Currently schools determine which student absences are excused or unexcused.
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The bill proposed by State Senator Brad Hoylman would make mental or behavioral health issues a permitted reason for a student's absence.
Hoylman says it is time to recognize suicide and self-harm among young New Yorkers as a major public health crisis.
He added that the stigma around mental health care should be demolished.
"An absence from school should never be a barrier to mental health treatment for a child in New York State," said Hoylman.
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The bill would require the New York State Education Department to implement the change in the law.
Related laws have been enacted in Oregon, Utah, and Minnesota.
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