STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1829 2017-2018 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 11, 2017 ___________ Introduced by Sen. KENNEDY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to health education regarding alcohol, drugs, tobacco abuse and the prevention and detection of certain cancers The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraph a of subdivision 4 of section 804 of the educa- 2 tion law, as amended by chapter 39 of the laws of 2014, is amended to 3 read as follows: 4 a. The commissioner may prescribe in regulations such health education 5 courses which include instruction regarding alcohol, tobacco, and other 6 drugs as the commissioner may deem necessary and desirable for the 7 welfare of pupils and the community. The contents may be varied to meet 8 the needs of particular school districts, or portions thereof, and need 9 not be uniform throughout the state, provided, however, that school 10 districts shall utilize either the curriculum for health education 11 instruction regarding alcohol, tobacco and other drugs prescribed by the 12 commissioner or a course approved by the commissioner in accordance with 13 criteria established by the commissioner. The commissioner [is author- 14 ized to] shall make recommendations to the board of regents beginning 15 December first, two thousand [fourteen] seventeen and every [three] two 16 years thereafter relating to the modernization of such instruction 17 required pursuant to subdivision one of this section, to include the 18 most up to date age appropriate information available regarding the 19 misuse and abuse of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, including but not 20 limited to heroin and opioids. Such instruction shall be sequential and 21 comprehensive, and shall include, but not be limited to, information 22 regarding drugs and other substances that are more prevalent among 23 school aged youth. Such recommendations shall be the result of a collab- 24 oration between the department, the office of alcoholism and substance EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD01243-01-7

S. 1829 2 1 abuse services and the department of health. If the board of regents 2 adopts such curriculum, the curriculum requirement shall take effect no 3 later than the next school year after such curriculum has been adopted. 4 § 2. Paragraph a of subdivision 6 of section 804 of the education 5 law, as amended by chapter 390 of the laws of 2016, is amended to read 6 as follows: 7 a. The commissioner may prescribe in regulations such health education 8 courses which include instruction regarding alcohol, tobacco, and other 9 drugs as the commissioner may deem necessary and desirable for the 10 welfare of pupils and the community. The contents may be varied to meet 11 the needs of particular school districts, or portions thereof, and need 12 not be uniform throughout the state, provided, however, that school 13 districts shall utilize either the curriculum for health education 14 instruction regarding alcohol, tobacco and other drugs prescribed by the 15 commissioner or a course approved by the commissioner in accordance with 16 criteria established by the commissioner. The commissioner [is author- 17 ized to] shall make recommendations to the board of regents beginning 18 December first, two thousand [fourteen] seventeen and every [three] two 19 years thereafter relating to the modernization of such instruction 20 required pursuant to subdivision one of this section, to include the 21 most up to date age appropriate information available regarding the 22 misuse and abuse of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, including but not 23 limited to heroin and opioids. Such instruction shall be sequential and 24 comprehensive, and shall include, but not be limited to, information 25 regarding drugs and other substances that are more prevalent among 26 school aged youth. Such recommendations shall be the result of a collab- 27 oration between the department, the office of alcoholism and substance 28 abuse services and the department of health. If the board of regents 29 adopts such curriculum, the curriculum requirement shall take effect no 30 later than the next school year after such curriculum has been adopted. 31 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that 32 the amendments to paragraph a of subdivision 6 of section 804 of the 33 education law made by section two of this act, shall take effect on the 34 same date and in the same manner as chapter 390 of the laws of 2016, 35 takes effect.