| Online: | |
| Visits: | |
| Stories: |
| Story Views | |
| Now: | |
| Last Hour: | |
| Last 24 Hours: | |
| Total: | |
Proposed Texas Law Requires Teachers To Psychologically Evaluate Students
A new bill proposed by a Texas state representative would require students to undergo mandatory mental health evaluations or face suspension, based on a psychological assessment of school teachers or school officials.
HB 985’s reporting provision states: “If an educator employed by a school district or open-enrollment charter school observes or is informed about conduct of a student or a statement made by the student that would cause a reasonable person to believe the student intends or is likely to commit sexual violence against another or intends or is likely to cause serious bodily injury to self or others, the educator shall provide notice to the school counselor.”
Once a student is flagged, the proposed legislation requires the parent or guardian to take the student to “the nearest local mental health authority or a physician specializing in psychiatry to receive a mental health screening and a certificate of medical examination for mental illness…that contains the examining physician’s opinion that the student is not a danger to oneself or others.”
During the evaluation period, or if suspended by the provisions of the law, students would be placed off campus in the Discipline Alternative Education Program. The program was established in 1995 by state legislation to address “virtually any disciplinary violation or certain criminal offenses specified in Chapter 37 of the Texas Education Code,” according to Schooling a New Class of Criminals? by the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
Breitbart Texas reports that State Rep. Jason Villaba, R-Dallas, the bill’s sponsor, was:
inspired by the 2013 brutal rape-murder of six-year-old Alanna Gallagher by a troubled Dallas-Fort Worth neighborhood teen. The tragedy did not happen in a school setting. In the name of public safety; however, HB 985 would open that Pandora’s Box of overreach to include a student’s action or comments “on or off school property, and during or outside regular school hours.
Opponents of HB 985 fear that deputizing school personnel to make snap psychological evaluations will lead to stigmatizing students, when current law already empowers school officials and law enforcement to address credible threats made by students. The process provided for in HB 985, once initiated by teachers and school administrators, will lead to students’ personal information being submitted to mental health facilities and police departments. These actions can all take place without first consulting with the parents.
Villaba has introduced controversial legislation in the past, including making it a crime for bloggers and citizens to film law enforcement and forcing parents to have their children vaccinated–regardless of their religious convictions.
h/t: Free Patriot Post
This post originally appeared on Western Journalism – Equipping You With The Truth
Source: http://www.westernjournalism.com/proposed-texas-law-requires-teachers-to-psychologically-evaluate-students/
