WKBW-TV Buffalo is reporting state Senator Brad Hoylman announced September 5, he has introduced legislation that would allow New York students to take mental health days. The new legislation would establish mental or behavioral health issues as a permitted reason for an absence. This would also require the New York State Education Department to implement the change in law. According to a recent study, the number of children and teenagers treated in America’s emergency rooms for suicide attempts and suicidal thoughts nearly doubled between 2007 and 2015. In New York, nearly 4,500 kids were hospitalized for self-harm in 2016. "We need to recognize suicide and self-harm among young New Yorkers as the major public health crisis that it is, demolish the stigma around mental health care, and do everything within our power to help kids who are struggling seek treatment," said the bill's sponsor, state Senator Brad Hoylman, a Manhattan Democrat. Similar laws have been enacted in Oregon, Utah and Minnesota. Read the full story at WKBW [dot] com.