BILL NO. 43

(as introduced)

1st Session, 63rd General Assembly
Nova Scotia
66 Elizabeth II, 2017

Private Member's Bill

Healthier Schools Act

The Honourable Jamie Baillie
Cumberland South

First Reading: October 12, 2017

(Explanatory Note)

Second Reading:

Third Reading:

This Bill requires

(a) school boards to provide students with access, on a regular basis, to in-school health services provided by a qualified health professional and to make school mental health training programs available to all secondary school teachers; and

(b) the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development to amend the ministerial regulations made under the Education Act to require school boards to implement the Mental Health and High School Curriculum Guide (Updated Edition) created by Stan Kutcher and Yifeng Wei.

Be it enacted by the Governor and Assembly as follows:

1 This Act may be cited as the Healthier Schools Act.

2 Subsection 64(2) of Chapter 1 of the Acts of 1995-96, the Education Act, as amended by Chapter 5 of the Acts of 2002, Chapter 16 of the Acts of 2005, Chapter 54 of the Acts of 2008, Chapters 14 and 50 of the Acts of 2012, Chapter 2 of the Acts of 2013, Chapter 13 of the Acts of 2014 and Chapter 16 of the Acts of 2015, is further amended by

(a) adding immediately after clause (j) the following clause:

and

(b) adding immediately after clause (n) the following clause:

3 Upon the coming into force of this Act, the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development shall, as soon as is practicable, amend the regulations made under subsection 145(1) of the Education Act to require that each school board provide, in each school under the jurisdiction of the school board, instruction in mental health to students in grade nine in accordance with the Mental Health and High School Curriculum Guide (Updated Edition) created by Stan Kutcher and Yifeng Wei.