S 5024: Requires the department of education to develop school health and mental health professionals to student ratios in public schools for students who do not receive services pursuant to the individuals with disabilities education act.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5024 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE February 18, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. JACKSON, GALLIVAN, GONZALEZ, HARCKHAM, HINCHEY, RHOADS, WEBER -- 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 requiring the depart- ment of education to develop school health and mental health profes- sionals to student ratios in public schools The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature hereby 2 finds and declares that the toll the COVID-19 pandemic had and continues 3 to have on our school communities warrants the immediate hiring of addi- 4 tional school counselors, nurses, psychologists, and social workers to 5 establish effective ratios with students in each school to ensure that 6 their socio-emotional needs are being met. 7 Students with unmet mental health needs often struggle in school. 8 Mental health problems among students are also linked to an increased 9 risk of depression, drug use, eating disorders, and becoming victims of 10 abuse. 11 The health and mental health needs of our students far outweigh the 12 number of trained professionals who can adequately provide for them. To 13 address this unmet need, the state education department must establish 14 proper health and mental health professionals to student ratios for 15 public schools, taking into account such existing standards established 16 by national health and mental health associations. 17 § 2. Section 305 of the education law is amended by adding a new 18 subdivision 63 to read as follows: 19 63. a. The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations to 20 establish statewide school-based health and mental health professional 21 to student ratios in public schools for students who do not receive 22 services pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, to 23 provide students with timely, in-person access to school-based health EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD01016-01-5 
 S. 5024 2 1 and mental health services. Such rules and regulations shall require 2 school-based health and mental health services to be provided by each 3 school district for all students attending a public school in this 4 state. 5 b. For the purposes of this subdivision, "school-based health and 6 mental health services" shall include the services of a school nurse, 7 certified or licensed school psychologist, school counselor, and social 8 worker, each of which shall be employed by the district and in each 9 school building in proportion to the ratios established by the commis- 10 sioner. 11 c. For the purposes of this subdivision, a "public school" shall 12 include but not be limited to a school district, public school, board of 13 cooperative educational services, special act school district as defined 14 in section four thousand one of this chapter, approved preschool special 15 education program pursuant to section forty-four hundred ten of this 16 chapter, approved private residential or non-residential school for the 17 education of students with disabilities including private schools estab- 18 lished under chapter eight hundred fifty-three of the laws of nineteen 19 hundred seventy-six, or state-supported school in accordance with arti- 20 cle eighty-five of this chapter. 21 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.