STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2821 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 27, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. BRONSON, SEAWRIGHT, FAHY, EPSTEIN, LAVINE, SIMON, DAVILA, GLICK -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to enacting the "Trevyan Rowe child and young teen mental health community safety act" 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 article 2-A to 2 read as follows: 3 ARTICLE 2-A 4 CHILD & YOUNG TEEN MENTAL HEALTH 5 Section 20. Short title. 6 21. Definitions. 7 22. Child and young teen mental health and community safety. 8 23. Reporting. 9 24. Commission. 10 § 20. Short title. This article shall be known and may be cited as the 11 "Trevyan Rowe child and young teen mental health community safety act". 12 § 21. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the following 13 terms shall have the following meanings: 14 1. "Harassment" and "bullying" shall mean the creation of a hostile 15 environment by conduct or by threats, intimidation or abuse, including 16 cyberbullying, that (a) has or would have the effect of unreasonably and 17 substantially interfering with a student's educational performance, 18 opportunities or benefits, or mental, emotional or physical well-being; 19 or (b) reasonably causes or would reasonably be expected to cause a 20 student to fear for his or her physical safety; or (c) reasonably causes 21 or would reasonably be expected to cause physical injury or emotional 22 harm to a student; or (d) occurs off school property and creates or 23 would foreseeably create a risk of substantial disruption within the 24 school environment, where it is foreseeable that the conduct, threats, 25 intimidation or abuse might reach school property. Acts of harassment EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD01789-01-3
A. 2821 2 1 and bullying shall include, but not be limited to, those acts based on a 2 person's actual or perceived race, color, weight, national origin, 3 ethnic group, religion, religious practice, disability, sexual orien- 4 tation, gender or sex. For the purposes of this definition the term 5 "threats, intimidation or abuse" shall include verbal and non-verbal 6 actions. 7 2. "Cyberbullying" shall mean harassment or bullying as defined in 8 subdivision one of this section, including paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and 9 (d) of such subdivision, where such harassment or bullying occurs 10 through any form of electronic communication. 11 3. "School property" shall mean in or within any building, structure, 12 athletic playing field, playground, parking lot, or land contained with- 13 in the real property boundary line of a public elementary or secondary 14 school; or in or on a school bus, as defined in section one hundred 15 forty-two of the vehicle and traffic law. 16 4. "Disability" shall mean (a) a physical, mental or medical impair- 17 ment resulting from anatomical, physiological, genetic or neurological 18 conditions which prevents the exercise of a normal bodily function or is 19 demonstrable by medically accepted clinical or laboratory diagnostic 20 techniques; (b) a record of such an impairment; or (c) a condition 21 regarded by others as such an impairment. 22 5. "Sexual orientation" shall mean actual or perceived heterosexuali- 23 ty, homosexuality or bisexuality. 24 6. "Gender" shall mean actual or perceived sex and shall include a 25 person's gender identity or expression. 26 7. "Race" shall, for the purposes of this article include traits 27 historically associated with race, including but not limited to, hair 28 texture and protective hairstyles as defined by section eleven of this 29 title. 30 8. "At-risk children or young teenagers" shall mean children or teen- 31 agers seventeen years of age or younger who (a) have a disability or who 32 identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, gender non-con- 33 forming; and (b) are in need of mental or behavioral health support due 34 to anxiety, trauma, harassment or bullying, physical or mental abuse, 35 suicidal ideation, or self-harm. 36 9. "Police officer" shall have the same meaning as defined by subdivi- 37 sion thirty-four of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law. 38 10. "Peace officer" shall mean a person listed in section 2.10 of the 39 criminal procedure law. 40 § 22. Child and young teen mental health and community safety. 1. The 41 board of education and the trustees or sole trustee of every school 42 district shall create policies, procedures, and guidelines, including 43 prevention, intervention, and postvention planning to direct teachers, 44 school administrators, school safety staff, bus drivers, other school 45 district employees, social workers, police officers, and peace officers 46 on how to respond to children or young teenagers, including but not 47 limited to at-risk children or young teenagers, who have: 48 (a) Demonstrated suicidal ideation, intentions, or inflicted self- 49 harm; 50 (b) Been victims of harassment or bullying; and/or 51 (c) Without permission, wandered or eloped from school property, or 52 threatened to do so. 53 2. In creating the policies, procedures, and guidelines pursuant to 54 subdivision one of this section, a board of education and the trustees 55 or sole trustee of a school district shall coordinate with pediatric 56 mental and behavioral health services providers, community health agen-
