NY State Senate Bill 2015-S2729A

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee 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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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 28, 2016	print number 2729a
Jan 28, 2016	amend and recommit to education
Jan 06, 2016	referred to education
Jan 28, 2015	referred to education

Bill Amendments

Original

A (Active)

2015-S2729 - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A6063
Current Committee:: Senate Education
Law Section:: Education Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §804, Ed L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2011-2012: S7030, A9880
2013-2014: S5007, A1911

2015-S2729 - Summary

Relates to clarifying health education.

2015-S2729 - Sponsor Memo

                                BILL NUMBER:S2729

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the education law, in relation to
clarifying health education

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This bill calls on school districts to ensure that their health
education programs recognize the multiple dimensions of health by
including mental health and the relation between mental and physical
health in health education.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 adds a new paragraph to Education Law § 804 to declare that
mental health as well as physical health is part of health education
in the schools. Section 2 makes the bill effective on July 1, 2014.

JUSTIFICATION:

New York State Education Department regulations recognize that there
are several dimensions to health and health education including mental
health. However, this statute is not clear. This legislation,
therefore, updates New York State law to keep public education apace
with our advancements in the understanding and treatment of mental
health issues.

It has been forty years since New York's education laws first called
for teaching about health matters in our schools. Over the years state
law has expanded to recognize that knowledge about specific public
health concerns such as alcohol, drug, tobacco abuse and the
prevention and detection of certain cancers is critically important
for students, Equally critical, but missing from current law and often
the classroom, is the recognition that mental health is as important
to health and well-being as physical health. The World Health
Organization considers health to be "a state of complete physical,
mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or
infirmity." Mental health, as we understand it in 2012, is an integral
part of our overall health and should be an integral part of health
education in New York schools.

By ensuring that young people learn about mental health, we increase
the likelihood that they will be able to more effectively recognize
signs in themselves and others, including family members, and get the
right help. Further, as we begin to teach the facts about mental
health and openly discuss the issues from a health perspective, we
will begin to remove the stigma surrounding mental illness - a stigma
that causes ostracism and isolation, leads to bullying and keeps many
students from getting the help they need. Over 90% of youth who die by
suicide suffer from;.  depression or another diagnosable and treatable
mental illness at the time of their death. Over 50 percent of students
with emotional or behavioral disorders drop out of high school and, of
those who do remain in school, only 42% graduate. Health education
that respects the importance of mental health and challenges of mental
illness will help young people and their families feel more
comfortable seeking help, improve academic performance and save lives.
As New York works to restructure and integrate systems of health and


mental health care, so too should our schools prepare our citizens of
tomorrow to think differently about the role of mental health in their
lives.  This bill does not mandate curriculum. Students are already
required to take health classes in order to graduate. Instead, this
bill codifies in statute what state regulations already recognize
-that health is multidimensional. And, thereby brings state law up to
date with our current understanding of health.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2013-14: S.5007  Referred to Education

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

This bill shall be effective July 1, 2016.

2015-S2729 - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  2729

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            January 28, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Education

AN ACT to amend the education law,  in  relation  to  clarifying  health
  education

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Section 804 of the education law, as added by  chapter  982
of  the laws of 1977, the section heading as amended and subdivision 3-a
as added by chapter 401 of the laws of 1998, subdivision 3 as amended by
chapter 674 of the laws of 2004, subdivision 4 as amended by chapter 181
of the laws of 2000, and paragraph a of  subdivision  4  as  amended  by
chapter 39 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows:
  S 804.  Health  education  regarding  MENTAL  HEALTH,  alcohol, drugs,
tobacco abuse and the prevention and detection of  certain  cancers.  1.
ALL  SCHOOLS  UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE DEPARTMENT SHALL ENSURE THAT
THEIR HEALTH EDUCATION PROGRAMS RECOGNIZE  THE  MULTIPLE  DIMENSIONS  OF
HEALTH  BY  INCLUDING  MENTAL  HEALTH  AND  THE RELATION OF PHYSICAL AND
MENTAL HEALTH SO AS TO  ENHANCE  STUDENT  UNDERSTANDING,  ATTITUDES  AND
BEHAVIORS THAT PROMOTE HEALTH, WELL-BEING AND HUMAN DIGNITY.
  2. All schools shall include, as an integral part of health education,
instruction  so as to discourage the misuse and abuse of alcohol, tobac-
co[,] and other drugs and promote attitudes and  behavior  that  enhance
health, well being, and human dignity.
  [2.]  3. Instruction regarding alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs shall
be included in the health education provided for all  elementary  school
pupils  and  shall  be  taught  by  the regular classroom teachers or by
teachers certified to teach health education. Such instruction shall  be
designed  according  to the needs and abilities of the pupils at succes-
sive grade levels with the purpose of developing desirable health behav-
ior, attitudes, and knowledge as well as self-reliance and problem solv-
ing capacity.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD06654-01-5

