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A3646Assembly2017-2018 Session

Ban School Drug Recommendations

Official title

“Directs the commissioner of education to establish rules and regulations prohibiting school personnel from recommending psychotropic drugs for children”

Sponsor Felix OrtizAD-51Affects Education
Status
In Assembly Committee
Education
Impact
4/10
Low
Passage
0%

Bill progress

Step 2 of 7

In committee · Education

What's happening

This bill prohibits school personnel from recommending psychotropic drugs for children and protects parents from custody loss for refusing such drugs, unless neglect or abuse occurs.

Why it matters

  1. Shifts authority over children's mental health treatment away from school personnel. , ensuring that only parents and medical professionals—rather than teachers or counselors—make decisions about psychotropic medications for students.

  2. Reduces pressure on families to medicate children for behavioral or learning issues. , which may protect students from unnecessary or unwanted pharmaceutical interventions and encourage non-drug approaches.

  3. Clarifies parental rights by preventing loss of custody solely due to refusal of psychotropic drugs. , unless there is clear evidence of child neglect or abuse, strengthening legal protections for parental decision-making in healthcare.

  4. Allows continued collaboration between school staff and medical professionals with parental consent. , so students can still be referred to doctors when needed, but without coercive or unauthorized recommendations for medication.

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Who cares

Headline styles

Ban School Drug Recommendations

Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.

Sponsors

Primary sponsor
Felix Ortiz

Assembly Member · Assembly District 51

No co-sponsors yet.

History

  1. Referred to education
  2. Referred to education

Full text

1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗

STATE OF NEW YORK

3646

2017-2018 Regular Sessions

IN ASSEMBLY

January 30, 2017

Introduced by M. of A. ORTIZ -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education

AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to recommendations for and refusals of the use of psychotropic drugs by children

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:

Section 1. Section 305 of the education law is amended by adding a new subdivision 56 to read as follows:

56. The commissioner shall establish rules and regulations prohibiting school personnel from recommending psychotropic drugs for any child. Such rules and regulations shall not in any way prohibit school medical staff from recommending that a child see a medical doctor, nor prohibit school personnel from consulting with a doctor, if parental consent to do so has been granted.

§ 2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule or regulation to the contrary, the refusal of a parent, guardian or person in parental relation to a child to administer a psychotropic drug to such child shall not be considered as grounds for that child's removal from their custody, unless such a refusal results in the neglect or abuse of such child.

§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD08972-01-7

Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.

Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.