Sen. George Borrello wants the state to reimburse students who chose to leave college over SUNY”s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

Borrello, R-Sunset Bay, has introduced S.8755 in the state Senate. Assemblyman Kevin Byrne, R-Brewster, has introduced companion legislation (A.9565) in the Assembly.

On Aug. 23, 2021, SUNY announced that all students must have proof of vaccination to remain enrolled. Students were given 35 days, until Sept. 27, to comply or submit vaccination exemption requests based on medical or religious grounds. According to communications with the SUNY vice chancellor for government affairs and marketing, in fall 2021, SUNY received a total of 8,134 exemption requests (7,048 religious and 1,086 medical).

According to Borrello’s legislative justification, 74.5% of those requests were approved while 1,516 students were dis-enrolled, some who requested exemptions, some who did not.

“More than 1,500 students were forced out of SUNY schools, dis-enrolled because they were unable to comply with SUNY’s vaccine mandate,” Borrello said in a news release. “Many of these students had applied for medical or religious exemptions. It’s unconscionable that SUNY would keep their money after kicking them out of school.”

Borrello’s legislation would amend Section 1 of State Education Law to allow reimbursement for SUNY students attending an institution of higher learning who were dis-enrolled due to the COVID vaccination status for any cost of enrollment and for any term they were dis-enrolled from. Roughly 97% of SUNY students met the vaccination deadline. SUNY wasn’t the only school to dis-enroll students. One of the first was the University of Virginia, which didn’t dis-enroll students until there had been several efforts to email, call and text students as well as call the students’ parents.

“I support the vaccine as a personal choice. If SUNY wishes to restrict this low-risk group then they should refund all fees and expenses,” Borrello said. “This was a disproportionate, severe sanction SUNY handed down to these students. It’s disappointing that no attempt was made to accommodate these students so they could continue their studies. Students who were not approved for an exemption and decided not to comply with the mandate should not be financially punished because of a personal, medical decision.”

SUNY schools weren’t the only ones that mandated vaccines in order to attend classes, and vaccine requirements for childhood vaccinations are often required before students attend college.

Borrello said many private colleges and universities required vaccines but gave students much more time to make the decision. Barnard College made its announcement April 19, 2021, and the vaccine requirement did not go into effect until the fall semester. NYU and Columbia University also announced vaccine mandates on April 19 to take effect in the fall. A Chronicle of Higher Education database showed at least 1,000 colleges and universities had some form of vaccine mandate.

SUNY did not have a blanket policy for tuition reimbursements for the students who were removed from classes. Instead, each SUNY member was allowed to follow their individual tuition refund policies. SUNY Potsdam was among those that did not offer any refund for housing, meals or tuition. SUNY Old Westbury had a different approach, with tuition and fees refunded depending on when a student withdrew. Students who withdrew by Sept. 7, which was the last day for Old Westbury students to add or drop classes, received a full refund. The percentage of refund decreased the longer the semester advanced.

“Students attending private universities were given much more time to weigh their options and make difficult decisions about their future Students attending SUNY schools were not given the same liberties,” Borrello said. “The 35-day window simply didn’t give SUNY students enough time to comply with SUNY’s vaccine mandate or their exemption process. This is another example of the powers that be in state government ruling by edict.”