A new state bill would require colleges to reimburse tuition to sexual assault victims – after a report that Cornell denied a refund to the student at the center of the “Cornell 7” gang rape scandal.
State Assembly member Grace Lee (D-Manhattan) will introduce the “Survivor’s Choice Act” Thursday, which will require all public and private higher ed schools in the Empire State to refund tuition for a semester they take leave or withdraw from classes.
“No survivor of sexual assault should have to choose between their recovery and their education,” Lee said a statement to The Post. “The Survivor’s Choice Act gives survivors the freedom to step away from school without being punished academically or financially.”
The bill would also allow alleged victims of sexual assault to rollover payments when they reenroll as full-time students.
The Manhattan lawmaker is sponsoring the bill in the wake of the “Cornell 7” case – after Jane Doe’s attorney claimed in an interview with CNN that Cornell University denied her a tuition refund when she tried to take a leave of absence following her alleged 2024 gang rape by seven members of the school’s Chi Phi Fraternity.
“(She) wanted to leave the university and go home and heal,” attorney Thomas Giffura said — adding that instead, “she spent an entire semester on campus where she saw these guys on a fairly regular basis.”
The Survivor’s Choice Act would apply to any individual taking leave of absence or withdrawing as a result of domestic violence, dating violence, stalking and/or sexual assault.
The bill language claims that students seeking to invoke the act must provide their university with either an order of protection, a police report, a medical record or a signed statement from a counselor, advocate, doctor, attorney or clergy member.
The legislation – which is modeled after the current standards in place for active military duty personnel – also guarantees that students in good standing are guaranteed readmission within two years of their withdrawal from school.
The Survivor’s Choice Act would also protect students from receiving “W” or failing grades on their transcript when deciding to take leave – and would require the institution cover and federal aid loans requiring repayment,
“Colleges have a responsibility to support survivors not stick them with a tuition bill for a school they can’t attend, and we’re going to hold them to it,” Lee said in a statement.
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