Bill Text: NY A07743 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requires the department of education to develop school health and mental health professionals to student ratios in public schools for students who do not receive services pursuant to the individuals with disabilities education act.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 16-3)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to education [A07743 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A07743-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          7743

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      June 6, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M. of A. GONZALEZ-ROJAS -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Education

        AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to requiring the  depart-
          ment  of  education to develop school health and mental health profes-
          sionals to student ratios in public schools

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

     1    Section  1.  Legislative  findings  and intent. The legislature hereby
     2  finds and declares that the toll the COVID-19 pandemic had and continues
     3  to have on our school communities warrants the immediate hiring of addi-
     4  tional school counselors, nurses, psychologists, and social  workers  to
     5  establish  effective  ratios with students in each school to ensure that
     6  their socio-emotional needs are being met.
     7    Students with unmet mental health  needs  often  struggle  in  school.
     8  Mental  health  problems  among students are also linked to an increased
     9  risk of depression, drug use, eating disorders, and becoming victims  of
    10  abuse.
    11    The  health  and  mental health needs of our students far outweigh the
    12  number of trained professionals who can adequately provide for them.  To
    13  address  this  unmet need, the state education department must establish
    14  proper health and mental health  professionals  to  student  ratios  for
    15  public  schools, taking into account such existing standards established
    16  by national health and mental health associations.
    17    § 2. Section 305 of the education law  is  amended  by  adding  a  new
    18  subdivision 60 to read as follows:
    19    60.  a.  The  commissioner  shall  promulgate rules and regulations to
    20  establish statewide school-based health and mental  health  professional
    21  to  student  ratios  in  public  schools for students who do not receive
    22  services pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, to
    23  provide students with timely, in-person access  to  school-based  health
    24  and  mental  health  services.  Such rules and regulations shall require

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11726-01-3
        A. 7743                             2

     1  school-based health and mental health services to be  provided  by  each
     2  school  district  for  all  students  attending  a public school in this
     3  state.
     4    b.  For  the  purposes  of  this subdivision, "school-based health and
     5  mental health services" shall include the services of  a  school  nurse,
     6  certified  or licensed school psychologist, school counselor, and social
     7  worker, each of which shall be employed by  the  district  and  in  each
     8  school  building  in proportion to the ratios established by the commis-
     9  sioner.
    10    c. For the purposes of  this  subdivision,  a  "public  school"  shall
    11  include but not be limited to a school district, public school, board of
    12  cooperative educational services, special act school district as defined
    13  in section four thousand one of this chapter, approved preschool special
    14  education  program  pursuant  to  section forty-four hundred ten of this
    15  chapter, approved private residential or non-residential school for  the
    16  education of students with disabilities including private schools estab-
    17  lished  under  chapter eight hundred fifty-three of the laws of nineteen
    18  hundred seventy-six, or state-supported school in accordance with  arti-
    19  cle eighty-five of this chapter.
    20    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.