A. 2821 3 1 cies, local law enforcement and public safety agencies, and any other 2 local municipal agency offering relevant mental or behavioral health 3 services. 4 3. Upon creation of the policies, procedures, and guidelines pursuant 5 to subdivision one of this section, and annually thereafter, a board of 6 education of a school district shall distribute such policies, proce- 7 dures, and guidelines to all teachers, school administrators, school 8 safety staff, bus drivers, and other employees of such school district, 9 and any local social services agencies, and local law enforcement and 10 public safety agencies. 11 § 23. Reporting. The commissioner shall create a procedure under which 12 boards of education of every school district shall report to the depart- 13 ment annually on the policies, procedures, and guidelines developed 14 pursuant to subdivision one of section twenty-two of this article. The 15 commissioner may comply with the requirements of this section through 16 use of the existing uniform violent incident reporting system under 17 section twenty-eight hundred two of this chapter, and/or the reporting 18 requirements for harassment, bullying and discrimination on school 19 grounds or at a school function under section fifteen of this title. 20 § 24. Commission. 1. There is hereby created in the department a 21 "commission on child and young teen mental health and community safety" 22 to evaluate the safety and security of children in primary and secondary 23 public and private schools in this state. The commission, in consulta- 24 tion with the office of children and family services and the office of 25 mental health shall perform the following duties: 26 (a) evaluate the safety and security of students in primary and 27 secondary private and public schools in this state; 28 (b) identify any disparate treatment regarding mental health or behav- 29 ioral health services provided to students in primary and secondary 30 private and public schools in this state and in Monroe county; 31 (c) examine the effects of COVID-19 on the mental health and behav- 32 ioral health of primary and secondary students in this state, as it 33 relates to returning to in-person learning; 34 (d) identify any racial or ethnic disparities in the delivery of 35 educational supports and services to students in primary and secondary 36 private and public schools in this state, whether such students partic- 37 ipate in person or through distance learning methods; and 38 (e) suggest modifications to the personalized recovery-oriented 39 services (PROS) program to allow participants to access mental health 40 services outside of such program through a healthcare provider of their 41 choice without losing eligibility for comprehensive assistance under 42 such program to encourage natural supports and improve medication 43 management. 44 2. The commission shall consist of eleven members to be appointed as 45 follows: 46 (a) one member shall be appointed by the governor; 47 (b) one member shall be appointed by the speaker of the assembly; 48 (c) one member shall be appointed by the temporary president of the 49 senate; 50 (d) one member shall be appointed by the minority leader of the assem- 51 bly; 52 (e) one member shall be appointed by the minority leader of the 53 senate; 54 (f) two members shall be appointed by the commissioner of mental 55 health;
A. 2821 4 1 (g) two members shall be appointed by the commissioner of the office 2 of children and family services; and 3 (h) two members shall be appointed by the commissioner. 4 3. The members of the commission shall receive no compensation for 5 their services, but shall be allowed their actual and necessary expenses 6 incurred in the performance of their duties hereunder. 7 4. The commission may acquire directly from the head of any depart- 8 ment, agency, or instrumentality of the state, available information 9 which the commission considers useful in the discharge of its duties. 10 All departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the state shall 11 cooperate with the commission with respect to such information and shall 12 furnish all information requested by the commission to the extent 13 permitted by law. 14 5. The commission shall submit a report of its findings and recommen- 15 dations to the governor, the temporary president of the senate, the 16 speaker of the assembly and the minority leaders of the senate and the 17 assembly no later than one year after the effective date of this 18 section. 19 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 20 have become a law; provided, however, that effective immediately, the 21 addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary 22 for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized 23 to be made and completed on or before such effective date.