NY State Senate Bill 2019-S6091

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Education Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 08, 2020	referred to education
May 16, 2019	referred to education

2019-S6091 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Education
Law Section:: Education Law
Laws Affected:: Add §905-a, Ed L; amd §206, Pub Health L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2021-2022: S1006
2023-2024: S2312

2019-S6091 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires annual screenings for depression of students in grades seven through twelve and requires the department of education and the department of health to review data pertaining to the results of such screenings for local and statewide trends concerning teenage depression.

2019-S6091 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S6091

SPONSOR: KAMINSKY
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the education law and the public
health law, in relation to requiring annual screenings for depression of
students in grades seven through twelve

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

Establishes a mental health screening services in schools

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 requires directors of school health services of each school
district to conduct annual screenings for depression of student s in
grades seven through twelve. Parents shall be notified in writing of
suspected deviation from the recommended standard. Aggregate data from
the screenings shall be forwarded to the department of health to help
create initiatives to address depression.

Section 2 grants the commissioner of health regulatory authority.

Section 3 of this bill is the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 20% of youth live
with a mental health condition. The Institute also found that half of
all lifetime cases of mental illness begins by the age of 14.  Children
suffering from mental illness, like depression, experience serious
changes in the way they typically learn, behave, or handle their
emotions. Studies have also shown children who suffer from depression or
anxiety experience social rejection in school, which can lead to aggres-
sive or antisocial behavior. Many children who battle depression even
turn to substance abuse to address the issues they face because of
untreated mental health conditions.

Currently, so many children lack access to vital mental health care due
to either financial barriers, limited health insurance coverage, and
lack of awareness. With so many barriers in place preventing children
from accessing necessary mental health treatment, it is important for
our state to take steps to breach these barriers by providing screenings
for depression in schools.

Schools are a prime setting to conduct annual mental health screenings
for depression as they already provide other health screenings such as
vision and hearing exams. Creating a school-based mental health initi-
ative would assist parents in the early identification of depression.
Early detection of these issues would allow parents to seek treatment,
which would help prevent significant mental health problems from devel-
oping. By providing mental health screenings in schools, New York will
take a step in the right direction in the fight against mental illness.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

 2019: New bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2019-S6091 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6091
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 16, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. KAMINSKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Education
 
 AN ACT to amend the education law and the public health law, in relation
   to requiring annual screenings for depression of  students  in  grades
   seven through twelve

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section  905-a
 to read as follows:
   §  905-A.  SCREENING  EXAMINATION FOR DEPRESSION.   1. THE DIRECTOR OF
 SCHOOL HEALTH SERVICES OF EACH SCHOOL DISTRICT IN  THIS  STATE  THAT  IS
 REQUIRED  TO PROVIDE SCHOOL HEALTH SERVICES, OR THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT OR
 AGENCY OTHERWISE RESPONSIBLE TO PROVIDE  SUCH  SERVICES,  SHALL  CONDUCT
 ANNUAL  SCREENING  EXAMINATIONS FOR DEPRESSION OF ALL STUDENTS IN GRADES
 SEVEN THROUGH TWELVE. THE SCREENING SHALL BE ADMINISTERED BY A QUALIFIED
 PROFESSIONAL AND SHALL CONSIST OF THE PATIENT HEALTH QUESTIONNAIRE 2  OR
 AN  EQUIVALENT  DEPRESSION  SCREENING TOOL, AS DETERMINED BY THE COMMIS-
 SIONER, WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE COMMISSIONER OF HEALTH.  THE  SCREEN-
 INGS  SHALL  BE  CONDUCTED  IN  A MANNER THAT ENSURES THE PRIVACY OF THE
 STUDENT DURING THE SCREENING PROCESS  AND  THE  CONFIDENTIALITY  OF  THE
 RESULTS  CONSISTENT WITH STATE AND FEDERAL LAWS APPLICABLE TO THE CONFI-
 DENTIALITY OF STUDENT RECORDS. THE DEPARTMENT, WITH  THE  ASSISTANCE  OF
 THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, SHALL ESTABLISH STANDARDS ON THE PROCEDURES TO
 BE  IMPLEMENTED TO CONDUCT THE SCREENINGS FOR DEPRESSION AND PROVIDE FOR
 OTHER SCREENING TOOLS, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, A  SCREENING  TOOL
 FOR ANXIETY, SUCH AS THE GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER 7 OR AN EQUIVALENT
 ANXIETY  SCREENING  TOOL,  AS  DETERMINED  BY THE COMMISSIONER, WITH THE
 ASSISTANCE OF THE COMMISSIONER OF HEALTH.
   2. THE POSITIVE RESULTS OF ANY SUCH SCREENING EXAMINATIONS OF STUDENTS
 FOR DEPRESSION SHALL BE IN WRITING AND  THE  PARENT  OF,  OR  PERSON  IN
 PARENTAL RELATION TO, ANY CHILD WHOSE SCREENING FOR DEPRESSION DETECTS A
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD08243-01-9

