Bill > A06495

This bill enacts the "Tevyan Rowe child and young teen mental health community safety act," which requires school districts to develop comprehensive policies and procedures for addressing mental health and safety concerns among children and teenagers. The bill establishes detailed definitions for terms like harassment, bullying, and cyberbullying, and creates a specific category of "at-risk children or young teenagers" who may need additional support. School boards must develop guidelines for responding to students who have demonstrated suicidal ideation, experienced harassment or bullying, or eloped from school property, and must coordinate with mental health providers, community health agencies, and local law enforcement. Additionally, the bill creates an eleven-member commission tasked with evaluating student safety in public and private schools, examining mental health service disparities, studying the impact of COVID-19 on student mental health, identifying racial and ethnic disparities in educational supports, and suggesting modifications to mental health service programs. The commission will be composed of appointees from various state offices and will be required to submit a report of its findings and recommendations within one year of the law's effective date.

Education

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A6495