New York S 9101: Establishes a grant program to promote the mental health and wellness of teachers and staff in public schools

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S09101 Summary:

BILL NOS09101 

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SAME ASNo Same As

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SPONSORSEPULVEDA

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COSPNSR

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MLTSPNSR

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Add §3615, Ed L

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Establishes a program to promote the mental health and wellness of teachers and staff in public schools through grants.

Go to top S09101 Actions:

BILL NOS09101 

&nbsp

02/03/2026REFERRED TO EDUCATION

Go to topS09101 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topS09101 Floor&nbspVotes:

There are no Assembly votes for this bill in this legislative session.

Go to topS09101 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 9101

 IN SENATE

 February 3, 2026
 ___________

 Introduced by Sen. SEPULVEDA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
 printed to be committed to the Committee on Education

 AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to establishing a grant
 program to promote the mental health and wellness of teachers and
 staff in public schools

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

 1 Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 3615
 2 to read as follows:
 3 § 3615. Teacher mental health support grant program. 1. There is
 4 hereby established in the joint custody of the state comptroller and the
 5 commissioner of taxation and finance a fund to be known as the teacher
 6 mental health support fund.
 7 2. The teacher mental health support fund shall consist of all reven-
 8 ues received from any source, public or private, for the purposes
 9 provided in this section and all other moneys credited or transferred
 10 thereto from any other fund or source pursuant to law. No monies from
 11 the state general fund shall be transferred to, or otherwise made avail-
 12 able for deposit into this fund.
 13 3. Moneys of the fund, following appropriation by the legislature, may
 14 be expended for operational and planning grants to local school
 15 districts to promote the mental health and wellness of teachers and
 16 support staff. Moneys shall be paid out of the fund on the audit and
 17 warrant of the state comptroller on vouchers certified or approved by
 18 the commissioner.
 19 4. a. A public school district, or two or more public school districts
 20 acting jointly, shall be eligible to receive a grant pursuant to the
 21 provisions of this section for the purposes of providing resources for
 22 teachers, teachers' aides, paraprofessionals, principals, assistant
 23 principals, secretaries, and other administrative staff of such school
 24 district. Such resources shall include, but not be limited to:
 25 (i) counseling by licensed mental health professionals in one-on-one,
 26 group, in-person, or virtual settings;

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD13440-01-5

 S. 9101 2

 1 (ii) in-house or external programming focused on personal and profes-
 2 sional resilience, stress management, burnout prevention, and overall
 3 wellness; and
 4 (iii) professional development and training to promote mental health,
 5 self-care practices, and healthy work environment practices for educa-
 6 tors.
 7 b. A public school district which applies for a planning grant pursu-
 8 ant to subdivision five of this section for such new programs shall not
 9 be eligible for an operational grant pursuant to subdivision six of this
 10 section until the school year following the year in which the planning
 11 grant was received. For purposes of this section as applied within the
 12 city of New York, such city public school district shall be eligible for
 13 multiple awards on behalf of each community school district or high
 14 school district as though each was a separate school district.
 15 5. A public school district shall be eligible to apply for a planning
 16 grant on a one-year competitive basis for the purpose of planning for
 17 the implementation of programs for promoting the mental health and well-
 18 ness of teachers and support staff. Applications shall be evaluated on a
 19 competitive basis and such grants shall be awarded accordingly. Appli-
 20 cations shall include the planning budget and program description for
 21 promoting the mental health and wellness of teachers and support staff.
 22 A school district which recei