What's happening
This bill requires annual reporting on school counselors, social workers, and psychologists, and authorizes extra school aid for their employment.
Why it matters
Annual, detailed reporting on mental health professionals in schools. will provide transparency on how many counselors, social workers, and psychologists are available to students, exposing gaps and disparities at the school level that may have gone unnoticed.
Mandated analysis and planning to meet national standards. the commissioner is required not just to report, but to develop actionable proposals to increase staff and move toward nationally recommended student-to-counselor ratios, potentially driving policy and budget changes.
Targeted financial aid for hiring mental health staff. means schools may receive additional state funding specifically for counselors, social workers, and psychologists, creating a financial incentive to prioritize students’ mental health support beyond baseline education funding.
Definitions and accountability. by specifying who qualifies as a school counselor, social worker, or psychologist, the law ensures that only properly credentialed professionals are counted and funded, supporting quality and professional standards in student mental health care.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Report School Mental Health Staff
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to education
- Referred to education
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
3576
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 29, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. GUNTHER, FINCH -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to requiring the department of education to report information regarding counselors, social workers and psychologists in schools
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 57 to read as follows:
57. a. The commissioner shall submit to the governor, the temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly, a report regarding school counselors, school social workers and school psychologists for the current school year. Such report shall include, but not be limited to: (i) the number of full and part-time school counselors, school social workers and school psychologists in each school, (ii) the ratio of students to the number of school counselors, the ratio of students to the number of school social workers, and the ratio of students to the number of school psychologists in each school, and (iii) whether the school counselor, school social worker or school psychologist is providing counseling assistance to more than one school.
b. After such report is issued, the commissioner shall prepare a proposal on how to increase the number of school counselors, school social workers and school psychologists to meet the nationally accepted ratio of students to the number of school counselors, ratio of students to the number of school social workers, and ratio of students to the number of school psychologists within New York state such as those recommended by the school social work association of America, the American school counselors association and the national association of school psychologists. When preparing such proposal, the commissioner shall take into consideration the specific needs of individual school districts and the region in which such school district is located.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01636-01-9
A. 3576 2
c. For purposes of this subdivision, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
(i) "school counselor" shall mean any personnel, licensed and certified by New York state as school counselor, hired to provide individual or group counseling assistance to students in the elementary, middle, or high school grades;
(ii) "school social worker" shall mean any personnel, licensed and certified by New York state as a school social worker, hired to provide individual or group counseling assistance to students in the elementary, middle, or high school grades; and
(iii) "school psychologist" shall mean any personnel, licensed and certified by New York state as a school psychologist, hired to provide individual or group counseling assistance to students in the elementary, middle, or high school grades.
§ 2. Section 3602 of the education law is amended by adding a new subdivision 19 to read as follows:
19. In addition to the apportionments payable to a school district pursuant to this section, the commissioner is hereby authorized to apportion to any school district additional aid pursuant to this subdivision for its approved expenditures in the base year for the employment of school counselors, school social workers and/or school psychologists. The commissioner shall annually prescribe a cost allowance for such school counselors, school social workers and/or school psychologists and the approved expenditures shall not exceed such cost allowance.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
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.