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Schools Are Opening
College campuses are once again opening up for business. And the beginning of the new academic year brings both good and bad news for students in need of financial assistance through the state’s Tuition Assistance Program – TAP. In order to receive financial aid, a student files for a TAP award based on the family’s most recent tax return. Those students in financial need are awarded assistance. For those students who experience dramatic changes in their family income during the academic year – such as a death in the family, or a divorce, or a serious medical illness – there can be no appeal to change the size of the award. New York’s prohibition has been indefensible. The federal government’s financial aid program – known as Pell grants – allows students who have experienced a serious change in their income to appeal for an increase. Last year nearly 8,000 New York college students requested such a change. The federal program should serve as a model for New York. All New York State would have to do is to “piggyback” on the existing federal program and allow college students the opportunity to request an adjustment in the same way as they can appeal to the federal government right now. And now the good news. In last year’s budget, New York policymakers began to address that problem. Lawmakers approved legislation that allows students who have suffered a significant loss in family income to appeal for an increase in their TAP awards. But now the bad news. The legislation that passed is far too restrictive. The new law allows only those students who have experienced a loss of income as the result of a catastrophic illness of the student or if the student or the spouse of the student has been or is being called to active military duty. However, under this change students who have a suffered serious loss of income as the result of, say, their parents becoming disabled or unemployed, cannot appeal for an increase in their award – only if they themselves lost income due to a catastrophic illness. Of course, this makes no sense. Nor does it makes sense that students cannot ask for more aid if they have lost income due to one of their parents being called to active duty – only if they themselves, or their spouse, were called to duty. And what about the financial losses from the divorce of one’s parent, or death of a child? Those students are not eligible? Absurd and unfair. The language in the budget is a start in that it establishes the concept of mid-year income adjustments. However, it is narrowly – and indefensibly – exclusive to permit very few students to get an adjustment to their awards. The state Assembly passed legislation that would expand the categories of students who would be allowed to appeal their TAP awards in the face of serious loss of income. Unfortunately, the Senate did not act on the legislation. Now that colleges are re-opening their doors and with the excitement of a new school year there must be action on this important issue. The Senate is expected to return in the middle of September to act on some open issues. Bringing fairness to New York’s TAP program must be at the top of Senate’s agenda when it soon returns to Albany to do the public’s business. That’s all for now. I’ll be keeping an eye on the Capitol and will talk to you again next week. |
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