Int. No. 986
By Council Members Joseph, Restler, Cabán, Banks, Narcisse, Sanchez, Ung, Brannan, Stevens, Ossé, Nurse, Hudson, Menin, Hanif, Louis, Brooks-Powers and Ariola
A Local Law in relation to a pilot program to involve mental health professionals and professional candidates in student wellness clubs in public middle and high schools
Be it enacted by the Council as follows:
Section 1. Pilot program to involve mental health professionals and professional candidates in student wellness clubs. a. Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
Commissioner. The term “commissioner” means the commissioner of health and mental hygiene.
Department. The term “department” means the department of health and mental hygiene.
Mental health professional. The term “mental health professional” means an individual licensed to provide mental health services in the state of New York, including but not limited to a licensed master social worker, a licensed clinical social worker, a licensed mental health counselor, a licensed marriage and family therapist, a psychiatric-mental health registered nurse or advanced practice nurse, a psychiatrist, and a psychologist.
Middle and high school. The term “middle and high school” means any school of the city school district that contains any combination of grades from grade 6 through grade 12.
Professional candidate. The term “professional candidate” means an individual enrolled in an accredited training program leading to licensure as a mental health professional.
Student. The term “student” means any pupil under the age of 21 as of September 1 of the relevant academic year who does not have a high school diploma and who is enrolled in grade 6 or higher.
Student wellness club. The term “student wellness club” means an extracurricular student group meeting after school or during designated time set aside for school extracurricular activities that provides a peer-led space for students to focus on their wellbeing and underlying factors influencing their wellbeing, including mental health.
b. Development and establishment of program. 1. The commissioner shall develop a pilot program to involve mental health professionals and professional candidates in student wellness clubs in middle and high schools. Through this program, the commissioner shall, at a minimum:
(a) Make best efforts to recruit mental health professionals for voluntary participation in this program;
(b) Make best efforts to develop partnerships with universities to recruit professional candidates for voluntary participation in this program; and
(c) Facilitate the leading of discussions and workshops by mental health professionals and professional candidates for middle and high school students on mental health topics, including but not limited to mental health coping skills, recognizing signs of mental distress, and strategies for maintaining mental well-being.
2. The commissioner shall make best efforts to coordinate with the chancellor of the city school district to establish this program within student wellness clubs in middle and high schools.
c. Implementation. The pilot program developed and established under subdivision b of this section shall commence no later than 120 days after the effective date of this local law. The duration of this program shall be 2 years.
d. Reporting. 1. No later than 1 year after the effective date of this local law, the commissioner, in coordination with the chancellor of the city school district, shall submit to the mayor and the speaker of the council, and post on the department’s website, a report on the pilot program developed and established under subdivision b of this section. This report shall include, but need not be limited to, the following information:
(a) An overview of the services provided by mental health professionals and professional candidates through this program;
(b) The total number of mental health professionals and professional candidates who provided services through this program;
(c) The total number of middle and high school students who participated in this program;
(d) A table in which each row references each middle and high school student who participated in this program, indicated by a unique identification number, and that includes the name of the middle or high school attended by the student and the borough in which the student attended middle or high school at the time of participation in this program set forth in separate columns;
(e) An evaluation of this program’s effectiveness in improving mental health support within middle and high schools;
(f) A description of any challenges encountered during the implementation of this program; and
(g) Recommendations for the future of the program, including any proposals for continuation, expansion, or modification based on the program’s outcomes.
2. No information that is otherwise required to be reported pursuant to this subdivision shall be reported in a manner that would violate any applicable provision of federal, state, or local law relating to the privacy of student information or that would interfere with law enforcement investigations or otherwise conflict with the interests of law enforcement. If a category contains between 1 and 5 students, or contains an amount that would allow another category that contains between 1 and 5 students to be deduced, the number shall be replaced with a symbol. A category that contains zero shall be reported as zero, unless such reporting would violate any applicable provision of federal, state, or local law relating to the privacy of student information. For the purposes of subparagraph (d) of paragraph 1 of this subdivision, if the table contains between 1 and 5 students, the table shall not display any information.
§ 2. This local law takes effect immediately.JL
LS #14112
6/17/2024 5:30 PM