 S. 6091                             2
 
 SUSPECTED  DEVIATION  FROM  THE RECOMMENDED STANDARD SHALL BE ADVISED OF
 SUCH RESULTS BY THE SCHOOL AUTHORITIES WITHIN  NINETY  DAYS  AFTER  SUCH
 DETECTION OF A SUSPECTED DEVIATION IS MADE. THE SCHOOL AUTHORITIES SHALL
 INFORM THE PARENT, OR PERSON IN PARENTAL RELATION, THAT THE SCREENING IS
 NOT  A  DIAGNOSIS  AND SHALL ENCOURAGE THE PARENT, OR PERSON IN PARENTAL
 RELATION, TO SHARE THE RESULTS  OF  THE  SCREENING  WITH  THE  STUDENT'S
 PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN.
   3. THE SCHOOL AUTHORITIES SHALL FORWARD DATA COLLECTED FROM SCREENINGS
 ADMINISTERED  PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION TO THE DEPARTMENT AND THE DEPART-
 MENT OF HEALTH, PROVIDED THAT ANY DATA FORWARDED SHALL BE AGGREGATED AND
 SHALL NOT CONTAIN  ANY  IDENTIFYING  OR  CONFIDENTIAL  INFORMATION  WITH
 REGARD TO ANY INDIVIDUAL.  DATA COLLECTED BY THE DEPARTMENTS PURSUANT TO
 THIS  SUBDIVISION SHALL BE USED BY THE DEPARTMENTS TO IDENTIFY STATEWIDE
 TRENDS CONCERNING TEENAGE DEPRESSION AND TO DEVELOP SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY
 BASED INITIATIVES TO ADDRESS TEENAGE DEPRESSION.
   4. AS USED IN THIS SECTION, "QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL"  MEANS  A  SCHOOL
 PSYCHOLOGIST, SCHOOL NURSE, SCHOOL COUNSELOR, STUDENT ASSISTANCE COORDI-
 NATOR, SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKER, OR PHYSICIAN.
   §  2.  Section 206 of the public health law is amended by adding a new
 subdivision 31 to read as follows:
   31. THE COMMISSIONER SHALL ASSIST THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  EDUCATION  IN
 DEVELOPING  RULES  AND  REGULATIONS RELATING TO THE ANNUAL SCREENING FOR
 DEPRESSION OF STUDENTS IN GRADES SEVEN  THROUGH  TWELVE,  IN  ACCORDANCE
 WITH SECTION NINE HUNDRED FIVE-A OF THE EDUCATION LAW.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S6091

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Education Committee

2019-S6091 (ACTIVE) - Details

2019-S6091 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2019-S6091 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2019-S6091 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S6091

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Sponsored By

Todd Kaminsky

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Education Committee

2019-S6091 (ACTIVE) - Details

2019-S6091 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2019-S6091 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2019-S6091 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments