Bill Text: NY S02729 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Relates to clarifying health education.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-01-28 - PRINT NUMBER 2729A [S02729 Detail]

Download: New_York-2015-S02729-Introduced.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         2729
                              2015-2016 Regular Sessions
                                   I N  S E N A T E
                                   January 28, 2015
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  Sen.  PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
         printed to be committed to the Committee on Education
       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, subdivision 4 as amended by chapter 181
    5  of the laws of 2000, and paragraph a of  subdivision  4  as  amended  by
    6  chapter 39 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows:
    7    S 804.  Health  education  regarding  MENTAL  HEALTH,  alcohol, drugs,
    8  tobacco abuse and the prevention and detection of  certain  cancers.  1.
    9  ALL  SCHOOLS  UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE DEPARTMENT SHALL ENSURE THAT
   10  THEIR HEALTH EDUCATION PROGRAMS RECOGNIZE  THE  MULTIPLE  DIMENSIONS  OF
   11  HEALTH  BY  INCLUDING  MENTAL  HEALTH  AND  THE RELATION OF PHYSICAL AND
   12  MENTAL HEALTH SO AS TO  ENHANCE  STUDENT  UNDERSTANDING,  ATTITUDES  AND
   13  BEHAVIORS THAT PROMOTE HEALTH, WELL-BEING AND HUMAN DIGNITY.
   14    2. All schools shall include, as an integral part of health education,
   15  instruction  so as to discourage the misuse and abuse of alcohol, tobac-
   16  co[,] and other drugs and promote attitudes and  behavior  that  enhance
   17  health, well being, and human dignity.
   18    [2.]  3. Instruction regarding alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs shall
   19  be included in the health education provided for all  elementary  school
   20  pupils  and  shall  be  taught  by  the regular classroom teachers or by
   21  teachers certified to teach health education. Such instruction shall  be
   22  designed  according  to the needs and abilities of the pupils at succes-
   23  sive grade levels with the purpose of developing desirable health behav-
   24  ior, attitudes, and knowledge as well as self-reliance and problem solv-
   25  ing capacity.
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD06654-01-5
       S. 2729                             2
    1    [3.] 4. Instruction regarding alcohol, tobacco, and  other  drugs,  in
    2  addition  to  continued health guidance in the junior high school grades
    3  and the senior high schools, shall be an integral  part  of  a  required
    4  health education course at each of these levels in the secondary schools
    5  curriculum.  Students  shall be required to demonstrate knowledge in the
    6  subject area through the use of a test, graded project or report, or any
    7  other means prescribed by  the  school  authorities  regarding  alcohol,
    8  drugs,  and tobacco. Any such course shall be taught by teachers holding
    9  a certificate to teach health. Related courses in the  secondary  school
   10  curriculum  shall  be  taught in a manner supportive of health education
   11  regarding alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.  In  addition,  instruction
   12  regarding the dangers of driving while under the influence of alcohol or
   13  drugs shall be an integral part of a required health education course in
   14  the  senior  high  schools.  Such  instruction  shall be provided in all
   15  senior high schools whether or not these  schools  also  provide  driver
   16  education courses.
   17    [3-a.] 5. Instruction regarding methods of prevention and detection of
   18  certain  cancers,  including  but  not  limited  to  breast cancer, skin
   19  cancer, testicular cancer and other  cancers  where  certain  preventive
   20  measures  have  become  generally accepted and certain detection methods
   21  have been adopted and recommended generally to the public. Such instruc-
   22  tion shall be an integral part of a required health education course  at
   23  the  senior  high school level, in addition to continued health guidance
   24  in senior high schools. Any such course  shall  be  taught  by  teachers
   25  holding a certificate to teach health.
   26    [4.]  6.  a. The commissioner may prescribe in regulations such health
   27  education courses which include instruction regarding alcohol,  tobacco,
   28  and other drugs as the commissioner may deem necessary and desirable for
   29  the  welfare  of pupils and the community. The contents may be varied to
   30  meet the needs of particular school districts, or portions thereof,  and
   31  need not be uniform throughout the state, provided, however, that school
   32  districts  shall  utilize  either  the  curriculum  for health education
   33  instruction regarding alcohol, tobacco and other drugs prescribed by the
   34  commissioner or a course approved by the commissioner in accordance with
   35  criteria established by the commissioner. The commissioner is authorized
   36  to make recommendations to  the  board  of  regents  beginning  December
   37  first,  two  thousand fourteen and every three years thereafter relating
   38  to the modernization of such instruction required pursuant  to  subdivi-
   39  sion one of this section, to include the most up to date age appropriate
   40  information available regarding the misuse and abuse of alcohol, tobacco
   41  and  other  drugs, including but not limited to heroin and opioids. Such
   42  instruction shall include, but not be limited to, information  regarding
   43  drugs  and  other  substances  that are more prevalent among school aged
   44  youth. Such recommendations shall  be  the  result  of  a  collaboration
   45  between  the  department,  the  office of alcoholism and substance abuse
   46  services and the department of health. If the board  of  regents  adopts
   47  such  curriculum,  the curriculum requirement shall take effect no later
   48  than the next school year after such curriculum has been adopted.
   49    b. The commissioner shall make  available  an  interpersonal  violence
   50  prevention  education  package  for  grades kindergarten through twelve,
   51  which package may consist of student pamphlets, parent pamphlets,  vide-
   52  otapes  and  other  informative  materials  to  be distributed to school
   53  districts, and shall encourage the use of such material as part  of  the
   54  health or other related curricula or programs.
   55    c.  The  regents  shall  review  the health curriculum requirements in
   56  existence on the effective date of this paragraph  for  the  purpose  of
       S. 2729                             3
    1  streamlining  such  curriculum  and  identifying any outdated components
    2  that may be eliminated or consolidated in order to ensure that  students
    3  have sufficient time and instruction to develop skills to address issues
    4  of violence prevention and mental health. To the extent appropriate, the
    5  regents shall modify the existing curriculum to provide greater focus on
    6  the  development  of  skills,  by  no later than middle school, that are
    7  needed to recognize, cope with and  address  potentially  violent  inci-
    8  dents[,]  including  an  understanding  of  [student's] STUDENT roles in
    9  emergency situations[, what to do when confronted with  another  student
   10  who  is  experiencing a mental health problem,] and other related skills
   11  designed to reduce the threat of violence in schools.
   12    [5.] 7. School authorities shall provide the needed facilities,  time,
   13  and  place for the instruction set forth herein and shall provide learn-
   14  ing aids and curriculum resource materials which contribute to effective
   15  teaching methods and learning in  health  education  regarding  alcohol,
   16  tobacco, and other drugs.
   17    [6.]  8. All pre-service training programs in the state for elementary
   18  teachers shall include adequate preparation regarding the instruction in
   19  alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs set forth herein, and no teacher shall
   20  be licensed except upon satisfactory demonstration of  the  competencies
   21  included  in  the  institutional  proposals  approved by the [education]
   22  department.
   23    [7.] 9. Nothing contained in this section shall be deemed to  diminish
   24  or  impair the duties of the commissioner with respect to the continuing
   25  program for  critical  health  problems  established  by  chapter  seven
   26  hundred  eighty-seven  of  the  laws  of nineteen hundred sixty-seven as
   27  amended. The commissioner shall coordinate actions taken under authority
   28  of this section with the provisions of said chapter as  they  relate  to
   29  health  education  in schools, inservice training and training programs,
   30  and curriculum or syllabus development regarding the deleterious effects
   31  resulting from the use, misuse, and abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and other
   32  drugs.
   33    S 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2016.