STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2729--A
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 28, 2015
___________
Introduced by Sen. PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Education -- 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 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 § 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-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06654-07-6
S. 2729--A 2
1 sive grade levels with the purpose of developing desirable health behav-
2 ior, attitudes, and knowledge as well as self-reliance and problem solv-
3 ing capacity.
4 [3.] 4. Instruction regarding alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs, in
5 addition to continued health guidance in the junior high school grades
6 and the senior high schools, shall be an integral part of a required
7 health education course at each of these levels in the secondary schools
8 curriculum. Students shall be required to demonstrate knowledge in the
9 subject area through the use of a test, graded project or report, or any
10 other means prescribed by the school authorities regarding alcohol,
11 drugs, and tobacco. Any such course shall be taught by teachers holding
12 a certificate to teach health. Related courses in the secondary school
13 curriculum shall be taught in a manner supportive of health education
14 regarding alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. In addition, instruction
15 regarding the dangers of driving while under the influence of alcohol or
16 drugs shall be an integral part of a required health education course in
17 the senior high schools. Such instruction shall be provided in all
18 senior high schools whether or not these schools also provide driver
19 education courses.
20 [3-a.] 5. Instruction regarding methods of prevention and detection of
21 certain cancers, including but not limited to breast cancer, skin
22 cancer, testicular cancer and other cancers where certain preventive
23 measures have become generally accepted and certain detection methods
24 have been adopted and recommended generally to the public. Such instruc-
25 tion shall be an integral part of a required health education course at
26 the senior high school level, in addition to continued health guidance
27 in senior high schools. Any such course shall be taught by teachers
28 holding a certificate to teach health.
29 [4.] 6. a. The commissioner may prescribe in regulations such health
30 education courses which include instruction regarding alcohol, tobacco,
31 and other drugs as the commissioner may deem necessary and desirable for
32 the welfare of pupils and the community. The contents may be varied to
33 meet the needs of particular school districts, or portions thereof, and
34 need not be uniform throughout the state, provided, however, that school
35 districts shall utilize either the curriculum for health education
36 instruction regarding alcohol, tobacco and other drugs prescribed by the
37 commissioner or a course approved by the commissioner in accordance with
38 criteria established by the commissioner. The commissioner is authorized
39 to make recommendations to the board of regents beginning December
40 first, two thousand fourteen and every three years thereafter relating
41 to the modernization of such instruction required pursuant to subdivi-
42 sion one of this section, to include the most up to date age appropriate
43 information available regarding the misuse and abuse of alcohol, tobacco
44 and other drugs, including but not limited to heroin and opioids. Such
45 instruction shall include, but not be limited to, information regarding
46 drugs and other substances that are more prevalent among school aged
47 youth. Such recommendations shall be the result of a collaboration
48 between the department, the office of alcoholism and substance abuse
49 services and the department of health. If the board of regents adopts
50 such curriculum, the curriculum requirement shall take effect no later
51 than the next school year after such curriculum has been adopted.
52 b. The commissioner shall make available an interpersonal violence
53 prevention education package for grades kindergarten through twelve,
54 which package may consist of student pamphlets, parent pamphlets, vide-
55 otapes and other informative materials to be distributed to school
S. 2729--A 3
1 districts, and shall encourage the use of such material as part of the
2 health or other related curricula or programs.
3 c. The regents shall review the health curriculum requirements in
4 existence on the effective date of this paragraph for the purpose of
5 streamlining such curriculum and identifying any outdated components
6 that may be eliminated or consolidated in order to ensure that students
7 have sufficient time and instruction to develop skills to address issues
8 of violence prevention and mental health. To the extent appropriate, the
9 regents shall modify the existing curriculum to provide greater focus on
10 the development of skills, by no later than middle school, that are
11 needed to recognize, cope with and address potentially violent inci-
12 dents[,] including an understanding of [student's] student roles in
13 emergency situations[, what to do when confronted with another student
14 who is experiencing a mental health problem,] and other related skills
15 designed to reduce the threat of violence in schools.
16 [5.] 7. School authorities shall provide the needed facilities, time,
17 and place for the instruction set forth herein and shall provide learn-
18 ing aids and curriculum resource materials which contribute to effective
19 teaching methods and learning in health education regarding alcohol,
20 tobacco, and other drugs.
21 [6.] 8. All pre-service training programs in the state for elementary
22 teachers shall include adequate preparation regarding the instruction in
23 alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs set forth herein, and no teacher shall
24 be licensed except upon satisfactory demonstration of the competencies
25 included in the institutional proposals approved by the [education]
26 department.
27 [7.] 9. Nothing contained in this section shall be deemed to diminish
28 or impair the duties of the commissioner with respect to the continuing
29 program for critical health problems established by chapter seven
30 hundred eighty-seven of the laws of nineteen hundred sixty-seven as
31 amended. The commissioner shall coordinate actions taken under authority
32 of this section with the provisions of said chapter as they relate to
33 health education in schools, inservice training and training programs,
34 and curriculum or syllabus development regarding the deleterious effects
35 resulting from the use, misuse, and abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and other
36 drugs.
37 § 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2017.
