Section 804. Health education regarding alcohol, drugs, tobacco abuse and the prevention and detection of certain cancers

1.  All  schools  shall  include,  as  an integral part of health education, instruction so as to
  discourage the misuse and abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs and
  promote attitudes and behavior that  enhance  health,  well  being,  and
  human dignity.
    2.  Instruction  regarding  alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs shall be
  included in the health education  provided  for  all  elementary  school
  pupils  and  shall  be  taught  by  the regular classroom teachers or by
  teachers certified to teach health education. Such instruction shall  be
  designed  according  to  the  needs  and  abilities  of  the  pupils  at
  successive grade levels with the purpose of developing desirable  health
  behavior,  attitudes, and knowledge as well as self-reliance and problem
  solving capacity.
    3.  Instruction  regarding  alcohol,  tobacco,  and  other  drugs,  in
  addition  to  continued health guidance in the junior high school grades
  and the senior high schools, shall be an integral  part  of  a  required
  health education course at each of these levels in the secondary schools
  curriculum.  Students  shall be required to demonstrate knowledge in the
  subject area through the use of a test, graded project or report, or any
  other means prescribed by  the  school  authorities  regarding  alcohol,
  drugs,  and tobacco. Any such course shall be taught by teachers holding
  a certificate to teach health. Related courses in the  secondary  school
  curriculum  shall  be  taught in a manner supportive of health education
  regarding alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.  In  addition,  instruction
  regarding the dangers of driving while under the influence of alcohol or
  drugs shall be an integral part of a required health education course in
  the  senior  high  schools.  Such  instruction  shall be provided in all
  senior high schools whether or not these  schools  also  provide  driver
  education courses.
    3-a.  Instruction  regarding  methods  of  prevention and detection of
  certain cancers, including  but  not  limited  to  breast  cancer,  skin
  cancer,  testicular  cancer  and  other cancers where certain preventive
  measures have become generally accepted and  certain  detection  methods
  have  been  adopted  and  recommended  generally  to  the  public.  Such
  instruction shall be an integral part of  a  required  health  education
  course  at the senior high school level, in addition to continued health
  guidance in senior high schools. Any such  course  shall  be  taught  by
  teachers holding a certificate to teach health.
    4.  a.  The  commissioner  may  prescribe  in  regulations such health
  education courses which include instruction regarding alcohol,  tobacco,
  and other drugs as the commissioner may deem necessary and desirable for
  the  welfare  of pupils and the community. The contents may be varied to
  meet the needs of particular school districts, or portions thereof,  and
  need not be uniform throughout the state, provided, however, that school
  districts  shall  utilize  either  the  curriculum  for health education
  instruction regarding alcohol, tobacco and other drugs prescribed by the
  commissioner or a course approved by the commissioner in accordance with
  criteria established by the commissioner.
    b. The commissioner shall make  available  an  interpersonal  violence
  prevention  education  package  for  grades kindergarten through twelve,
  which package  may  consist  of  student  pamphlets,  parent  pamphlets,
  videotapes  and  other informative materials to be distributed to school
  districts, and shall encourage the use of such material as part  of  the
  health or other related curricula or programs.
    c.  The  regents  shall  review  the health curriculum requirements in
  existence on the effective date of this paragraph  for  the  purpose  of
  streamlining  such  curriculum  and  identifying any outdated components

  that may be eliminated or consolidated in order to ensure that  students
  have sufficient time and instruction to develop skills to address issues
  of violence prevention and mental health. To the extent appropriate, the
  regents shall modify the existing curriculum to provide greater focus on
  the  development  of  skills,  by  no later than middle school, that are
  needed  to  recognize,  cope  with  and  address   potentially   violent
  incidents,  including  an  understanding of student's roles in emergency
  situations, what to do when  confronted  with  another  student  who  is
  experiencing  a mental health problem, and other related skills designed
  to reduce the threat of violence in schools.
    5. School authorities shall provide the needed facilities,  time,  and
  place  for  the  instruction set forth herein and shall provide learning
  aids and curriculum resource materials  which  contribute  to  effective
  teaching  methods  and  learning  in health education regarding alcohol,
  tobacco, and other drugs.
    6. All pre-service training  programs  in  the  state  for  elementary
  teachers shall include adequate preparation regarding the instruction in
  alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs set forth herein, and no teacher shall
  be  licensed  except upon satisfactory demonstration of the competencies
  included in  the  institutional  proposals  approved  by  the  education
  department.
    7.  Nothing  contained  in this section shall be deemed to diminish or
  impair the duties of the commissioner with  respect  to  the  continuing
  program  for  critical  health  problems  established  by  chapter seven
  hundred eighty-seven of the laws  of  nineteen  hundred  sixty-seven  as
  amended. The commissioner shall coordinate actions taken under authority
  of  this  section  with the provisions of said chapter as they relate to
  health education in schools, inservice training and  training  programs,
  and curriculum or syllabus development regarding the deleterious effects
  resulting from the use, misuse, and abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and other
  drugs.