Enacts the college student suicide prevention act to provide for policies, procedures and guidelines on suicide prevention, intervention and postvention for every higher education institution.
This bill requires New York State teachers to complete 10 hours of specific mental health and trauma-informed training during each five-year teaching license renewal period. It mandates that this training cover topics like trauma-informed care, identifying mental health symptoms, adverse childhood experiences, crisis de-escalation, and mental health first aid. The training must be part of the existing 100-hour continuing education requirement for teachers. The law applies directly to all licensed teachers and school leaders seeking license renewal after July 1, 2026. The New York State Education Department will develop the required course standards and content.
This bill lowers the compulsory school age from six to five years old for full-time instruction in New York State. It requires children who turn five on or before December 1st to start school in September of that year, while those turning five after December 1st can begin the following September. Parents may choose to delay kindergarten enrollment until the next September, and the bill maintains exceptions for high school completers and full-time workers. The change affects all school districts and parents of five-year-old children.
Establishes the gifted education reinforcement act to establish statewide standards for gifted education programs; requires school districts to be accountable for providing such programs.
Requires policies regarding maximum temperatures in school buildings and facilities to include a plan to remove students and staff from occupied spaces where practicable when educational and support services spaces reach eighty-eight degrees Fahrenheit.
Relates to a tuition tax credit; increases the amount of an allowable deduction (Part A); reduces income by the amount of interest paid for student loans (Part B).
Establishes a managerial or confidential higher education differential for employees designated managerial or confidential who hold an earned associate's degree, bachelor's degree, master's degree, or doctorate (e.g., MD, JD, Ph.D.) from a college or university or a professional license issued by the New York state education department are eligible to receive a higher education differential of up to six hundred dollars retroactively for state fiscal year two thousand twenty-four-two thousand twenty-five and for state fiscal year two thousand twenty-five-two thousand twenty-six.
This bill requires New York colleges and universities to adopt and implement specific policies for preventing and responding to sexual harassment, sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. It mandates that schools define these terms consistently with federal standards, create clear reporting protections (including no disciplinary action for alcohol/drug use at the time of an incident), and establish fair, timely complaint procedures. Key mechanisms include requiring trained investigators, ensuring both parties have equal rights to evidence review and advisors during hearings, and guaranteeing privacy for reporting individuals. The bill applies directly to all public and private institutions of higher education in New York State.
Establishes a half-credit course in financial education delivered by means of a comprehensive financial literacy program for all pupils in grades nine, ten, eleven or twelve.
Prohibits independent higher education institutions from collecting financial information from a student's or prospective student's non-custodial parent; requires that private colleges use student financial aid formulas that are arrived at independently, without coordination with outside standard setting organizations.
