ALBANY, NY (WRGB) — New York has introduced a what’s being billed as a groundbreaking law aimed at safeguarding college students from discrimination.
The legislation mandates that every college and university in the state appoint a Title VI coordinator, who will serve as a dedicated contact for students to report discrimination based on race, religion, or national origin.
The initiative follows a year marked by a significant increase in antisemitic incidents on campuses.
Education attorney Nicholas Marricco from Tully Rinckey PLLC said the new law addresses a major conflict of interest that previously left students without a genuine voice. “What that meant was you had the college investigating itself, and if a faculty or the college employee is found liable for discrimination in theory, so is the college. So why would the college admit that itself is liable for discrimination?” Marricco said. “Now with this new piece of legislation, hopefully this also gets the state more involved to force these colleges to investigate and handle discrimination claims… not just against other classmates, but again against faculty members. That’s the biggest win for students.”
Marricco also noted that the law is a significant victory for students with disabilities, who often struggle to obtain the accommodations they are legally entitled to. “Disabled students are often caught in a loop where they don’t know that they are entitled to certain protections under the law,” he said. “So they go about their business, they go about their day, they go about their education, not knowing that they’re entitled to additional protections. And then they fail their courses or they get in trouble by professors or professors don’t give them accommodations in school. With additional protections like this you know it’s going to make a huge difference.”
Supporters of the law hope that the transparency it provides will make a substantial impact.