S. 2729                             2

  [3.] 4. Instruction regarding alcohol, tobacco, and  other  drugs,  in
addition  to  continued health guidance in the junior high school grades
and the senior high schools, shall be an integral  part  of  a  required
health education course at each of these levels in the secondary schools
curriculum.  Students  shall be required to demonstrate knowledge in the
subject area through the use of a test, graded project or report, or any
other means prescribed by  the  school  authorities  regarding  alcohol,
drugs,  and tobacco. Any such course shall be taught by teachers holding
a certificate to teach health. Related courses in the  secondary  school
curriculum  shall  be  taught in a manner supportive of health education
regarding alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.  In  addition,  instruction
regarding the dangers of driving while under the influence of alcohol or
drugs shall be an integral part of a required health education course in
the  senior  high  schools.  Such  instruction  shall be provided in all
senior high schools whether or not these  schools  also  provide  driver
education courses.
  [3-a.] 5. Instruction regarding methods of prevention and detection of
certain  cancers,  including  but  not  limited  to  breast cancer, skin
cancer, testicular cancer and other  cancers  where  certain  preventive
measures  have  become  generally accepted and certain detection methods
have been adopted and recommended generally to the public. Such instruc-
tion shall be an integral part of a required health education course  at
the  senior  high school level, in addition to continued health guidance
in senior high schools. Any such course  shall  be  taught  by  teachers
holding a certificate to teach health.
  [4.]  6.  a. The commissioner may prescribe in regulations such health
education courses which include instruction regarding alcohol,  tobacco,
and other drugs as the commissioner may deem necessary and desirable for
the  welfare  of pupils and the community. The contents may be varied to
meet the needs of particular school districts, or portions thereof,  and
need not be uniform throughout the state, provided, however, that school
districts  shall  utilize  either  the  curriculum  for health education
instruction regarding alcohol, tobacco and other drugs prescribed by the
commissioner or a course approved by the commissioner in accordance with
criteria established by the commissioner. The commissioner is authorized
to make recommendations to  the  board  of  regents  beginning  December
first,  two  thousand fourteen and every three years thereafter relating
to the modernization of such instruction required pursuant  to  subdivi-
sion one of this section, to include the most up to date age appropriate
information available regarding the misuse and abuse of alcohol, tobacco
and  other  drugs, including but not limited to heroin and opioids. Such
instruction shall include, but not be limited to, information  regarding
drugs  and  other  substances  that are more prevalent among school aged
youth. Such recommendations shall  be  the  result  of  a  collaboration
between  the  department,  the  office of alcoholism and substance abuse
services and the department of health. If the board  of  regents  adopts
such  curriculum,  the curriculum requirement shall take effect no later
than the next school year after such curriculum has been adopted.
  b. The commissioner shall make  available  an  interpersonal  violence
prevention  education  package  for  grades kindergarten through twelve,
which package may consist of student pamphlets, parent pamphlets,  vide-
otapes  and  other  informative  materials  to  be distributed to school
districts, and shall encourage the use of such material as part  of  the
health or other related curricula or programs.
  c.  The  regents  shall  review  the health curriculum requirements in
existence on the effective date of this paragraph  for  the  purpose  of

