NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A3887B
SPONSOR: Nolan (MS) TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the education law, in relation to
clarifying health education
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: This bill calls on school districts
to ensure that their health education programs recognize the multiple
dimensions of health by including mental health and the relation between
mental and physical health in health education.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Section 1 adds a new paragraph to
Education Law § 504 to declare that mental health as well as physical
health is part of health education in the schools. Section 2 makes the
bill effective on July 1, 2018.
JUSTIFICATION: New York State Education Department regulations recog-
nize that there are several dimensions to health and health education
including mental health. Statute, however, is not clear. This legis-
lation, therefore, updates New York State law to keep public education
apace with our advancements in the understanding and treatment of mental
health issues. It has been forty years since New York's education laws
first called for teaching about health matters in our schools. Over the
years state law has expanded to recognize that knowledge about specific
public health concerns such as alcohol, drug, tobacco abuse and the
prevention and detection of certain cancers is critically important for
students. Equally critical, but missing from current law and often the
classroom, is the recognition that mental health is as important to
health and wellbeing as physical health. The World Health Organization
considers health to be "a state of complete physical, mental and social
well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." Mental
health, as we understand it in 2015, is an integral part of our overall
health and should be an integral part of health education in New York
schools. By ensuring that young people learn about mental health, we
increase the likelihood that they will be able to more effectively
recognize signs in themselves and others, including family members, and
get the right help. Further, as we begin to teach the facts about mental
health and openly discuss the issues from a health perspective, we will
begin to remove the stigma surrounding mental illness - a stigma that
causes ostracism and isolation, leads to bullying and keeps many
students from getting the help they need. Over 90% of youth who die by
suicide suffer from depression or another diagnosable and treatable
mental illness at the time of their death. Over 50 percent of students
with emotional or behavioral disorders drop out of high school and, of
those who do remain in school, only 42% graduate. Health education that
respects the importance of mental health and challenges of mental
illness will help young people and their families feel more comfortable
seeking help, improve academic performance and save lives. As New York
works to restructure and integrate systems of health and mental health
care, so too should our schools prepare our citizens of tomorrow to
think differently about the role of mental health in their lives.
This bill does not mandate curriculum. Students are already required to
take health classes in order to graduate. Instead, this bill codifies in
statute what state regulations already recognize that health is multidi-
mensional. And, thereby brings state law up to date with our current
understanding of health.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: A.1911 of 2014
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None
EFFECTIVE DATE: This bill shall be effective July 1, 2018.
