Bill Text: NY A04879 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Requires training for teachers, administrators and instructors in the area of mental health response; requires office of mental health to assist in development of curriculum for training.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-08-23 - print number 4879b [A04879 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A04879-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         4879--B

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 24, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  KELLES, COLTON, CRUZ, TAYLOR, SIMON, SAYEGH,
          EPSTEIN, BURDICK, DAVILA, ZACCARO -- read once  and  referred  to  the
          Committee 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  --  again  reported  from said committee with amendments, ordered
          reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the  education  law  and  the  mental  hygiene  law,  in
          relation  to  requiring  training  for  teachers,  administrators  and
          instructors in the area of mental health response training

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

     1    Section  1. Section 3004 of the education law is amended by adding two
     2  new subdivisions 7 and 8 to read as follows:
     3    7. No later than twelve months after the effective date of this subdi-
     4  vision, the commissioner, in  conjunction  with  the  office  of  mental
     5  health,  shall  require  the  training  of teachers, administrators, and
     6  instructors in the area of mental health response training. Such  mental
     7  health response training shall include instruction in:
     8    a.  the recognition of the signs and symptoms of present or developing
     9  mental health crises or illnesses;
    10    b. the awareness of and appropriate response to mental  health  crises
    11  including but not limited to attempted suicide or suicidal ideation, the
    12  threat  or practice of self-harm or harm to others, substance use disor-
    13  ders, depression, anxiety and panic attacks,  and  other  mental  health
    14  crises or illnesses, in keeping with standards promulgated by the Ameri-
    15  can Academy of Mental Health and as determined by the commissioner;
    16    c.  identifying  and sharing information, as determined by the commis-
    17  sioner but which shall include but  not  be  limited  to,  about  mental
    18  health  professionals,  services and resources, the role of familial and
    19  social supports for the prevention, treatment, and recovery from  mental

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD09669-06-4
        A. 4879--B                          2

     1  illness,  and  the  importance of diet, nutrition, exercise, and regular
     2  socialization in the  management  of  stress,  anxiety,  depression  and
     3  addiction or other such mental health crises and illnesses.
     4    8.  Mental  health response training shall not include training in the
     5  diagnosis, treatment, or counseling of students, peers,  or  members  of
     6  the  community.    Nothing  in  this  section shall be deemed to allow a
     7  person to provide any service for which a license, registration, certif-
     8  ication or other authorization under title eight of the education law is
     9  required and which the person does not possess.    The  commissioner  is
    10  authorized  to  promulgate  rules and regulations necessary to establish
    11  such training pursuant to this section.
    12    § 2. Section 7.07 of the mental hygiene law is amended by adding a new
    13  subdivision (i) to read as follows:
    14    (i) The office of mental health shall advise and  assist  the  commis-
    15  sioner  of  education  in developing a training curriculum for teachers,
    16  administrators, and instructors in the area of  mental  health  response
    17  training  as  described  in section three thousand four of the education
    18  law.
    19    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.