Bill Text: NY A01911 | 2013-2014 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Relates to clarifying health education.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-02-07 - print number 1911a [A01911 Detail]
Download: New_York-2013-A01911-Amended.html
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K ________________________________________________________________________ 1911--A 2013-2014 Regular Sessions I N A S S E M B L Y (PREFILED) January 9, 2013 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. NOLAN, CUSICK, BARRETT, ROBERTS -- Multi-Spon- sored by -- M. of A. SOLAGES -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Education -- recommitted to the Committee on Education in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit- tee 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: 1 Section 1. Section 804 of the education law, as added by chapter 982 2 of the laws of 1977, the section heading as amended and subdivision 3-a 3 as added by chapter 401 of the laws of 1998, subdivision 3 as amended by 4 chapter 674 of the laws of 2004, and subdivision 4 as amended by chapter 5 181 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows: 6 S 804. Health education regarding MENTAL HEALTH, alcohol, drugs, 7 tobacco abuse and the prevention and detection of certain cancers. 1. 8 ALL SCHOOLS UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE DEPARTMENT SHALL ENSURE THAT 9 THEIR HEALTH EDUCATION PROGRAMS RECOGNIZE THE MULTIPLE DIMENSIONS OF 10 HEALTH BY INCLUDING MENTAL HEALTH AND THE RELATION OF PHYSICAL AND 11 MENTAL HEALTH SO AS TO ENHANCE STUDENT UNDERSTANDING, ATTITUDES AND 12 BEHAVIORS THAT PROMOTE HEALTH, WELL-BEING AND HUMAN DIGNITY. 13 2. All schools shall include, as an integral part of health education, 14 instruction so as to discourage the misuse and abuse of alcohol, tobac- 15 co[,] and other drugs and promote attitudes and behavior that enhance 16 health, well being, and human dignity. 17 [2.] 3. Instruction regarding alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs shall 18 be included in the health education provided for all elementary school 19 pupils and shall be taught by the regular classroom teachers or by 20 teachers certified to teach health education. Such instruction shall be EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD05817-03-4 A. 1911--A 2 1 designed according to the needs and abilities of the pupils at succes- 2 sive grade levels with the purpose of developing desirable health behav- 3 ior, attitudes, and knowledge as well as self-reliance and problem solv- 4 ing capacity. 5 [3.] 4. Instruction regarding alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs, in 6 addition to continued health guidance in the junior high school grades 7 and the senior high schools, shall be an integral part of a required 8 health education course at each of these levels in the secondary schools 9 curriculum. Students shall be required to demonstrate knowledge in the 10 subject area through the use of a test, graded project or report, or any 11 other means prescribed by the school authorities regarding alcohol, 12 drugs, and tobacco. Any such course shall be taught by teachers holding 13 a certificate to teach health. Related courses in the secondary school 14 curriculum shall be taught in a manner supportive of health education 15 regarding alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. In addition, instruction 16 regarding the dangers of driving while under the influence of alcohol or 17 drugs shall be an integral part of a required health education course in 18 the senior high schools. Such instruction shall be provided in all 19 senior high schools whether or not these schools also provide driver 20 education courses. 21 [3-a.] 5. Instruction regarding methods of prevention and detection of 22 certain cancers, including but not limited to breast cancer, skin 23 cancer, testicular cancer and other cancers where certain preventive 24 measures have become generally accepted and certain detection methods 25 have been adopted and recommended generally to the public. Such instruc- 26 tion shall be an integral part of a required health education course at 27 the senior high school level, in addition to continued health guidance 28 in senior high schools. Any such course shall be taught by teachers 29 holding a certificate to teach health. 30 [4.] 6. a. The commissioner may prescribe in regulations such health 31 education courses which include instruction regarding alcohol, tobacco, 32 and other drugs as the commissioner may deem necessary and desirable for 33 the welfare of pupils and the community. The contents may be varied to 34 meet the needs of particular school districts, or portions thereof, and 35 need not be uniform throughout the state, provided, however, that school 36 districts shall utilize either the curriculum for health education 37 instruction regarding alcohol, tobacco and other drugs prescribed by the 38 commissioner or a course approved by the commissioner in accordance with 39 criteria established by the commissioner. 40 b. The commissioner shall make available an interpersonal violence 41 prevention education package for grades kindergarten through twelve, 42 which package may consist of student pamphlets, parent pamphlets, vide- 43 otapes and other informative materials to be distributed to school 44 districts, and shall encourage the use of such material as part of the 45 health or other related curricula or programs. 46 c. The regents shall review the health curriculum requirements in 47 existence on the effective date of this paragraph for the purpose of 48 streamlining such curriculum and identifying any outdated components 49 that may be eliminated or consolidated in order to ensure that students 50 have sufficient time and instruction to develop skills to address issues 51 of violence prevention and mental health. To the extent appropriate, the 52 regents shall modify the existing curriculum to provide greater focus on 53 the development of skills, by no later than middle school, that are 54 needed to recognize, cope with and address potentially violent inci- 55 dents[,] including an understanding of [student's] STUDENT roles in 56 emergency situations[, what to do when confronted with another student A. 1911--A 3 1 who is experiencing a mental health problem,] and other related skills 2 designed to reduce the threat of violence in schools. 3 [5.] 7. School authorities shall provide the needed facilities, time, 4 and place for the instruction set forth herein and shall provide learn- 5 ing aids and curriculum resource materials which contribute to effective 6 teaching methods and learning in health education regarding alcohol, 7 tobacco, and other drugs. 8 [6.] 8. All pre-service training programs in the state for elementary 9 teachers shall include adequate preparation regarding the instruction in 10 alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs set forth herein, and no teacher shall 11 be licensed except upon satisfactory demonstration of the competencies 12 included in the institutional proposals approved by the [education] 13 department. 14 [7.] 9. Nothing contained in this section shall be deemed to diminish 15 or impair the duties of the commissioner with respect to the continuing 16 program for critical health problems established by chapter seven 17 hundred eighty-seven of the laws of nineteen hundred sixty-seven as 18 amended. The commissioner shall coordinate actions taken under authority 19 of this section with the provisions of said chapter as they relate to 20 health education in schools, inservice training and training programs, 21 and curriculum or syllabus development regarding the deleterious effects 22 resulting from the use, misuse, and abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and other 23 drugs. 24 S 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.