S. 2729                             3

streamlining  such  curriculum  and  identifying any outdated components
that may be eliminated or consolidated in order to ensure that  students
have sufficient time and instruction to develop skills to address issues
of violence prevention and mental health. To the extent appropriate, the
regents shall modify the existing curriculum to provide greater focus on
the  development  of  skills,  by  no later than middle school, that are
needed to recognize, cope with and  address  potentially  violent  inci-
dents[,]  including  an  understanding  of  [student's] STUDENT roles in
emergency situations[, what to do when confronted with  another  student
who  is  experiencing a mental health problem,] and other related skills
designed to reduce the threat of violence in schools.
  [5.] 7. School authorities shall provide the needed facilities,  time,
and  place for the instruction set forth herein and shall provide learn-
ing aids and curriculum resource materials which contribute to effective
teaching methods and learning in  health  education  regarding  alcohol,
tobacco, and other drugs.
  [6.]  8. All pre-service training programs in the state for elementary
teachers shall include adequate preparation regarding the instruction in
alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs set forth herein, and no teacher shall
be licensed except upon satisfactory demonstration of  the  competencies
included  in  the  institutional  proposals  approved by the [education]
department.
  [7.] 9. Nothing contained in this section shall be deemed to  diminish
or  impair the duties of the commissioner with respect to the continuing
program for  critical  health  problems  established  by  chapter  seven
hundred  eighty-seven  of  the  laws  of nineteen hundred sixty-seven as
amended. The commissioner shall coordinate actions taken under authority
of this section with the provisions of said chapter as  they  relate  to
health  education  in schools, inservice training and training programs,
and curriculum or syllabus development regarding the deleterious effects
resulting from the use, misuse, and abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and other
drugs.
  S 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2016.

2015-S2729A (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A6063
Current Committee:: Senate Education
Law Section:: Education Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §804, Ed L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2011-2012: S7030, A9880
2013-2014: S5007, A1911

2015-S2729A (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to clarifying health education.

2015-S2729A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S2729A

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the education law, in relation to clarifying health
education

 PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL :

This bill calls on school districts to ensure that their health
education programs recognize the multiple dimensions of health by
including mental health and the relation between mental and physical
health in health education.

 SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS :

Section 1 adds a new paragraph to Education Law § 804 to declare that
mental health as well as physical health is part of health education
in the schools. Section 2 makes the bill effective on July 1, 2017.

 JUSTIFICATION :

New York State Education Department regulations recognize that there
are several dimensions to health and health education including mental
health. However, this statute is not clear. This legislation,
therefore, updates New York State law to keep public education apace

with our advancements in the understanding and treatment of mental
health issues.

It has been forty years since New York's education laws first called
for teaching about health matters in our schools. Over the years state
law has expanded to recognize that knowledge about specific public
health concerns such as alcohol, drug, tobacco abuse and the
prevention and detection of certain cancers is critically important
for students, Equally critical, but missing from current law and often
the classroom, is the recognition that mental health is as important
to health and well-being as physical health. The World Health
Organization considers health to be "a state of complete physical,
mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or
infirmity."  Mental health, as we understand it in 2012, is an
integral part of our overall health and should be an integral part of
health education in New York schools.

By ensuring that young people learn about mental health, we increase
the likelihood that they will be able to more effectively recognize
signs in themselves and others, including family members, and get the
right help. Further, as we begin to teach the facts about mental
health and openly discuss the issues from a health perspective, we
will begin to remove the stigma surrounding mental illness - a stigma
that causes ostracism and isolation, leads to bullying and keeps many
students from getting the help they need. Over 90% of youth who die by
suicide suffer from; depression or another diagnosable and treatable
mental illness at the time of their death. Over 50 percent of students
with emotional or behavioral disorders drop out of high school and, of
those who do remain in school, only 42% graduate.  Health education
that respects the importance of mental health and challenges of mental
illness will help young people and their families feel more
comfortable seeking help, improve academic performance and save lives.
As New York works to restructure and integrate systems of health and
mental health care, so too should our schools prepare our citizens of
tomorrow to think differently about the role of mental health in their
lives. This bill does not mandate curriculum. Students are already
required to take health classes in order to graduate. Instead, this
bill codifies in statute what state regulations already recognize
-that health is multidimensional. And, thereby brings state law up to
date with our current understanding of health.
 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

2013-14: S.5007 Referred to Education

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This bill shall be effective July 1, 2017.

