What's happening
This bill allows excess funds from the licensed private career schools tuition reimbursement account to be transferred to the proprietary vocational school supervision account.
Why it matters
Allows more flexible use of state-held funds. By permitting transfers of excess money from the tuition reimbursement account, the bill enables the state to redirect resources to areas overseeing vocational schools, potentially addressing regulatory or oversight needs.
Sets a financial threshold for fund transfers. The bill establishes a clear benchmark ($2.5 million) for when excess funds should be moved, which may help avoid unnecessary accumulation of public money in one account and support more balanced financial management.
May impact support for students and schools. Since the tuition reimbursement account is designed to protect students if a private career school closes, reallocating excess funds could affect the cushion available for student claims in rare but critical situations.
Strengthens oversight of proprietary vocational schools. By channeling surplus funds into the supervision account, the bill could enhance the state’s ability to monitor, regulate, and support vocational schools, potentially improving educational quality and consumer protection.
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Who cares
State education commissioner
The bill would allow the commissioner to request a direct transfer of any tuition reimbursement account balance above $2.5 million to the proprietary vocational school supervision account.
Licensed private career schools
The bill would redirect excess funds from their sector’s tuition reimbursement account to the account for proprietary vocational school supervision.
Students at licensed private career schools
Transfers would reduce the funds held in the tuition reimbursement account whenever its net balance exceeds $2.5 million and the commissioner requests a transfer.
Headline styles
Transfer Excess Tuition Funds
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to higher education
- Referred to rules
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.
Transfer Surplus School Funds
In Assembly Committee · Higher Education · Sponsor Alicia Hyndman
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
6592
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
June 17, 2019
Introduced by Sen. LIU -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the transfer of certain funds from the licensed private career schools tuition reimbursement account to the proprietary vocational school supervision account
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 10 of section 5007 of the education law is amended by adding a new paragraph i to read as follows:
i. In the event that the net balance of the tuition reimbursement account is in excess of two million five hundred thousand dollars, as defined in paragraph a of this subdivision, any amount over two million five hundred thousand dollars shall be transferred directly to the proprietary vocational school supervision account upon request by the commissioner.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07644-01-9
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 the transfer of certain funds from the licensed private career schools tuition reimbursement account to the proprietary vocational school supervision account
Purpose
To allow the State Education Department to transfer funds from the tuition reimbursement account to the proprietary vocational school supervision account when the balance of the tuition reimbursement account exceeds $2.5 million.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 of the bill adds a new paragraph (i)to subdivision 10 of section 5007 of the education law to allow the State Education Depart- ment to transfer funds from the tuition reimbursement account to the proprietary vocational school supervision upon request by the Commis- sioner when the balance of the tuition reimbursement account exceeds $2.5 million.
Section 2 of the bill provides for the effective date.
Justification
The State Education Department's (SED) Bureau of Proprietary School Supervision (BPSS) is responsible for licensing and monitoring the private "proprietary" schools in New York State to ensure that students receive a quality education and to protect the students' financial interests. BPSS is also in charge of investigating student complaints and conducting comprehensive investigations of proprietary schools to assure compliance with Education Law and SED regulations.
Unfortunately, BPSS has been faced with limited resources making it difficult for the office to carry out its functions. Currently, there are nearly 500 licensed proprietary schools in New York and that number is growing each month. BPSS is facing extremely high caseloads for educational technical assistance and backlogs in licensure renewals and investigations of complaints. BPSS has no resources to investigate unli- censed proprietary schools engaging in unlawful activities.
This legislation would allow SED to transfer funds from the tuition reimbursement account, which has funding above and beyond what is needed to ensure student protection, to the proprietary school supervision account. Transferring this funding to the proprietary school supervision account would allow BPSS to work to reduce educational technical assist- ance caseloads, reduce backlogs in complaint investigations, improve licensure renewal and other vital services, improve the quality of guid- ance provided to the public regarding this sector of higher education, and improve the fiscal tracking of assessments, penalty payments, and review of annual financial statements. BPSS would also be able to estab- lish a more innovative method of curricular review and method of ensur- ing the continued educational quality of proprietary schools. Enacting this legislation would enhance BPSS's ability to fulfill its mission and would provide tremendous benefit for the students attending proprietary schools and the proprietary schools themselves.
Legislative history
This is a new bill.
Fiscal implications
None to the state.
Effective date
Immediate.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.