Senate Bill sb2850
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 2850
By Senator Diaz de la Portilla
36-1437-07
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to exceptional student
3 evaluation; amending s. 1003.57, F.S.;
4 requiring that parents be provided full
5 information regarding student evaluation and
6 treatment before giving parental consent;
7 requiring the Department of Education to
8 provide an informed-consent form to obtain a
9 parent's informed consent; amending s.
10 1006.0625, F.S.; redefining the term
11 "psychotropic medication"; revising provisions
12 relating to the administration of psychotropic
13 medication in public schools; requiring
14 parental consent for psychological screening;
15 prohibiting personnel from recommending
16 psychotropic medications; providing an
17 effective date.
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19 WHEREAS, the Individuals with Disabilities Education
20 Act (IDEA) was first enacted in 1975 to provide equal access
21 to education for every disabled child, and
22 WHEREAS, IDEA requires that every child considered for
23 exceptional education services must first be evaluated to
24 determine if the child qualifies as a child with a disability,
25 and that the agency proposing to conduct the evaluation and
26 any subsequent reevaluation "shall obtain informed consent
27 from the parent of such child before conducting the
28 evaluation" (20 U.S.C. s. 1414(a)(1)(D)(i)(I)), and
29 WHEREAS, on August 14, 2006, the United States
30 Department of Education published final regulations for
31 implementation of IDEA, strengthening the informed-consent
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 2850
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1 requirements, including a new paragraph (34 C.F.R. s.
2 300.300(d)(5)) requiring the school or other public agency to
3 document its efforts to obtain parental consent, and
4 WHEREAS, Rule 6A-6.03311 (1)-(3), Florida
5 Administrative Code, entitled "Exceptional Student Education
6 Rules," which implements IDEA in Florida, requires that before
7 a student may be evaluated, the parents must be "fully
8 informed of all information relevant to the activity for which
9 consent is sought," that "the consent describes that
10 activity," that it must be "informed parental consent," and
11 that the parents must also be informed of "procedural
12 safeguards," and
13 WHEREAS, the legal definition of "informed consent"
14 means a person's agreement to allow something to happen, made
15 with full knowledge of the risks involved and the
16 alternatives, and
17 WHEREAS, in practice, school districts throughout the
18 state provide information only on the due-process rights of
19 parents and should provide information to parents on the risks
20 and alternatives to the evaluation process and the potential
21 consequences of evaluation, including likely courses of
22 treatment, and
23 WHEREAS, the new IDEA regulations provide for "model
24 forms" to notify parents at each stage of a child's
25 exceptional education program, noting that states may choose
26 to add additional content to the model forms consistent with
27 "the importance of including parents in decisions regarding
28 the education of their children," NOW, THEREFORE,
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30 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 2850
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1 Section 1. Paragraph (h) is added to subsection (1) of
2 section 1003.57, Florida Statutes, to read:
3 1003.57 Exceptional students instruction.--
4 (1) Each district school board shall provide for an
5 appropriate program of special instruction, facilities, and
6 services for exceptional students as prescribed by the State
7 Board of Education as acceptable, including provisions that:
8 (h)1. Before a public school student is evaluated for
9 an emotional, behavioral, or mental disorder, the student's
10 parents are provided full information about the evaluation
11 process and possible courses of treatment, including, but not
12 limited to, the following potential risks and alternatives to
13 such evaluation, and must give written informed consent for
14 the evaluation:
15 a. The behaviors prompting the evaluation could be the
16 result of underlying physical conditions, developmental or
17 environmental factors, or normal variants of child behavior.
18 Physical factors may include, but are not limited to, exposure
19 to toxins, including lead, mercury, pesticides, and other
20 neurotoxins; allergies; seizure disorders; thyroid imbalances;
21 or sleep deprivation.
22 b. A parent may want to consider consulting a medical
23 doctor to rule out physical causes before pursuing
24 psychological or psychiatric evaluation for his or her child.
25 c. Recommended treatment for emotional, behavioral, or
26 mental disorders may include psychotropic medications that may
27 have potential dangerous side effects listed in the current
28 package insert for the medication approved by the federal Food
29 and Drug Administration.
30 d. There are alternative interventions for mental and
31 behavioral disorders which do not include psychotropic
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1 medications and which parents have the right to consider and
2 use, regardless of whether they consent to the proposed
3 evaluation. The specifically designed instruction and related
4 services of special education programs are available to the
5 child regardless of the parent's choice of behavioral, mental,
6 or medical care for his or her child.
7 2. The Department of Education shall provide an
8 informed-consent form to each of the school districts which
9 includes the information contained in subparagraph 1. followed
10 by a provision for each parent's signed acknowledgement of
11 having read the information and the parent's consent or lack
12 of consent for the evaluation or reevaluation. The
13 informed-consent form shall be provided to the parents of any
14 child referred for any evaluation or reevaluation in
15 connection with any emotional, behavioral, or mental disorder,
16 or any other psychological or psychiatric evaluation. In the
17 case of an initial evaluation of a child being considered for
18 inclusion in an exceptional student education program, the
19 informed-consent form shall be provided to the parent along
20 with any procedural safeguard notification.
21 Section 2. Section 1006.0625, Florida Statutes, is
22 amended to read:
23 1006.0625 Administration of psychotropic medication;
24 prohibition; conditions.--
25 (1) As used in this section, the term "psychotropic
26 medication" means a prescription medication that is used for
27 the treatment of mental disorders and includes, without
28 limitation, hypnotics antihypnotics, antipsychotics,
29 antidepressants, anxiety agents, sedatives, neurostimulants
30 psychomotor stimulants, and mood stabilizers.
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1 (2) A public school may not deny any student access to
2 programs or services because the parent of the student has
3 refused to place the student on psychotropic medication.
4 (3) A public school teacher and school district
5 personnel may share school-based observations of a student's
6 academic, functional, and behavioral performance with the
7 student's parent and offer program options and other
8 assistance that is available to the parent and the student
9 based on the observations. However, a public school teacher
10 and school district personnel may not compel or attempt to
11 compel any specific actions by the parent or require that a
12 student take medication. A parent of a student must give
13 written informed consent to any psychological screening of the
14 student and may refuse such psychological screening of the
15 student.
16 (4) Public school and school district personnel may
17 not recommend psychotropic medications to any parent. The
18 parent of a student who refuses to provide psychotropic
19 medication to his or her child may not be charged with child
20 neglect or abuse.
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22 Any medical decision made to address a student's needs is a
23 matter between the student, the student's parent, and a
24 competent health care professional chosen by the parent.
25 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.
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2 SENATE SUMMARY
3 Requires that a parent be fully informed of potential
consequences and alternatives prior to his or her child's
4 evaluation for an emotional, behavioral, or mental
disorder. Specifies information relating to consequences
5 of and alternatives for such evaluation. Requires the
Department of Education to provide to school districts a
6 form to obtain a parent's informed consent. Revises
provisions relating to administration of psychotropic
7 medication in public schools. Requires parental consent
for psychological screening. Prohibits personnel from
8 recommending use of psychotropic medications.
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