2015-S2729A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                 2729--A

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            January 28, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Education  --  recommitted
  to the Committee on Education in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8
  --  committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended
  and recommitted to said committee

AN ACT to amend the education law,  in  relation  to  clarifying  health
  education

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Section 804 of the education law, as added by  chapter  982
of  the laws of 1977, the section heading as amended and subdivision 3-a
as added by chapter 401 of the laws of 1998, subdivision 3 as amended by
chapter 674 of the laws of 2004, subdivision 4 as amended by chapter 181
of the laws of 2000, and paragraph a of  subdivision  4  as  amended  by
chapter 39 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows:
  S 804.  Health  education  regarding  MENTAL  HEALTH,  alcohol, drugs,
tobacco abuse and the prevention and detection of  certain  cancers.  1.
ALL  SCHOOLS  UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE DEPARTMENT SHALL ENSURE THAT
THEIR HEALTH EDUCATION PROGRAMS RECOGNIZE  THE  MULTIPLE  DIMENSIONS  OF
HEALTH  BY  INCLUDING  MENTAL  HEALTH  AND  THE RELATION OF PHYSICAL AND
MENTAL HEALTH SO AS TO  ENHANCE  STUDENT  UNDERSTANDING,  ATTITUDES  AND
BEHAVIORS THAT PROMOTE HEALTH, WELL-BEING AND HUMAN DIGNITY.
  2. All schools shall include, as an integral part of health education,
instruction  so as to discourage the misuse and abuse of alcohol, tobac-
co[,] and other drugs and promote attitudes and  behavior  that  enhance
health, well being, and human dignity.
  [2.]  3. Instruction regarding alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs shall
be included in the health education provided for all  elementary  school
pupils  and  shall  be  taught  by  the regular classroom teachers or by
teachers certified to teach health education. Such instruction shall  be
designed  according  to the needs and abilities of the pupils at succes-

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD06654-07-6

S. 2729--A                          2

sive grade levels with the purpose of developing desirable health behav-
ior, attitudes, and knowledge as well as self-reliance and problem solv-
ing capacity.
  [3.]  4.  Instruction  regarding alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs, in
addition to continued health guidance in the junior high  school  grades
and  the  senior  high  schools, shall be an integral part of a required
health education course at each of these levels in the secondary schools
curriculum. Students shall be required to demonstrate knowledge  in  the
subject area through the use of a test, graded project or report, or any
other  means  prescribed  by  the  school authorities regarding alcohol,
drugs, and tobacco. Any such course shall be taught by teachers  holding
a  certificate  to teach health. Related courses in the secondary school
curriculum shall be taught in a manner supportive  of  health  education
regarding  alcohol,  tobacco,  and other drugs. In addition, instruction
regarding the dangers of driving while under the influence of alcohol or
drugs shall be an integral part of a required health education course in
the senior high schools. Such  instruction  shall  be  provided  in  all
senior  high  schools  whether  or not these schools also provide driver
education courses.
  [3-a.] 5. Instruction regarding methods of prevention and detection of
certain cancers, including  but  not  limited  to  breast  cancer,  skin
cancer,  testicular  cancer  and  other cancers where certain preventive
measures have become generally accepted and  certain  detection  methods
have been adopted and recommended generally to the public. Such instruc-
tion  shall be an integral part of a required health education course at
the senior high school level, in addition to continued  health  guidance
in  senior  high  schools.  Any  such course shall be taught by teachers
holding a certificate to teach health.
  [4.] 6. a. The commissioner may prescribe in regulations  such  health
education  courses which include instruction regarding alcohol, tobacco,
and other drugs as the commissioner may deem necessary and desirable for
the welfare of pupils and the community. The contents may be  varied  to
meet  the needs of particular school districts, or portions thereof, and
need not be uniform throughout the state, provided, however, that school
districts shall utilize  either  the  curriculum  for  health  education
instruction regarding alcohol, tobacco and other drugs prescribed by the
commissioner or a course approved by the commissioner in accordance with
criteria established by the commissioner. The commissioner is authorized
to  make  recommendations  to  the  board  of regents beginning December
first, two thousand fourteen and every three years  thereafter  relating
to  the  modernization of such instruction required pursuant to subdivi-
sion one of this section, to include the most up to date age appropriate
information available regarding the misuse and abuse of alcohol, tobacco
and other drugs, including but not limited to heroin and  opioids.  Such
instruction  shall include, but not be limited to, information regarding
drugs and other substances that are more  prevalent  among  school  aged
youth.  Such  recommendations  shall  be  the  result of a collaboration
between the department, the office of  alcoholism  and  substance  abuse
services  and  the  department of health. If the board of regents adopts
such curriculum, the curriculum requirement shall take effect  no  later
than the next school year after such curriculum has been adopted.
  b.  The  commissioner  shall  make available an interpersonal violence
prevention education package for  grades  kindergarten  through  twelve,
which  package may consist of student pamphlets, parent pamphlets, vide-
otapes and other informative  materials  to  be  distributed  to  school

