Georgia Senators address Screening - growing controversy over the validity of psychiatric diagnoses

[Guest guest]

Please alert your friends, family and contacts in Georgia. The below Georgia

Senators are doing something about it. They need to be supported. Their e-mail

addresses are listed below.

http://www.legis.ga.gov/legis/2005_06/search/sb430.htm

Senate Bill 430

By: Senators Schaefer of the 50th, of the 19th, of the 54th,

of the 52nd, of the 21st and others

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

To amend Part 3 of Article 16 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of

Georgia Annotated, relating to student health in elementary and secondary

education, so as to provide that mental health screening shall not be given to

students without prior parental consent; to provide for notice; to provide for

the withholding of state funds by the State Board of Education; to provide for

construction; to provide for a consent form; to provide for related matters; to

repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1.

Part 3 of Article 16 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia

Annotated, relating to student health in elementary and secondary education, is

amended by adding a new Code section to the end of such part to read as follows:

" 20-2-775.

(a) As used in this Code section, the term 'mental health screening' shall mean

any interview or survey designed to determine a student?s thoughts, feelings, or

behavior at the present time or in the past.

( No student in any local school system shall be required to submit to any

mental health screening without the prior written consent of the student?s

parent or guardian or the student, in the case of an emancipated minor. Such

written consent shall be in substantially the same form as included in

subsection (f) of this Code section.

© No later than 45 days prior to any proposed screening, the local school

system shall provide notice to the parent or guardian or the student, in the

case of an emancipated minor, of the proposed screening. The notice shall

include information about the content of the screening and must inform the

parent, guardian, or student, as appropriate, that his or her written consent

must be given in order for the student to participate.

(d) The State Board of Education shall have the authority to withhold funds, in

accordance with Code Section 20-2-243, from any local school system which fails

to obtain written consent prior to the mental health screening of a student or

otherwise fails to comply with this Code section.

(e) Nothing in this Code section shall be construed to conflict with or violate

the provisions of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act,

including provisions relating to psychological evaluations for purposes of

evaluating students with disabilities.

(f) Local school systems shall use the following form, in substantially the same

content and format, to obtain the written permission required pursuant to this

Code section prior to administering a mental health screening to any student:

'TO: (Parent or guardian) ____________________________________

FROM: (School or organization) _______________________________

[insert particulars regarding the name of the screening program and where and

when it will take place.]

FULL INFORMED CONSENT FOR MENTAL HEALTH SCREENING

Mental health screening methods for children and adolescents vary from state to

state, but usually involve a self-administered computer interview or " survey " to

determine how they feel emotionally (anxious or worried, sad or depressed) or

their behavior at the present time or in the past. These questions can cover

thoughts or feelings your child has had or you've had about them over the last

year.

Based on an evaluation of your child?s answers regarding their feelings or

behavior, your child could be given a diagnosis of a " mental disorder. " Another

option is that you could be asked to bring your child in for a follow-up

interview or evaluation to determine if he or she has a mental disorder or

syndrome. These diagnoses have to be made by a psychologist, psychiatrist, or

medical doctor, but there is a growing controversy over the validity of

psychiatric diagnoses.

There are currently 374 diagnoses of mental disorders in the American

Psychiatric Association?s diagnostic manual. The psychologist, psychiatrist, and

medical doctor depend on these diagnoses in order to bill the private insurance

companies or government insurance such as Medicaid.

The attitudes, beliefs, actions, inactions, or behaviors of a child or

adolescent and whether or not these constitute a mental disorder are solely

based on the opinion of the person making the diagnosis. Unlike methods to

determine diseases like cancer, diabetes, or tuberculosis, a diagnosis of

" mental disorder " or " syndrome " is not based on any physical medical test, such

as a brain scan, " chemical imbalance " test, X-ray, or blood test. In fact, the

former U.S. Surgeon General, in his 1999 Report on Mental Health, stated " the

diagnosis of mental disorders is often believed to be more difficult than

diagnosis of medical disorders since there is no definitive lesion, laboratory

test or abnormality in brain tissue that can identify the illness. " [emphasis

added]

A common misconception is that mental health screening will prevent suicides.

However, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) studied this and

recommended against screening for suicide in 2004, saying, " USPSTF found no

evidence that screening for suicide risk reduces suicide attempts or mortality. "

Commonly prescribed drugs to treat mental disorders can have serious effects on

some children and adults. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has

required that manufacturers of antidepressants place a " black box " warning,

their most severe warning to the general public, on their antidepressants

because of suicide risks for all antidepressants prescribed to children under

the age of 18 years. Additionally, in 2005 the European Committee for Medicinal

Products for Human Use (CHMP), which includes members from 25 European Union

member states, after reviewing the data from clinical trials of the newer

antidepressants, determined that they should not be prescribed to children under

the age of 18 years because they can produce suicidal behavior, including

suicide attempts and thinking about suicide, or related behavior such as

self-harm, hostility, or mood changes.

Informed Consent for Mental Health Screening

I acknowledge that I have read and understood the above information to the best

of my ability, and based on my understanding, I am choosing one of the

following:

a) I give my consent for my child to undergo an evaluation for emotional,

behavior, mental, specific learning disabilities, or other health impairments

(mental health screening).

______________________________ _______________

(Signature of Parent) Date

I do not give my consent for my child to undergo an evaluation for emotional,

behavior, mental, specific learning disabilities, or other health impairments

(mental health screening).

______________________________ _______________

(Signature of Parent) Date

PLEASE ENSURE THIS FORM IS RETURNED BEFORE THE SCREENING DATE.' "

SECTION 2.

All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

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Senators sponsoring bill:

nancy.schaefer@...

tommie.williams@...

don.thomas@...

preston.smith@...

chip.rogers@...

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