Sponsored by:
Senator RICHARD J. CODEY
District 27 (Essex and Morris)
Senator JOSEPH F. VITALE
District 19 (Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Requires health curriculum for public school students in grades kindergarten through 12 to include instruction on mental health.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the health education curriculum in public schools and supplementing chapter 35 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. A school district shall ensure that its health education programs for students in grades kindergarten through 12 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. The instruction in mental health shall be adapted to the age and understanding of the students and shall be incorporated as part of the district's implementation of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards in Comprehensive Health and Physical Education.
b. The Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Health, shall develop guidelines for school districts for education programs on mental health in accordance with subsection a. of this section. The guidelines shall recommend educational resources and instructional materials suitable for each grade level, and shall be reviewed and updated on a periodic basis.
2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first apply to the first full school year following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires school districts to ensure that their health education programs for students in grades kindergarten through 12 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. Under the bill, the instruction in mental health must be adapted to the age and understanding of the students and will be incorporated as part of the school district's implementation of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards in Comprehensive Health and Physical Education.
The bill directs the Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Health, to develop guidelines for school districts for education programs on mental health. The guidelines will recommend educational resources and instructional materials suitable for each grade level, and must be reviewed and updated on a periodic basis.