Parents, teachers wary of new bill on drugs in school
A bill passed by the Legislature has some worried more children will end up in mental health crisis units because they won’t get the help they need early on.
But supporters of the bill dealing with psychotropic drugs and the role schools can play in whether they are prescribed to children say something needed to be done to stop overmedication of children.
The legislation sponsored by Rep. Gustavo Barreiro, R-Miami, now goes to Gov. Jeb Bush. Opponents are hoping Bush will veto the bill. They fear teachers will be dissuaded from bringing mental health issues forward to parents.
“You’re going to wind up with more Baker Acts because nobody is going to talk to parents and get the preventative measures in place,” said Dr. Elias Sarkis, a past president of the Florida Psychiatric Society and a child psychiatrist in Gainesville. The Baker Act is a state law that allows people, including children, to be involuntarily confined to mental health facilities temporarily if they are deemed dangerous to themselves or others.
The Florida Association of School Psychologists is hoping a different bill, which contains similar provisions dealing with schools but is primarily directed at restricting the state Department of Children & Families’ power to give psychotropic drugs to foster children, will be approved by the governor instead. The bill gives school personnel more freedom to discuss observations with parents, said Mary Alice Myers, past president and a Volusia school psychologist. Barreiro, who hopes both bills become law, said too many children are being placed on drugs such as Ritalin.
Under his bill, when school officials suspect a mental health issue and want to refer a student for an evaluation, they must tell parents that a child’s behavior could have a physical cause and suggest consulting a medical doctor. Also, school officials must tell parents the evaluation may become a part of a child’s school record.
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“Parents, teachers wary of new bill on drugs in school”
Well, this is certainly strange. I always thought that physical causes were to be ruled out first, *before* any psychological issues were to be considered! Seems like they are putting the cart before the horse, doesn’t it? Sad….
And as a history teacher for over 20 years, I can assure you of one thing. I can only describe behaviors I observe. I am *not* trained to know what diagnoses the child may have, even as I have many students with different diagnoses. Could I hazard a “guess?” Sure, but why would I? It is not my area of expertise? I teach HISTORY!
And another thing. A medical history should NEVER - EVER - become part of the school record! That is a complete violation of the patient/doctor privacy laws — Hippa Laws I believe they are called. There are occassions that the nurse needs to know specific information; and other occassions that I, as a teacher, need to know something. (Then there are times where I believe I have the *right* to know, and I am denied that knowledge — students with aids for example. We are not even given plastic gloves anymore yet we deal with kids who cough, sneeze, bleed, and throw up in our rooms and we don’t know if they carry a deadly, communicable disease! Good grief!) But, these people want to put a supposed mental illness, “diagnosed” by a teacher, on the child’s permanent record???
That is a total travesty!
It should be fought tooth and nail, and all the way to the US Supreme Court if necessary!
For heaven’s sake, you can go to three different psychiatrists and get three different diagnoses for the same symptoms! Look at the DSM VI. So many illnesses have overlapping symptoms it’s a case of either/or. And let’s not forget the notorious, “diagnoses of the month” ie, whatever is in vogue diagnoses.
I’m sorry, but, this article got to me viscereally. I’ve seen a very large increase in prescribed meds for kids over the years. (I’ve also seen a large increase in alergies for the record.) I do not like the trends. And drugged minds do not learn. Neither do teachers diagnose mental illnesses.
Peace!
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Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 16 May 2005
