Senate BillIntroduced
S 6498: Expands the health education curriculum to include breast cancer screenings including age appropriate instruction in performing self-examinations.
What S 6498 does, verified January 8, 2026
The bill aims to expand health education in New York schools to include breast cancer screenings. It requires instruction on methods of prevention and detection of certain cancers, including breast cancer, in senior high schools. This instruction must be taught by certified health teachers and include age-appropriate information on performing self-examinations for breast cancer. Additionally, the bill allows for breast cancer education to be offered in elementary and middle schools as deemed appropriate by local boards of education and the city school district of New York. The expanded health education will take effect on July 1st of the following year after the bill is passed.
Bill journey
1IntroducedCurrent
2In CommitteePending
3First Chamber FloorPending
4Second ChamberPending
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: REFERRED TO EDUCATION (2026-01-07)Alert me
Quick answers about S 6498
- What is the current status of S 6498?
- As of January 8, 2026, S 6498 is recorded as "Introduced": it has been introduced and is waiting for its first committee hearing or floor vote. The last recorded action, on January 7, 2026, was "REFERRED TO EDUCATION".
- Did S 6498 pass?
- Not yet. S 6498 has been introduced and has not passed either house.
- Who wrote S 6498, and where is it now?
- S 6498 was authored by Sen. Cordell Cleare with 1 coauthor. Its committee of record is Senate Education.
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions2 total · showing 2
| Jan. 07, 2026 | REFERRED TO EDUCATION |
| Mar. 14, 2025 | REFERRED TO EDUCATION |
Latest bill textIntroduced version, March 14, 2025 · 349 words
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6498 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE March 14, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. CLEARE -- 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 expanding health education curriculum to include breast cancer screenings The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and my be cited as "Siena's Law". 2 § 2. Subdivision 5 of section 804 of the education law, as amended by 3 chapter 390 of the laws of 2016, is amended to read as follows: 4 5. a. Instruction regarding methods of prevention and detection of 5 certain cancers, including but not limited to breast cancer, skin 6 cancer, testicular cancer and other cancers where certain preventive 7 measures have become generally accepted and certain detection methods 8 have been adopted and recommended generally to the public. Such instruc- 9 tion shall be an integral part of a required health education course at 10 the senior high school level, in addition to continued health guidance 11 in senior high schools. Any such course shall be taught by teachers 12 holding a certificate to teach health. With respect to instruction 13 regarding breast cancer, such instruction shall include age and develop- 14 mentally appropriate instruction in performing self-examinations. 15 b. In addition to the requirements of paragraph a of this subdivision, 16 with respect to the instruction regarding breast cancer, such instruc- 17 tion may be offered in elementary and middle schools as deemed appropri- 18 ate by local boards of education and the chancellor of the city school 19 district of the city of New York. 20 § 3. This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding 21 the date on which it shall have become a law. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD09929-01-5
Text of S 6498 as introduced, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions