awards established under this chapter.
c. Duration. Such awards shall be made annually, for no more than five years, to applicants who remain eligible under this subdivision and who are certified as such by the corporation.
d. Amount. The corporation shall grant such awards within the amounts appropriated for such purpose and based on the availability of funds in an amount not to exceed the total cost of the completion of such degree programs. Cost of completion of such degrees shall include: tuition at an institution of higher education approved or registered by the regents and other required or reasonable student fees.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the education law, in relation to creating the child care professionals loan forgiveness incentive program
Purpose
This bill seeks to create a Regents child care professional's loan forgiveness program to encourage individuals to work in the child care field.
Summary of provisions
Section 1: Amends 605 of the education law by adding a new subdivision 13 that creates the NYS child care professional's loan forgive ness incentive program. The program will award regents loan forgiveness awards to applicants who agree to engage in employment as child care professionals.
Section 2: effective date
Justification
Currently, licensed day care facilities are losing employees because they cannot afford a competitive salary to those individuals who are entering the field. Individuals graduating from college who would like to enter the day care profession are discouraged from doing so because they will not earn a high enough salary so as to pay back the loans that they have incurred in college. This legislation would encourage quali- fied college graduates to seek a job in a licensed or registered day care facility by alleviating their concerns about paying back large loans.
Prior legislative history
2017-18: S.6418 Referred to Higher Education
Fiscal implications
To be determined.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.