Bill Text: NY S07325 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

New York Senate Bill 7325

Bill Title: Requires the commissioner of education, in conjunction with the commissioner of health and the commissioner of mental health, to develop model mental health screenings for students and associated guidelines to assist school mental health screeners to perform mental health screening services to identify concerns in students' mental health.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-04-22 - PRINT NUMBER 7325A [S07325 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S07325-Amended.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         7325--A

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                      May 19, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  CANZONERI-FITZPATRICK  --  read  twice and ordered
          printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee  on  Educa-
          tion  --  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 requiring the commis-
          sioner to develop model mental  health  screenings  for  students  and
          associated  guidelines  to  assist  school  mental health screeners to
          perform mental health screening services

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 912-c
     2  to read as follows:
     3    § 912-c. Student mental health screening.  1.  For  purposes  of  this
     4  section,  "school  mental  health screener" shall mean a school psychol-
     5  ogist, school social worker, or a health professional or other  employee
     6  of  a  school  as deemed appropriate by the commissioner, in conjunction
     7  with the commissioner of health and the commissioner of  mental  health,
     8  to perform a mental health screening pursuant to this section.
     9    2.  The  commissioner,  in conjunction with the commissioner of health
    10  and the commissioner of mental health, shall develop model mental health
    11  screenings and associated guidelines  to  assist  school  mental  health
    12  screeners  to  perform  mental  health  screening  services  to identify
    13  current or emerging concerns in students' mental health. The  guidelines
    14  shall  include varying mental health screening models that correspond to
    15  the differing levels of trained or licensed health professionals  avail-
    16  able in school districts across the state.
    17    3. Model mental health screenings shall be designed to screen individ-
    18  uals  for  depression,  anxiety, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress
    19  disorder (PTSD), early  psychosis,  or  potential  addiction  disorders.
    20  Models  may differ in their ability to detect each listed mental illness

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11568-02-4

        S. 7325--A                          2

     1  in correspondence with the commissioners' recommendations regarding  the
     2  appropriate levels of training or licensed professionals required.
     3    4. The guidelines shall include, but shall not be limited to:
     4    a. recommendations for the frequency of such mental health screenings;
     5    b.  instruction  for the confidential maintenance of health records in
     6  compliance with the appropriate federal and state  laws,  including  the
     7  Family  Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Health Insur-
     8  ance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA);
     9    c. the appropriate level of  training  or  licensed  professionals  to
    10  perform each model mental health screening variation;
    11    d. information regarding how to report screening results to the appro-
    12  priate agencies;
    13    e.  recommendations  for  incorporating  such mental health screenings
    14  into health examinations performed by other health professionals;
    15    f. signs and symptoms of mental  illnesses  that  are  most  prevalent
    16  among the student population in New York; and
    17    g.  resources  to  provide  to  those  students who may need access to
    18  further mental health treatment at the conclusion  of  a  screening,  as
    19  decided by the health official administering such screening.
    20    5.  The commissioner shall make the model mental health screenings and
    21  associated guidelines, and any other  materials  developed  pursuant  to
    22  this  section available to the public on the department's website and to
    23  appropriate school district officials upon request at no charge.   Noth-
    24  ing  in  this  section  shall  be  construed as to require any school or
    25  school district to use any such model mental health screenings or guide-
    26  lines developed pursuant to this section,  nor  shall  this  section  be
    27  construed  as to require any school or school district to perform mental
    28  health screenings.
    29    § 2. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become  a
    30  law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any
    31  rule  or  regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its
    32  effective date are authorized to be made and completed on or before such
    33  effective date.