A 4750: Requires the commissioner of education, in conjunction with the commissioner of health and the commissioner of mental health, to develop model mental health screenings for students and associated guidelines to assist school mental health screeners to perform mental health screening services to identify concerns in students' mental health.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4750 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY February 6, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. E. BROWN, ANGELINO, BEEPHAN, McDONOUGH, LEMONDES, DeSTEFANO -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to requiring the commis- sioner to develop model mental health screenings for students and associated guidelines to assist school mental health screeners to perform mental health screening services The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 912-c 2 to read as follows: 3 § 912-c. Student mental health screening. 1. For purposes of this 4 section, "school mental health screener" shall mean a school psychol- 5 ogist, school social worker, or a health professional or other employee 6 of a school as deemed appropriate by the commissioner, in conjunction 7 with the commissioner of health and the commissioner of mental health, 8 to perform a mental health screening pursuant to this section. 9 2. The commissioner, in conjunction with the commissioner of health 10 and the commissioner of mental health, shall develop model mental health 11 screenings and associated guidelines to assist school mental health 12 screeners to perform mental health screening services to identify 13 current or emerging concerns in students' mental health. The guidelines 14 shall include varying mental health screening models that correspond to 15 the differing levels of trained or licensed health professionals avail- 16 able in school districts across the state. 17 3. Model mental health screenings shall be designed to screen individ- 18 uals for depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress 19 disorder (PTSD), early psychosis, or potential addiction disorders. 20 Models may differ in their ability to detect each listed mental illness 21 in correspondence with the commissioners' recommendations regarding the 22 appropriate levels of training or licensed professionals required. 23 4. The guidelines shall include, but shall not be limited to: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD04683-01-5 
 A. 4750 2 1 a. recommendations for the frequency of such mental health screenings; 2 b. instruction for the confidential maintenance of health records in 3 compliance with the appropriate federal and state laws, including the 4 Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Health Insur- 5 ance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA); 6 c. the appropriate level of training or licensed professionals to 7 perform each model mental health screening variation; 8 d. information regarding how to report screening results to the appro- 9 priate agencies; 10 e. recommendations for incorporating such mental health screenings 11 into health examinations performed by other health professionals; 12 f. signs and symptoms of mental illnesses that are most prevalent 13 among the student population in New York; and 14 g. resources to provide to those students who may need access to 15 further mental health treatment at the conclusion of a screening, as 16 decided by the health official administering such screening. 17 5. The commissioner shall make the model mental health screenings and 18 associated guidelines, and any other materials developed pursuant to 19 this section available to the public on the department's website and to 20 appropriate school district officials upon request at no charge. Noth- 21 ing in this section shall be construed as to require any school or 22 school district to use any such model mental health screenings or guide- 23 lines developed pursuant to this section, nor shall this section be 24 construed as to require any school or school district to perform mental 25 health screenings. 26 § 2. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a 27 law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any 28 rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its 29 effective date are authorized to be made and completed on or before such 30 effective date.