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Albany – Senator Mike Nozzolio called on the SUNY Board of Trustees last Friday to reverse their recent decision to change the application process for SUNY schools.  Under the new policy, an applicant would not have to disclose whether or not he or she had ever been convicted of a felony.

In response to the SUNY Board of Trustees' actions taken on Wednesday, September 14th, Nozzolio will introduce legislation requiring the  state's higher education system to return to screening applicants for such violations. He has also sent a letter outlining his concerns to SUNY Board of Trustees and them to reconsider their decision.

"While perhaps well intended, this new policy put students safety and security and risk.  College should provide a safe and secure environment for learning and parents should not have to worry when they send their kids off to school. The state Legislature has adopted several initiatives in recent years aimed at reducing instances of sexual assault and violence on campus. This policy change flies in the face of those efforts, and has the potential to allow rapists and other violent felons to be present on campuses, unbeknownst to those around them, or those in charge," said Nozzolio.

"SUNY should be focused on providing the best educational setting possible for their students. This new policy violates the trust that is placed in the SUNY system, in their responsibility to create a safe learning environment.  The legislation that I will be introducing reinstates the long-standing requirement and ensures that university officials know an applicant's full personal history when making a decision regarding admittance.  This also translates to general safety on campus, in trying to provide the safest and most structured learning environment," said Nozzolio.

SUNY trustees and administrators announced last week that the system will implement a new policy, effective next July for the 2018 student recruitment cycle, no longer requiring student applicants to declare prior felony convictions.

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