S 1310: Establishes the school mental health services program coordinator to provide qualifying public and nonpublic schools with mental health services professionals.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1310 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE January 9, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. CANZONERI-FITZPATRICK, BORRELLO, OBERACKER, RHOADS -- 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 creating a school mental health services program coordinator 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 2801-c 2 to read as follows: 3 § 2801-c. New York state school mental health services program coordi- 4 nator. 1. For purposes of this section, the term "school mental health 5 services program coordinator" shall mean a mental health services 6 professional, with qualifications determined by regulation by the 7 commissioner, whose role and responsibility shall be to work with 8 students, faculty and other mental health and health care professionals 9 to identify, report and address mental health issues of students, facul- 10 ty and administration at any public or non-public school that could pose 11 a risk to public safety. 12 2. Any public or non-public school may employ a mental health services 13 professional, in either the classified or unclassified service, deter- 14 mined in regulation by the commissioner to be qualified, as a mental 15 health services program coordinator. Any such public or non-public 16 school may also contract with the state of New York, a county, city, 17 town or village, or with a private mental health services provider, for 18 the provision of a mental health services professional, determined in 19 regulation by the commissioner to be qualified, to serve as a mental 20 health services program coordinator. 21 3. The commissioner shall, by regulation, determine the qualifications 22 for a mental health services program coordinator. A school district 23 shall be authorized to employ or contract for as many mental health 24 services program coordinators, as such district deems necessary. The EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD00956-01-5 
 S. 1310 2 1 commissioner shall by regulation, establish the mandatory reports, the 2 persons or entities with whom such reports shall be filed, and the 3 treatment services that may be offered or directed by a mental health 4 services program coordinator. 5 § 2. Section 3602 of the education law is amended by adding a new 6 subdivision 5-b to read as follows: 7 5-b. Mental health services program coordinator aid. Every school 8 district employing or contracting for the services of a mental health 9 services program coordinator, in either the classified or unclassified 10 service, in accordance with section twenty-eight hundred one-c of this 11 chapter, shall be entitled to a payment of mental health services 12 program coordinator aid in the amount of the district's expenditure for 13 the cost of such employment or contracting of such mental health 14 services program coordinator. But in no event shall such aid to such 15 school district be in excess of fifty thousand dollars annually. The 16 mental health services program coordinator aid provided by this subdivi- 17 sion shall be limited to the payment for one mental health services 18 program coordinator per school district. 19 § 3. Section 3602-c of the education law is amended by adding a new 20 subdivision 11 to read as follows: 21 11. Aid shall be made available to all non-public schools under this 22 section, for mental health services program coordinators, in the same 23 manner as for public schools in subdivision five-b of section thirty-six 24 hundred two of this article. 25 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.