S. 2729--A                          3

districts,  and  shall encourage the use of such material as part of the
health or other related curricula or programs.
  c.  The  regents  shall  review  the health curriculum requirements in
existence on the effective date of this paragraph  for  the  purpose  of
streamlining  such  curriculum  and  identifying any outdated components
that may be eliminated or consolidated in order to ensure that  students
have sufficient time and instruction to develop skills to address issues
of violence prevention and mental health. To the extent appropriate, the
regents shall modify the existing curriculum to provide greater focus on
the  development  of  skills,  by  no later than middle school, that are
needed to recognize, cope with and  address  potentially  violent  inci-
dents[,]  including  an  understanding  of  [student's] STUDENT roles in
emergency situations[, what to do when confronted with  another  student
who  is  experiencing a mental health problem,] and other related skills
designed to reduce the threat of violence in schools.
  [5.] 7. School authorities shall provide the needed facilities,  time,
and  place for the instruction set forth herein and shall provide learn-
ing aids and curriculum resource materials which contribute to effective
teaching methods and learning in  health  education  regarding  alcohol,
tobacco, and other drugs.
  [6.]  8. All pre-service training programs in the state for elementary
teachers shall include adequate preparation regarding the instruction in
alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs set forth herein, and no teacher shall
be licensed except upon satisfactory demonstration of  the  competencies
included  in  the  institutional  proposals  approved by the [education]
department.
  [7.] 9. Nothing contained in this section shall be deemed to  diminish
or  impair the duties of the commissioner with respect to the continuing
program for  critical  health  problems  established  by  chapter  seven
hundred  eighty-seven  of  the  laws  of nineteen hundred sixty-seven as
amended. The commissioner shall coordinate actions taken under authority
of this section with the provisions of said chapter as  they  relate  to
health  education  in schools, inservice training and training programs,
and curriculum or syllabus development regarding the deleterious effects
resulting from the use, misuse, and abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and other
drugs.
  S 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2017.

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Senate Bill S2729A

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Education Committee

Bill Amendments

2015-S2729 - Details

2015-S2729 - Summary

2015-S2729 - Sponsor Memo

2015-S2729 - Bill Text download pdf

2015-S2729A (ACTIVE) - Details

2015-S2729A (ACTIVE) - Summary

2015-S2729A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2015-S2729A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S2729A

Share this bill

Sponsored By

Kevin S. Parker

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Education Committee

Bill Amendments

2015-S2729 - Details

2015-S2729 - Summary

2015-S2729 - Sponsor Memo

2015-S2729 - Bill Text download pdf

2015-S2729A (ACTIVE) - Details

2015-S2729A (ACTIVE) - Summary

2015-S2729A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2015-S2729A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments