Parents have the right to say “no” to their child being forced onto psychotropic drugs in schools
What does “Informed Consent” mean?
Coercion in Schools
Teachers who attempt to coerce parents into accepting psychiatric diagnoses for their child’s behavioral or learning problems and insist that the child take a psychiatric drug are exceeding their scope of work. Such teachers have been prejudiced by psychiatric and psychological training propaganda that preaches academic failure is a mental disability.
Jennifer L. Wood, Chief Legal Counsel for the Rhode Island Department of Education, states that the federal Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) “prohibits school personnel from making a decision about a child’s educational services without the consent of the child’s parent(s). School personnel must refrain from making statements that may be construed as offering medical advice, or making a medical decision, such as ‘Your child should be taking medication,’ or ‘I’ve seen many students like your child and based on that experience your child should be on medication.’
“The decision to place a child on medication is reserved to the family and must be made in consultation with licensed medical personnel. Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act, a child cannot be discriminated against in school due to a disability or perceived disability. Thus, it is not lawful for school personnel to require that a child continue or initiate a course of taking medication as a condition of attending school. School personnel cannot require, suggest or imply that a student take medication as a condition of attending school.”
Violation of Informed Consent
Few parents, if any, are being coerced or ordered to put their child on psychiatric drugs are told that numerous factors could be causing the child’s inattention, behavior problems or learning difficulties.
This includes but is not limited to: poor reading and math skills requiring tutoring, environmental toxins, allergies, nutritional deficiencies, and abnormalities in the endocrine system or thyroid function.
Whether by a teacher, a Special Education Counselor, or a member of a team that provides an Individual Education Plan (IEP) under IDEA, to recommend only psychiatric/psychological diagnoses and drugs violates the principle of informed consent to treatment.
The American Medical Association’s (AMA) standard for informed consent includes communicating the “nature and purpose of a proposed treatment or procedure; the risks and benefits” of such treatments and the alternatives “regardless of their cost or the extent to which the treatment options are covered by health insurance.”
In relation to parental permission and assent in pediatric practice, The American Academy of Pediatrics also notes, “…the patient has the freedom to choose among the medical alternatives without coercion or manipulation.”
If you are not being informed of all of the alternatives as outlined here, then you are not being given Informed Consent.
Parents and Children Have Rights
United States Public Law 96-88 states, “parents have the primary responsibility for the education of their children, and States, localities, and private institutions have the primary responsibility for supporting that parental role.”
In 2000, the Texas Board of Education adopted a resolution recommending that schools consider non-medical solutions to behavioral problems. The Colorado State Board of Education approved a similar resolution in 1999. Several states have also introduced and/or passed laws protecting children against school personnel using coercive or intimidating measures to have a child with learning or behavioral problems placed on psychotropic drugs (see list of Bills and Resolutions against child-drugging).
Article 33 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child states that children have the right to protection from the “illicit use of psychotropic substances.”
Tackling Coercion
Go over these points with the school personnel who are attempting to have your child diagnosed or drugged; first, try to resolve the situation with communication. There are free booklets and information available from CCHR International that can be given to these personnel. Teachers have also been fed a lot of misinformation by the mental health industry.
Let the school know that the first action is to have your child tutored to see what he/she hasn’t understood in the classroom.
At the same time, your child should be tested for allergies and other medical conditions that might be affecting his/her behavior.
If there is any problem reaching an amicable resolution with school personnel, immediately seek the assistance of an attorney and have the attorney read this website.
File a complaint with CCHR International (see abuse reporting form on this site). CCHR will refer you to a local CCHR representative who may be able to help you.
Coercion in Schools
Teachers who attempt to coerce parents into accepting psychiatric diagnoses for their child’s behavioral or learning problems and insist that the child take a psychiatric drug are exceeding their scope of work. Such teachers have been prejudiced by psychiatric and psychological training propaganda that preaches academic failure is a mental disability.Jennifer L. Wood, Chief Legal Counsel for the Rhode Island Department of Education, states that the federal Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) “prohibits school personnel from making a decision about a child’s educational services without the consent of the child’s parent(s). School personnel must refrain from making statements that may be construed as offering medical advice, or making a medical decision, such as ‘Your child should be taking medication,’ or ‘I’ve seen many students like your child and based on that experience your child should be on medication.’
“The decision to place a child on medication is reserved to the family and must be made in consultation with licensed medical personnel. Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act, a child cannot be discriminated against in school due to a disability or perceived disability. Thus, it is not lawful for school personnel to require that a child continue or initiate a course of taking medication as a condition of attending school. School personnel cannot require, suggest or imply that a student take medication as a condition of attending school.”
Violation of Informed Consent
Few parents, if any, are being coerced or ordered to put their child on psychiatric drugs are told that numerous factors could be causing the child’s inattention, behavior problems or learning difficulties.This includes but is not limited to: poor reading and math skills requiring tutoring, environmental toxins, allergies, nutritional deficiencies, and abnormalities in the endocrine system or thyroid function.
Whether by a teacher, a Special Education Counselor, or a member of a team that provides an Individual Education Plan (IEP) under IDEA, to recommend only psychiatric/psychological diagnoses and drugs violates the principle of informed consent to treatment.
The American Medical Association’s (AMA) standard for informed consent includes communicating the “nature and purpose of a proposed treatment or procedure; the risks and benefits” of such treatments and the alternatives “regardless of their cost or the extent to which the treatment options are covered by health insurance.”
In relation to parental permission and assent in pediatric practice, The American Academy of Pediatrics also notes, “…the patient has the freedom to choose among the medical alternatives without coercion or manipulation.”
If you are not being informed of all of the alternatives as outlined here, then you are not being given Informed Consent.
Parents and Children Have Rights
United States Public Law 96-88 states, “parents have the primary responsibility for the education of their children, and States, localities, and private institutions have the primary responsibility for supporting that parental role.”In 2000, the Texas Board of Education adopted a resolution recommending that schools consider non-medical solutions to behavioral problems. The Colorado State Board of Education approved a similar resolution in 1999. Several states have also introduced and/or passed laws protecting children against school personnel using coercive or intimidating measures to have a child with learning or behavioral problems placed on psychotropic drugs (see list of Bills and Resolutions against child-drugging).
Article 33 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child states that children have the right to protection from the “illicit use of psychotropic substances.”
Tackling Coercion
Go over these points with the school personnel who are attempting to have your child diagnosed or drugged; first, try to resolve the situation with communication. There are free booklets and information available from CCHR International that can be given to these personnel. Teachers have also been fed a lot of misinformation by the mental health industry.
Let the school know that the first action is to have your child tutored to see what he/she hasn’t understood in the classroom.
At the same time, your child should be tested for allergies and other medical conditions that might be affecting his/her behavior.
If there is any problem reaching an amicable resolution with school personnel, immediately seek the assistance of an attorney and have the attorney read this website.
File a complaint with CCHR International (see abuse reporting form on this site). CCHR will refer you to a local CCHR representative who may be able to help you.
