---
type: "Bill"
title: "Relates to scholarships for academic excellence"
description: "Provides that a scholarship for academic excellence that is declined by a student prior to the end of their high school program shall be granted to the next most qualified student, if practicable."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ny"
legislature: "New York Legislature"
session: "2025-2026"
identifier: "A 7053"
citation: "New York A 7053 (2025-2026)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn"]
version_count: 2
action_count: 17
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2025-03-20"
last_action: "2025-11-21"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/4bf0b072-a54b-4eb5-a652-48e7873d4024"
source_url: "http://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A7053"
source_hash: "c48114fb8f3fc94f541cffca97797ca6ce1bbe781aca656bc3c0b1f2e02081fe"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ny"]
---

# New York A 7053 (2025-2026) — Relates to scholarships for academic excellence

Provides that a scholarship for academic excellence that is declined by a student prior to the end of their high school program shall be granted to the next most qualified student, if practicable.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **A7053** (committee substitute) — [source](http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?sh=printbill&bn=A7053&term=2025&Text=Y)
2. **A7053A** (committee substitute) — [source](http://legislation.nysenate.gov/pdf/bills/2025/A7053A)

## Votes

- Floor Vote - Version: A — **59–0** (pass) · upper
- Assembly Vote — **146–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn — primary (person)
- Judy Griffin — cosponsor (person)
- Kwani O'Pharrow — cosponsor (person)
- Maritza Davila — cosponsor (person)
- William Colton — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2025-03-20** REFERRED TO HIGHER EDUCATION `referral-committee`
- **2025-05-16** AMEND AND RECOMMIT TO HIGHER EDUCATION `amendment-passage, referral-committee`
- **2025-05-16** PRINT NUMBER 7053A `amendment-passage`
- **2025-05-20** REPORTED REFERRED TO WAYS AND MEANS `referral-committee`
- **2025-05-27** REPORTED REFERRED TO RULES `referral-committee`
- **2025-05-29** REPORTED
- **2025-05-29** RULES REPORT CAL.334
- **2025-05-29** ORDERED TO THIRD READING RULES CAL.334
- **2025-05-29** PASSED ASSEMBLY `passage`
- **2025-05-29** DELIVERED TO SENATE
- **2025-05-29** REFERRED TO HIGHER EDUCATION `referral-committee`
- **2025-06-12** SUBSTITUTED FOR S7580A
- **2025-06-12** 3RD READING CAL.1180
- **2025-06-12** PASSED SENATE `passage`
- **2025-06-12** RETURNED TO ASSEMBLY
- **2025-11-17** DELIVERED TO GOVERNOR `executive-receipt`
- **2025-11-21** SIGNED CHAP.526 `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/4bf0b072-a54b-4eb5-a652-48e7873d4024`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official New York legislature records).