NY State Senate Bill 2025-S1003

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Higher Education Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 08, 2025	referred to higher education

2025-S1003 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Higher Education
Law Section:: Education Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §605, Ed L
Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:: S8350

2025-S1003 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Establishes a school-based mental health loan repayment program to aid youth mental health practitioners; provides for awards up to thirty thousand dollars to eligible applicants who agree to four years of service in underserved schools.

2025-S1003 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S1003

SPONSOR: BROUK
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the education law, in relation to creating the school-
based mental health loan repayment program

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To establish a school-based mental health loan repayment program for
mental health professionals working in schools with the ratios of
students to professionals not meeting the recommendations set by the
Department of Education.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Legislative findings.

Section 2: Amends section 605 of the education law adding a new subdivi-
sion 13 to establish the school-based mental health loan repayment
program and establish eligibility for receiving an award under this

section.

Section 3: Sets the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Across the United States, there is currently a shortage of school-based
mental health professionals, and New York is not immune to this short-
age. The New York State Board's Association indicates that twenty-nine
percent of school superintendents in New York State said their school
districts lack enough school psychologists to meet students' needs. This
inadequacy has detrimental effects upon the mental health of our youth
who are struggling with depression, feelings of persistent sadness,
hopelessness, and suicidal thoughts.

According to an April 2022 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), youth who did not
feel close to persons at school reported higher rates of the following:
poor mental health during the last 30 days and during the pandemic,
persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, and having seriously
considered attempting, or having attempted, suicide.  Ensuring that
students have access to the proper mental health professionals is just
one solution. If there is going to be progress in dealing with students'
ongoing trauma, the state needs to take a public health approach to
establish school-based professionals that are available to help.

In a recent report compiled by the Office of Mental Health and Office of
Children and Family Services, youth offered recommendations including
the need to increase mental health resources in schools by hiring addi-
tional well-trained mental health providers and school psychologists.
Nationally, It would take an estimated 77,000 more school counselors,
63,000 more school psychologists and probably tens of thousands of
school social workers to reach levels recommended by professional groups
before the pandemic hit.

The National Association of School Psychologists recommends one school
psychologist per 500 students in order to provide comprehensive school
psychological services. With the national average of one school psychol-
ogist per 1,127 students, and variation throughout states, this bill
aims to incentivise trained mental health providers and school psychol-
ogists to enter and practice in a field that is currently facing attri-
tion.

Access to mental health services throughout New York is not equitable;
some counties experience greater shortages than others. In fact, 40 of
New York's 62 counties are identified as a Mental Health Professional
Shortage Area. In communities that are more greatly disadvantaged and
face socio-economic disparities and hardships, these shortages have even
more profound ramifications.

Offering school-based mental health professionals student loan forgive-
ness during the duration of their tenure at these schools could help
address the workforce shortage and help combat the public health crisis
we are facing.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2024: S8350 Referred to Higher Education.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2025-S1003 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1003
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 8, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  BROUK  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Higher Education
 
 AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to creating  the  school-
   based mental health loan repayment program

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Legislative findings.  The  legislature  acknowledges  that
 there  is a mental health crisis among our youth, especially in our most
 vulnerable communities. The legislature also acknowledges that there  is
 a  shortage of mental health professionals working in schools across the
 state. In order to combat the youth mental health crisis,  the  legisla-
 ture  acknowledges  the  benefits  of  a  loan repayment program for the
 professionals working in the most underserved schools.
   § 2. Section 605 of the education law  is  amended  by  adding  a  new
 subdivision 13 to read as follows:
   13.  NEW YORK STATE SCHOOL-BASED MENTAL HEALTH LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM.
 A. PURPOSE. THE PRESIDENT SHALL GRANT  LOAN  REPAYMENT  AWARDS  FOR  THE
 PURPOSE  OF  INCREASING  THE NUMBER OF YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS
 EMPLOYED IN UNDERSERVED SCHOOLS ACROSS NEW YORK STATE. SUCH AWARDS SHALL
 BE MADE ON A COMPETITIVE BASIS TO APPLICANTS WHO HAVE GRADUATED FROM  AN
 INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION APPROVED OR REGISTERED BY THE REGENTS.
   B.  ELIGIBILITY.  (1)  TO  BE ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE AN AWARD PURSUANT TO
 THIS SUBDIVISION, AN APPLICANT MUST BE A RESIDENT OF NEW YORK STATE  WHO
 HAS  GRADUATED  FROM  AN  INSTITUTION  OF  HIGHER  EDUCATION  AND HAS AN
 OUTSTANDING STUDENT LOAN DEBT.
   (2) FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SUBDIVISION, A YOUTH  MENTAL  HEALTH  PROFES-
 SIONAL  CAN BE A CERTIFIED OR LICENSED SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST, SCHOOL COUN-
 SELOR, OR SOCIAL WORKER.
   (3) UNDERSERVED SCHOOLS SHALL BE SCHOOLS WITH STUDENT TO MENTAL HEALTH
 PROFESSIONAL RATIOS BELOW THE  RECOMMENDED  LEVELS  PROMULGATED  BY  THE
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD02214-01-5
 S. 1003                             2
 
 PRESIDENT  IN  CONJUNCTION  WITH  THE  COMMISSIONER FOR PURPOSES OF THIS
 SUBDIVISION.
   (4)  SUCH  AWARD  SHALL  BE  MADE ANNUALLY TO ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS WHO,
 PRIOR TO ACCEPTING SUCH AWARD, ARE COMMITTED TO AT LEAST FOUR  YEARS  OF
 SERVICE  AS A YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL IN AN UNDERSERVED SCHOOL,
 AND SUCH AWARD SHALL NOT EXCEED THIRTY THOUSAND  DOLLARS  PER  YEAR  AND
 SHALL BE MADE TO APPLICANTS PURSUANT TO THE FOLLOWING SCHEDULE:
   (I) THIRTY PERCENT OF THE TOTAL AWARD FOR THE FIRST YEAR;
   (II) THIRTY PERCENT FOR THE SECOND YEAR; AND
   (III)  ANY UNPAID BALANCE OF THE TOTAL AWARD NOT TO EXCEED THE MAXIMUM
 AWARD AMOUNT FOR THE THIRD YEAR.
   (5) RECIPIENTS OF SUCH AWARDS SHALL BE ELIGIBLE  TO  APPLY  FOR  OTHER
 AWARDS ESTABLISHED UNDER THIS CHAPTER.
   C.  DURATION. SUCH AWARD SHALL BE MADE ANNUALLY, FOR NO MORE THAN FOUR
 YEARS, TO APPLICANTS WHO REMAIN ELIGIBLE UNDER THIS SUBDIVISION AND  WHO
 ARE CERTIFIED AS SUCH BY THE CORPORATION.
   D.  AMOUNT.  THE CORPORATION SHALL GRANT SUCH AWARDS WITHIN THE AMOUNT
 APPROPRIATED FOR SUCH PURPOSE AND BASED ON AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS  IN  AN
 AMOUNT  NOT  TO  EXCEED  THE TOTAL COST OF THE COMPLETION OF SUCH DEGREE
 PROGRAMS. COST OF COMPLETION OF SUCH DEGREES SHALL INCLUDE TUITION AT AN
 INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION APPROVED OR REGISTERED  BY  THE  REGENTS
 AND OTHER REQUIRED OR REASONABLE STUDENT FEES.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S1003

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Higher Education Committee

Actions

2025-S1003 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S1003 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S1003 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S1003 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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Sponsored By

Samra G. Brouk

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Higher Education Committee

Actions

2025-S1003 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S1003 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S1003 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S1003 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments