Assembly Bill A10882

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   10882
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               July 24, 2020
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Frontus) --
   read once and referred to the Committee on Education
 
 AN ACT to amend the education  law,  in  relation  to  including  mental
   health services to be provided by schools to students
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. Section 901 of the education law, as amended by chapter 477
 of the laws of 2004, subdivision 1 as amended by section 57 of  part  A1
 of chapter 58 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:
   § 901. School  health  services  to  be  provided.  1.  School  health
 services, as defined in  subdivision  two  of  this  section,  shall  be
 provided  by  each school district for all students attending the public
 schools in this state, except in the city school district of the city of
 New York, as provided in this  article.  School  health  services  shall
 include  the  services  of  a  registered  professional nurse, if one is
 employed, and shall also include such services as  may  be  rendered  as
 provided  in  this  article  in  examining students for the existence of
 disease or disability, EMOTIONAL AND MENTAL  HEALTH  CONDITIONS  and  in
 testing the eyes and ears of such students.
   2.  School health services for the purposes of this article shall mean
 the several procedures, including, but not limited to, medical  examina-
 tions,  dental  inspection and/or screening, EMOTIONAL AND MENTAL HEALTH
 SCREENING, scoliosis screening, vision screening and  audiometer  tests,
 designed  to determine the health status of the child; to inform parents
 or other persons in parental relation to the child, pupils and  teachers
 of  the individual child's health condition subject to federal and state
 confidentiality laws; to guide parents, children and teachers in  proce-
 dures  for  preventing  and correcting defects and diseases; to instruct
 the school personnel in procedures  to  take  in  case  of  accident  or
 illness;  to  survey  and  make necessary recommendations concerning the
 health and safety aspects of school  facilities  and  the  provision  of
 health information.
   3.  DIRECTORS  OF  SCHOOL HEALTH SERVICES AT EACH SCHOOL SHALL WORK IN
 CONJUNCTION WITH LICENSED MENTAL HEALTH PRACTITIONERS IN ORDER TO DETER-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
              

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD16398-03-0

 A. 10882                            2
 
 MINE IF A STUDENT IS EXPERIENCING EMOTIONAL OR MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES THAT
 MAY PREVENT SUCH STUDENT FROM RECEIVING THE FULL BENEFIT OF SCHOOL  WORK
 AND SHALL MODIFY SUCH SCHOOL WORK GIVEN TO SUCH STUDENT IF NECESSARY, IN
 ORDER TO ACHIEVE THE BEST EDUCATIONAL RESULTS.
   §  2.  Section  904  of  the  education law is amended by adding a new
 subdivision 3 to read as follows:
   3. EACH SCHOOL AND SCHOOL DISTRICT CHOSEN AS PART  OF  AN  APPROPRIATE
 SAMPLING  METHODOLOGY  SHALL  PARTICIPATE  IN  SURVEYS  DIRECTED  BY THE
 COMMISSIONER OF HEALTH PURSUANT TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH LAW IN RELATION  TO
 STUDENT MENTAL HEALTH, CONSISTENT WITH FEDERAL AND STATE CONFIDENTIALITY
 REQUIREMENTS.  DATA  COLLECTION  FOR  SUCH  SURVEYS  SHALL COMMENCE ON A
 VOLUNTARY BASIS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE  TWO  THOUSAND  TWENTY  ACADEMIC
 SCHOOL YEAR, AND BY ALL SCHOOLS CHOSEN AS PART OF THE SAMPLING METHODOL-
 OGY  AT  THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-ONE ACADEMIC SCHOOL
 YEAR. THE DEPARTMENT SHALL ALSO UTILIZE THE COLLECTED  DATA  TO  DEVELOP
 ANNUAL REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING STUDENT MENTAL HEALTH.
   § 3. This act shall take effect January 1, 2021.